Old roses................

How do you save your volunteer wild rose bush from the goats? You build a fence around it, because everyone (who owns goats) knows rose bushes are right up there with blackberry bushes as the favorite delicacy of the Caprine community!

Cherokee Rose

A native of southern China and Taiwan, this rose was introduced early to North America(around 1759) and has now become thoroughly established here. Georgia's  official flower. The Cherokee Rose is a mounding bush to about 5 feet, or a thickly foliaged climber to 15 feet with neat, apple-green leaves. In the spring, fragrant, pure white, 5-petaled flowers appear and cleanly drop their petals to disclose star-shaped sepals. It is one of the best for naturalizing in the South,  and offers an outstanding floral display in return for very little care.
5 to 15 feet Z7-9                   
Cherokee roses are ramblers. If you grow one as a freestanding mound, it will reach a height upwards of 5 feet and maybe twice this wide.
If grown up into a tree, it can climb to 30 feet. It does not always need to be trained to climb either. This self sufficient species rose has been known to scramble into the canopy of a tree by means of its sharp thorns.
                                    The Legend of the Cherokee Rose :
In response to the tears the woman cried along the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee roses sprung up.....................

• The white flowers represent the tears of the Cherokee maidens.
• The gold stamens symbolize the gold mined from the hills.
• The 7 leaflets of each leaf stand for the 7 Cherokee clans.
• The sharp thorns are a symbol of the toughness of the Cherokee people.
• Rosa laevigata's habit of rooting where its stems touch the soil represents the tribe's love of and connectedness to the land.

And speaking of old roses and gardening, I'd like to share one of my favorite garden reads with you:
            "People with Dirty Hands" By Robin Chotzinoff
         If you can find it , it's a wonderful read, one I've read over and over again. She covers everything from old rose bushes to (really) hot peppers! All in a very entertaining way!