Grocery Store Minis ~ "Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul"

A Sunny Yellow Mini ~ Over a Decade in My Garden

When I find a cheery little miniature rose at the grocery store, it beckons me ~ "Take me home! I'll reward you every day!"  I have very often succumbed to the Sirens cry and have found a happy outcome in every case. Even if for some reason the little fellow never makes it into the garden, the pleasure it affords us is well worth the small outlay. Having a fresh and colorful little rosebush to enjoy,  LONG after the tub of ice cream I gave up to buy it, would have been gone, is a good feeling. It is a friendly reminder that things are growing and blooming somewhere, even in my zone 5 winter, and that I have a lot to look forward to when spring comes and the ground relents. I am reminded of the charming Medieval Persian poem:

"If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,

And from thy slender store two loves alone to thee are left,

Sell one, and with the dole

Buy Hyacinths to feed thy soul."

"Feeding the soul" is a good policy, especially in times of extra stress, and I have some minis in my garden that are over a decade old that were purchased in leaner times, (rescued, I should say, as they were very tired by the time I brought them home),  for a dollar at the grocery store on sale after Mother's Day. Even at full price, a little five dollar pot of roses usually has 4 or 5 plants in it, that can be charming until they're finished blooming, then potted up separately and enjoyed, given as gifts, or planted later in the garden. There's always a place for them!

I think, too, that having these little fellows so readily available, really helps to feed a passion for gardening in susceptible ones, and some who go in to the store thinking only of their box of Cheerios come out with a potted mini and a dawning love of growing beautiful things. Nothing feeds a budding hobby like small successes, and as hobbyists are the ones mostly supporting the serious folks who grow for sale the named and rare and antique varieties of  roses that we more involved gardeners so love, I believe that it's a good thing for the industry overall. I will continue to enjoy bringing home these wonderful presents to myself and my family!

From the Local Grocery Store, Grown by Masson Radium Springs Farms, New Mexico

Pretty and Healthy

From Sprouts Last Year, Beaming at the Foot of Jude the Obscure

A Trader Joe's Purchase, a Parade Rose Now Thriving in the Rock Garden

Sweet Red Grocery Store Mini Among the Dianthus

Another Parade Rose Among the Petunias

One of the Dollar Minis From Over 10 Years Ago, Still SO Happy in the Garden
 (You May Click To Enlarge the Above Photos)