I am very happy with this first real rose bouquet from my garden. The rosebushes were put in late last spring, so we couldn’t pick very much at all last summer, or at least not with any stem to speak of, to save the energy of the fledgling plants.

But after a year they are going pretty well, most of them—at least those that are not having real trouble with blackspot, mildew, and now I see critter holes near the roots of some of them. Sigh. My mom used to shrug and say, “The vicissitudes of gardening . . .” and what else can you say? That’s why we planted 18 rosebushes, so that I would be sure to be able to have a bouquet or two.

Happy Ruby Tuesday, all. See what the participants there have going on for the weekly celebration of rubiness. And you can always click on the Ruby Tuesday category in the sidebar to see some of my other photos showcasing the color red. Or try Color Carnival for more brilliant colors. Returning to the main blog is easy; just click on Sara’s Fave Photos.