Ingrid,

You've gone through a trial few rose growers will ever experience, especially to the epic proportions in your case. Getting off the ground and back into the saddle speaks volumes of your incomparable spirit of endurance, and is an inspiration to me and as it is, I am sure, to anyone who knows your story.

I know that you will keep us inspired. God bless you and give you strength to face future hurdles as we both know, they do come!

Moses

Ingrid, this is great to hear this wonderful news. Here is hoping you can have your roses lift your spirits again.

Good luck, Ingrid! May your roses grow and bloom (and the squirrels not eat them)!

I'm soooooo excited for you, Ingrid!!! Roses bring us all such joy in so many ways...plus think of all the bees, etc. that will benefit from your roses! You deserve this, and I'm so glad you persevered!! Way to go!

Great news, Ingrid. Just know how many people are thrilled that things are going better for you.

You certainly have every right in the world to feel happy, Ingrid,and I wish you the BEST. It would do Melissa and myself no good whatsoever for you to deny yourself happiness-far from not helping our situation in any way, shape or form, it actually cheers me to hear some good news for a change! Keep up the good work!

This is great to hear Ingrid. Gardening is always an exercise of hope, but in your case, even more so. I am hoping for beauty and joy for you.

Yes, I am a very happy girl. These are the roses I have now, including the five that are arriving later this month:

Wild Edric

Purple Skyliner

Cl. Caroline Testout

Lady Ashe

Ginger Syllabub

Grandmother's Hat

Darlow's Enigma

Conrad Ferdinand Meyer

Quicksilver

Mlle. Franziska Krueger

Madame Bovary

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

I wanted to experience roses that were new to me but I couldn't resist having the beautiful Mlle. Franziska Krueger again, a tea rose that can be difficult but at the best of times is so beautiful.

Good news!

Ingrid - I'm excited to see blooms next year of these lovely roses! :) :) :)

I’m so happy for you!

That is so encouraging Ingrid. A true garner is lost without her muse. I pray that your garden will give you years of abundant joy.

Thank you, my dear friends. I was just outside to look at how my roses are faring. We're having the strangest weather here, days and days of cloudy, cool weather where normally this is the hottest, driest month of the year where we are constantly aware of the wildfire danger. It's very welcome although I'm sure the roses would appreciate a little sun. The next ten days are also going to be cloudy, so it will be interesting to see whether the roses will continue to grow under these conditions.

Ingrid, such wonderful news! I'm so happy the used kitty litter trick is working for you. Like I said, I don't know if it's the kitty litter or our increasing coyote population, but I have had not a single wood chuck in the garden for the first time in over 26 years! And the beauty part of it is that, if you have a cat (or cats) it's pretty much an ever-renewable resource, lol! I'm looking forward to hearing about how your beautiful roses are doing, and I hope they give you many years of joy!

Ingrid - they're still getting sun...they'll be fine. :)

Dear Frances, so it was you, and I'm so grateful! I truly think that, apart from my not feeding the squirrels any more, the kitty litter is the one thing that turned the tide. I would never use any method that would hurt the squirrels but this is something that deters without harming them, and I wish you were here so that I could give you many hugs to thank you.

rosecanadian, I'm glad you feel that the roses are still benefiting in spite of the cloudy weather. I am noticing that Grandmother's Hat, which seems to be my most vigorous rose, is visibly putting on inches on the branch that had new growth. I'm quite sure that I'll be completely overcome when I see the first bud. And that will be nothing compared to what I'll feel when they are all blooming!

Ingrid, very happy to you! I hope your rose babies will be safe and thrive. You deserve this little happiness🌹

Regarding the used cat litter, I used it early spring to fill a hole in the yard. When it rains it turned to a mushmushy mudd mess. half a year later now the area is covered with grass. I am wondering when put in the flower bed, what does it look like? I am wondering whether it can deter moles and voles too? I lost a few roses to them early soring. Also I vaguely remember in one of Straw’s thread, she or somebody mentioned some ingredients in litter is beneficial to the rose but can’t be sure

The plain kitty litter may be beneficial but the one I use has deodorant in it and I don't think that would be good to use in the garden. Also I imagine you'd have to keep adding new litter for it to keep its deterrent qualities, so all in all probably not a good idea. It would be a dream come true if someone were to invent a fool-proof pest deterrent, but then I tell myself that it's we humans who are invading their space and on top of that often try to kill them, and I find myself questioning the ethics of it all. Still, the kitty litter doesn't harm them so I'm at peace with that method.

Ingrid, that is true. I use the clumping type so it might not be good for the garden. I ordered the castor oil and am going to give a try.

Ingrid...so happy to hear that your squirrels have given up and your roses are growing!

I'm glad to hear that a combination of tactics is keeping the roses alive. I just want to mention briefly that one should be careful to keep used kitty litter far away from vegetable gardens, especially for veggies you plan to eat raw. https://gardening.usask.ca/articles-and-lists/articles-animals/cats,-turds-and-birds.php

Congrats Ingrid, great news!

For sure, Steve, and I wouldn't want to put the kitty litter anywhere except the one place I have it, at the entrance to the squirrel burrow. I don't think there is any deterrent that would stop the squirrels if I tried to grow vegetables. They would of course assume that they were meant only for them.

Ingrid - I'm doing a Happy, Happy Rose Dance for you!!! We are all SO delighted for you!!!

Ingrid - yup, I hear you. I want better for my roses...I know I can do better and I know you can too! We will create our own symphonies. :)