Elvis Costello sings the melancholy tune, “A Good Year for the Roses.” The song has stuck with me, but the sad sentiment doesn’t match the colorful riot of rose blooms showing in Atomic Object’s parking lot this summer.
About five years ago, in the midst of the monster renovation of our building, it was obvious we needed to clean up and green up the parking lot area near the entrance to our office.
Having lived in homes surrounded by shade trees, I was excited about the opportunity to plant this narrow strip so graced with sun most of the day.
Roses love sun. I have always loved roses, especially old-fashioned climbing roses. My mom was an accomplished rose gardener in her time and I was inspired to honor her in a way that all our parking lot visitors could also enjoy.
So, with the help of my friend Mary Bereza, I planted a long row of deep red (Don Juan), soft white (White Eden) and petal pink (Zephurin Drouhin) climbing roses along our sun-drenched fence.
Our neighbors, Bazzani Associates added more roses to their section of the long fence garden. The name of this lovely pink and white stripe rose escapes me at the moment.
It has taken awhile for the roses to really come into their own. Each year the cains strengthen, send out new branches and produce a few more blooms than last year. This year has truly been a good year for our roses.
Thanks to my mom, JoAnn O’Neill, for showing me what’s to love about roses and thanks to Rose Van Reken, Marissa Christy’s mom, for taking these pictures and capturing the beauty of Atomic’s roses this year.