Attitude change

Roses are one of my favorite flowers, especially hybrid tea roses.

However, I never really tried to plant them because I'm a lazy gardener and I knew they wouldn't survive. They need a lot of care to make sure they thrive.

Sounds like wife/women care.

Of course, everyone has different needs and wants in their lives, and some thrive better in some conditions than others. But in general, I think women are at their best when they are nurtured, watered and given regular attention--even when ugly bits are lovingly and carefully pruned. All people have such needs, but I'm focusing on women for a reason today.

Some roses are tough and resilient, some grow wild with little care except what nature brings. But to have hybrid tea roses, a lot more attention is involved.

Hybrid teas produce one glorious blossom at the end of a stem, rather than clusters. They have an open bloom, rather than a bushy one. They are repeat bloomers during the season in a variety of colors and offer wonderful fragrance.

To get the best of the rose, it needs regular watering, pruning, mulching and fertilizing. It needs to be protected from evil aphids and other things that will drain its lifeblood and attack its source of nutrients.

Unfortunately, some roses die under their caretakers for lack of attention. Left to thrive on their own, they send warning signals, such as wilting leaves, droopy heads, and no fragrance. If not looked after, they literally snap and die.

My life history is fraught with conditions that have not been good for a hybrid tea rose--sometimes not even a desert bloom. I'm not whining--it is what it is, and has been the way I grew up and lived as an adult. I'm not alone, everyone has a story to tell.

I've adjusted. I've come to realize that I survive as a Yucca.

Yuccas are actually quite attractive. They are found mostly in dry regions, love sunshine, and produce attractive pendulous bell to cup-shaped white or greenish-cream flowers sometimes tinted with pink or purple. Tall, with interesting leaves, they add a dramatic element to the garden, and are pretty much self-sufficient.

Yuccas are also useful for crafts, dyes, herbal tea and a variety of purposes. It was a favorite of Native Americans.

I mentioned recently to my niece that I figured out I can't expect to live a productive life as a hybrid tea rose, so I'm changing my name to Yucca.

She laughed, and calls me Yuccaphine and a few other endearing variations.

I laugh too. Really. Life is a whole lot easier when I'm not waiting to be watered by humans.

Smile with me today.