Autumn Roses, How to Enjoy Your Roses to the Fullest This Season

As I sit down down to write this  blog post,

I scan my desk where an old photo of my grandmother holding me, 

 her first visit to meet me 

and there in the background is a a bouquet of roses.

Their  fragrance has wafted through my life 

adding beauty to every moment they've touched:

Life celebrations, my home gardens and everyday life.

When my youngest had begun to speak,

 she asked me what she was smelling when I had opened a bottle of rose oil.

I asked her what she thought it might be,

to which she answered,

"It smells like angels." 

Our cakes are often decorated with fresh garden roses.

In Autumn , 

when the roses are preparing to rest for winter 

there's a few ways I attend to my favorite flower friends 

who have so generously 

enhanced my life through spring and summer.

Sugaring rose petals, rose buds and small roses 

allows us to enjoy their beauty throughout the winter.

You'll need one egg white diluted with an equal part of water,

white sugar, preferably extra fine,

and clean soft paint brushes.

 Carefully brush the dry rose or dry petals with the egg mixture,

 covering thoroughly, but not saturating.

 Sprinkle the sugar over the petal or flower while holding over the sugar bowl,

 being careful to be thorough.

I sprinkle sugar over the roses several times

 until I feel I have covered all the egg mixture thoroughly.

These small rose buds were  taken from a carpet rose 

I planted last year as a ground cover just before the first snow.

They have since assured me they are happy to live through our snowy winters.

Aren't they lovely! 

Any dessert garnished wish these will be transformed into loveliness.

I leave them out to dry for 4-5 days, 

then store in an air tight container for up to four months.

To insure that I have enough roses to share  with friends

and in hopes of bookending our dream vineyard rows with roses someday soon,

I have  also started cuttings.

It's the perfect time for this

with the sun and rain taking friendly turns with our Autumn days. 

Cuttings should be about the width of a pencil and 18 inches in length.

Remove all but the top set of leaves.

I cut a small slice in the base, 

dip in a rooting compound to encourage growth 

and place somewhere I will be able to keep an eye on the growth.

I've successfully stared many of my roses like this.

I leave them to root until spring.

Lastly, I harvest the rose hips, quarter them, 

remove the seeds and dehydrate 

to be infused in a tea in order to release their stores of vitamin C 

which we will doubtless be needing this winter.

 All this done, I can patiently  look forward to the first rose bud of spring.