This is part one of a two-part post originally written in 2008. I’m currently taking a blogging vacation. I’ll be back by August 1, 2012. Have a great summer!

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Frankly, I don’t really know why I’m even doing this. We’re dull folk. Who’d even care to know what I think? I’ll just blog away and hope I reach my niche.

I can’t even explain how incredible the potential for my roses looks this year. They are virtually covered with buds. One is even ready to bloom (Therese Bugnet – a fabulous rugosa who is thriving in our high desert climate). I expect to see actual blooms on her by tomorrow. woo hoo!

I planted a rose today that has virtually NO information with it except that its name is Spanish Sun. [update 2012: I found this.] Why did I buy it? Because bees were passing out when they flew by!! The fragrance is THAT strong. She appears to be a shrub rose but I cannot find any information about her online. [Update: Turned out to be a floribunda.] The blooms are a deep yellow and fade to a light buttery yellow as they age. The leaves have a reddish tint to the edges. I hope she can handle our winters – we’ll see. [Update: She couldn't.] Maybe I’ll be willing to get out and do the hard labor of winterizing her if she proves to be worth all that work. [Update: I wasn't.]

My kids (especially my son) keep asking when I’ll be done spending so much time in the yard. hahahahahahahahahahaha… they’re obviously NOT gardeners.

Seriously, though. I think he’s having a tough time (and so am I for that matter) shifting into this period of his life where I play less and less of a role in the hourly day-to-day of his world. He was my only child for the first 7 years and he was also very much my little buddy. We’re very similar in so many ways (I’ve apologized to him for his having so many of my traits…) and it frequently makes my hubby laugh to watch the two of us. Anyway – he’s 16 and I see incredible potential in him. He’s so capable but he’s still fragile. He wants to be out in the wide world…but we’re easing him into that.

I’ve heard several negative comments over the years comparing homeschoolers to greenhouse plants. The truth is that greenhouse plants are fine while in the safety of the environment they were grown in, but if you set them out without a transition, they quickly either die or struggle for the length of their days.

I’ve seen it in my own garden.

The little plants need to be ‘hardened off’ to survive in the real climate and withstand the weather and the wind and the temperatures. Children need similar treatment. Allow them (as each year progresses) to have more and more contact with the hard facts of life – some ugly and some wonderful. It’s their hardening off period.

Part 2