Tag Archives: Flowers

Mystery Blooms in the Garden

Posted on by Laurie

As I recently learned from Redneck Rosarian, June is National Rose Month … a perfect excuse to once again write about roses.

I have several ground cover roses in my garden. When I purchased them at least 8 years ago, they were labelled “Red”. In truth, they are more of a magenta. Anyhow, I am quite fond of them. They bloom from mid-Spring through Autumn and add a lot of color to the landscape … and they have proven hardy in Kansas. Now here is my mystery. A few weeks ago, one of the bushes, at the end of one branch, started producing clusters of pale pink roses.  At first I thought that I was seeing an errant limb from Flower Carpet Pink, but both the form of the flower and the color were wrong to belong to that other rose. Upon closer examination, I could see that the pale pink blooms were definitely coming from the magenta ground cover rose bush. The flowers on the rest of the branch matched the rest of the bush. What has happened to cause this mutation? Will there be more mismatched roses? Nature is full of mysteries. Fortunately, this is a fun one.

Magenta/Red Ground Cover Roses

Mystery Blooms (2 colors on the same branch)

“Flower Carpet Pink” Rose

You Can’t Give Away Kindness

Posted on by Laurie

Kindness is difficult to give away because it always keeps coming back

In recent weeks we have hosted a potpourri of events at the Bed & Breakfast. Afterward, several of our guests sent us flowers to thank us. We, of course, did not expect flowers; but it did make us feel appreciated and that’s a nice feeling. Moreover, it was a reminder of why we do our best to do more than just what is expected of us. It is rewarding to see that our work makes people happy. How lucky we are to have such gracious guests and so many guests that we can call friends!

Memorial Day Rose

Posted on by Laurie

Memorial Day will soon be here. Appropriately, we -meaning my helper Benjamin, with me looking over his shoulder, giving instructions, and taking photos – planted an eponymously named rose today. Originally called Decoration Day, a day to honor Union soldiers fallen during the Civil War, in the 20th century Memorial Day became a holiday to honor all American soldiers killed in war. Often, however, people use the day to pay respects to any loved ones who have passed away.

Memorial Day Rose, a 2004 Weeks Rose introduction and AARS winner, is a hybrid tea rose with a strong damask rose fragrance. It’s just heavenly. When I was looking for a rose to bring home to plant, I sniffed every single variety at the garden center. While there were several others – Mr. Lincoln and Fragrant Cloud –  to which my nose gave equally high scores, I thought that Memorial Day would look best in the spot that I had picked out. And as I thought about it, I realized that this rose was an excellent selection for more than aesthetic reasons.

My father-in-law, a highly decorated war veteran, recently passed away. So, I think that as members of our family pass by this rose in the garden, the sweet fragrance of Memorial Day may occasion pleasant memories of time spent with Bob.

Memorial Day Rose

Benjamin planting Memorial Day Rose

Putting on the Purple: Life in a College Town

Posted on by Laurie

Manhattan, Kansas is a college town of about 50,000 residents. If anything can be said of Manhattanites it is that they believe in the adage “be true to your school.” Around The Little Apple this is demonstrated by wearing and displaying the colors of Kansas State University: royal purple and white. With a house full of graduation-goers this weekend, I’ve been finding ways to play on the purple and white theme. To all the graduates out there, we at The Morning Star congratulate you and wish you happiness and success!

An Honor and A Pleasure

Posted on by Laurie

Last evening we hosted a wedding at the Bed & Breakfast.  We’ve had weddings here before and, in all honesty, every one of them has been special. The one last night, however, was the first one that I have performed. It is a wonderful feeling, and a privilege, to be an integral part of such an important and happy event in two people’s lives. Chris and Ashley were married in the garden by the fountain. It was a simple and sweet ceremony with a best man, maid of honor, and four friends in attendance.

Below are a few pictures that I took while we were getting ready. I had made the cake earlier in the day yesterday. It was an almond flavored-white cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and sparkling sugar.  (I’ll post more pictures if I get some from the photographer.)

Wishing Ashley and Chris a world of happiness!