Happy Roses

I love roses, especially the wild and antique varieties - those which have not been hybridized for perfectly straight stems and tea rose shapes and have lost their scents in the process.  I have several varieties of these roses planted by our front porch. 

They are a faithful bunch, living through difficult times when I neglect them, still blooming here and there, then responding and recovering quickly when I finally come back to them with a little TLC.

I saw new buds everywhere this morning.  I fertilized them two weeks ago; and now, with all the rain we've had from the tropical storm, they are super happy.  This week, I also spread compost around their feet.  It usually takes about three weeks for them to burst into bloom after good feeding, deep watering and a light trim, which they got today.

It has been ten years or longer since we planted our roses.  Some came with us from previous homes.  I would have to consult a rose book to find their names again, as their tags are all long gone. 

I was inspired after reading Our Forest Haven, whose owner wrote about the wild roses on her Alaska property and the tea she made with them. 

I picked the petals off three unsprayed roses...

...and trimmed the white base on each clump of petals as I read somewhere that it adds bitterness.

 Boiled for five minutes, sweetened with a little honey... Rose tea is a treat.

Our next project, Rose Petal Jelly.


Rose Petal Jelly

1 cup fresh, fragrant, unsprayed rose petals
Juice of one lemon
2 ½ cups sugar
1 package powdered pectin
1 ½ cups water

Rose petals are best gathered in the morning. Cut off the white base on each clump of petals as it adds bitterness.

Put petals, lemon juice, and 3/4 cup water in blender and blend until smooth. Gradually add sugar. Put mixture in sauce pan and stir in pectin, 3/4 cup water and boil the mixture hard for one minute, stirring constantly. Put it all back in the cleaned blender and stir until smooth. Pour into hot, sterile jars leaving 1/4- inch head space. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath, or freeze.

Linking with Blooming Tuesday.