Of Bugs and Roses

This is a slightly blurry picture of the first bloom on my Dublin Bay red, climbing rose.  It makes these huge, semi-open blooms that seem to last forever on the vine.  The long life of the blooms is one of the best traits of this rose.  For those of you who know me, you might remember that I try my best to spray no insecticide and very little fungicide on any of my flowers.  This is because I love the beautiful and beneficial insects and I really don't want to be around tons of chemicals.  Besides, it gets expensive spraying all that stuff!  I'd rather spend my money on more plants.  Because of not spraying, I often have an aphid problem on my roses, so nice little lady bugs like you see in this picture are very welcome.  They are great because they eat aphids.  It's wonderful to see more ladybugs early this year than last.  Now, if only I could get some bug that would eat the whiteflies off my gardenias!  Many thanks to my daughter, Rhonda, and my wife, Jo, for taking and sending this picture to me at work.