All this useless beauty

So what do you do when you have a gigantic rosebush and two of its daughters, all of which have set a combined total of approximately a gazillion rosebuds?

Well, you could go out and get yourself some gen-u-ine Anchor-Hocking glass jars with included lids (they might have originally been for, I don't know, candy or scent crystals or something?) from the dollar section of the supermarket, clip about three dozen of the buds, and make three little bud vases for three of your friends. (The buds will open over the next few days as though they were still on the rosebush.)

I clipped these rosebuds from low on the rosebushes or on the sides that no one can see, so their absence has no effect on the overall appearance of the bushes - and it will mean fewer rose hips for me to worry about pruning off next Winter.


I'm estimating that the highest buds on this rosebush reach at least nine feet high. That's pretty tall, but it has a way to go before it's a record. The official Guinness World Record for tallest self-supported rosebush is thirteen feet three inches, set by a rosebush belonging to Paul and Sharon Palumbo of San Diego, California in 2005. The non-Guinness record is eighteen feet six inches and was set by a bush belonging to Robert Bendel of Morristown, New Jersey in 2009, as reported by the World Records Academy.


I just went through my archives to look for pictures of this rosebush through the years. What I got was also a version of my recent life history, as seen through rosebush-colored glasses. (It didn't help that I played this song while I was doing the search.)

2004: Just starting out on the blog. Still using my old camera, and the old picture-posting function. Look how tiny the rosebush was! Isn't it a cute little thing!

2005: My uncle was dying. My dog was dying. My father would be dead in a few months. This picture wasn't of the rosebush - it was of me and Haley, the only photo I have of the two of us together. But you can see how the rosebush measures up to the swing behind it.

2006: I had just bought my grandmother's house, and I was still a little exuberant over that. The rosebush is definitely starting to sprawl compared to the previous two years. Interesting note: The roses and the strawberries used to ripen at the same time - a bush full of roses meant it was time to pick the strawberries. Now the rosebush is in full bloom, and the strawberries are nowhere near ripe.

2007: I can't find any pictures of the rosebush in bloom in 2007. I had just lost my job at the end of February, and that Spring I was throwing myself entirely at home improvement projects at my house across town, as well as taking classes at the Unemployment Office (whatever name it was going by at the time) in Scranton. I do, however, have these pictures of the dormant rosebush from March of 2007.

2008: I can't find anything, and I have no idea why not.

2009: The rosebush is now clearly taller than the top of the swing, though nowhere near as tall as it is this year. I would say that the uppermost reaches of the rosebush have increased by nearly two feet since last year!


Title Reference: "All This Useless Beauty" by Elvis Costello.