John Cabot Roses

 John Cabot: A rose by any other name is not in the budget this year.

With May Day signaling the bright beginning of all things warm, I got online and placed an order with one of my favorite nurseries. It tallied up to $106 ~ for which they demanded $26 for shipping.

Does that seem excessive? Or, am I a cheapskate?

It's not like I was ordering a 10 foot tall Wisteria or anything remotely that grand. These are eensy, teensy seedlings that fit neatly into one, small box.

I heart John Cabot Roses. I've never met such a profuse, low maintenance, kind of water-wise, all-summer bloomer. They look particularly cool if you plant Baby's Breath nearby.

Cranky over the shipping charges, I doubled down on the Cabots and nixed most everything else, tearing flower pictures out of that catalog and adding them to the other shopping list.

That 'other list' being a picture file, of sorts, filled with the perennials I discovered in that catalog, though I'll buy locally because I can get plants twice the size, for about half the price.

Such a hot-cha-cha pink color it's kind of blinding. 

Just one more reason why I love 'em. :)

I suppose that's cheating. But, what's a gal on a budget supposed to do? And, when will online nurseries get with the program? Every other website offers free shipping. (My shoe tree is overflowing ever since I discovered Zappos.) Why can't flower shops do me the same favor??

So, that's my rant. And, here's my rave:

As in rave reviews for the John Cabot Roses who'll show off their stuff in the very last garden I plan to plant. Once this one is done, then I'll be done.

Are you chuckling? Me, too. As if a garden is ever done...

* John Cabot Roses: USDA Zone 3, he's kind of a big bruiser. 4 foot spread by about 6 feet high.