Encouraging Signs from the Yard

I'm happy to report that the rose bushes I bought a few months ago have not perished under my care. In fact, they are flourishing! Maybe I don't have a black thumb after all :) Truth be told, some other plants around here haven't fared as well, but let's not talk about those. Just focus on these pretty blooms:

This is probably not big news for you, but I'm happy to see signs that my gardening abilities are improving and that all of the hard work and money spent at the nursery hasn't gone to waste. It gives me the confidence to move on to the next challenge I've been wanting to tackle...a vegetable garden.

Also, I have to celebrate this minor victory now before the triple digit August temperatures wreak havoc on the yard as a whole. The hot weather has already plagued our hydrangeas and is starting to brown the dogwood tree on the left side of the house. Oh well, I'll take hot pool weather over the snow we had in February!