I got up today, looked out the front door and was pleasantly greeted by three beautiful new Fragrant Plum rose blooms. I leaned out my window to see two new Kardinal blooms as well. When I looked out the side window, there was my gorgeous Carla rose nodding at me and a Peace rose looking up too! I am so happy that my roses are finally producing. I have only a dozen plants, and the enjoyment I get from them is enormous. I thought maybe the cyclone had ruined them but it seems it shocked lots of plants into producing their best, my roses among them.
Today my DH and I went shopping and came home with another new rose bush - a David Austin climbing Gertrude Jekyll. I plan to plant it with a couple of other new climbers I recently found to hide the ugly back fence where the majestic pine tree used to be. The pine tree was blown over by the cyclone and now there is just a stump left. Climbing roses will soften the old ugly fence and even better, I can see them from my kitchen window. Maybe the stump will make a nice garden seat one day. We are going to plant a few more things on the swell of the old root system too.
I had time to make a card with one or two of my new stamps and stencils last night, and this is the result. I made it for a seven year old friend and he seemed to like it, though I think he liked the attention more! I was pleased he could read all the words on the card, even the message on the inside. It was fun to make and this week I have another couple of birthdays to start preparing for ... though a wonderful friend will be visiting and staying in my stamp room for a couple of days and we shall be gallivanting around doing the 'tourist' thing, so maybe I will get a chance to create some cards next weekend. So many stamps! So little time!!
I plan to allow the new roses to grow all over the fence - yellow Pilgrim and pale pink Cecile Bruner and deep pink Gertrude Jekyll roses - maybe we will one day have a pretty structure and a seat there too. 
