Grandma’s Roses

The roses around the foundation of my house were diseased and bedraggled. The leaves were stunted and insect eaten. One spring I saw a few scraggly pink blooms that weren’t much to look at. I almost tore out the plants by the roots. They were a professional embarrassment to me, a beginning landscaper and flower grower. I even tried to kill them all at once by spraying them with a plant killer. But, they came back stronger the next year. That time they had many beautiful flowers in the...