Dabby's Rose Bush

Several years ago, my hairdresser moved to a house that had a gazillion old, well established rose bushes. When she inexplicably decided to get rid of most of them, she invited all her friends and clientele to come and dig up anything they wanted. I was there in a heartbeat. I dug up four rose bushes before I exhausted myself, one of which turned out to be the rose bush that enveloped and smothered Turlock.

Other than climbing, I don’t know what variety it is, but it has white blooms similar to the one in the photo. I planted it along the side of our house where it climbs onto the inner courtyard fence. The rose bush currently stretches across about 20 feet of the fence. If we did not have it trimmed every week, it would literally grow up over the roof of the house, across to the neighbors, down the street, eventually growing out to the highway where motorists would need James Bond type machetes on their cars to clear a path around town. Unfortunately, the trimming inhibits blooming, but the bush has become a very effective shield from the street on that side of the house.

It is a great refuge for small birds, so I put a feeder in it to encourage them to visit. The window that looks out onto the bush is my kitty‘s favorite place to watch them. Every morning, not even letting me get a cup of coffee, Teddy yells and carries on until I follow him into the room and open the blinds so he can begin his vigil. He gets up on the windowsill and yeows at the top of his lungs. I tell him to use his indoor meow, so he doesn’t scare the birds away. He won’t listen to me though; he has to tell those birds a thing or two. The rose bush has little openings where the birds can peer through at Teddy, thumbing their beaks at him because they know he is strictly an indoor cat. They do tweet a little different tune when the weather is warm enough to open the windows. Then they are a little more polite when he appears, not quite trusting the screens to hold back that ferocious tabby.

I am very proud of my town-devouring rose bush. Being from Ohio, where growing roses requires way too much effort, it is amazing to me that roses flourish like weeds here. I have roses all around my house, something I never imagined I could have. All they need is water and lots of sun and they bloom right through to Christmas. I will always marvel at that.

If you ever drive through the Central Valley of California, down Highway 99, be sure to bring your machete.