A few years ago my brother-in-law in the desert talked me into trying some miniature roses in the garden. My previous experience with them were impulse buys from the grocery store. They came with the pot wrapped in that colored foil that makes you think they're house plants. I put them in a sunny window and then came the spider mites. They didn't last long. So I was surprised to hear they are actually star performers in the garden. So back to the grocery store where I bought three more and planted them in a sunny bed in front of my house. This is one of them. The other two languished and eventually died, but this white one decided it liked being next to the brick wall and over the years has done a good job of aspiring to the size of a standard rose bush. It blooms faithfully all summer long.
But what's this? Suddenly there's a pink bloom standing out from the crowd. I'm used to roses dying back to the rootstock occasionally and then I have a different rose altogether, but this obviously hasn't happened here. I don't get it but I'm enjoying the oddity of it.
Meanwhile, while perusing blogs, I came across a post from Posie Gets Cozy. I don't bake. But that recipe made my mouth water and after spotting rasberries on sale at the grocery store, I knew I had to try to make these raspberry muffins. It would be nice if I had grown these luscious berries, but I didn't.
I dusted off the Kitchenaid and got to work. I quit cooking long before they came out with those giant-size muffin tins which are recommended for this recipe. So I found some foil "pot pie" sized pans and used those.
These are not bad considering I've forgotten everything I know about cooking. I shouldn't be eating these. Maybe that's why I quit baking to begin with. But a few more hours in the garden ought to work off the calories.
14 comments:
Beautiful mini roses! Such dark green leaves, too. And you've got me drooling over those raspberry muffins. :)
Now that's a good-sized muffin!
I noticed that pink rose right away. I thought maybe they started out pink and then turned white.
Mother nature can be very strange indeed!
Those cupcakes look WONDERFUL!! Hmm
I've had a yellow mini rose in the back flower bed for 4 years now and like yours it blooms faithfully and beautifully. I added another last week so that the 2 roses are 1 on either side of St Francis. Those muffins look wonderful! One would go well with the coffee I'm drinking now!
I had three mini roses growing on the windowsill for a year, then I planted them outside and they are flourishing! I wonder how the pink came through?
The raspberry muffins are making me drool. I have another hour until lunch break.
Lost Roses, is the pink one on the end of a branch that also has white roses? Or is its branch coming from the base? If it's on a branch with white ones, do you think it's a sport?
This definition is from Rose Magazine:
Sport - an unusual change in growth or color that can occur on an established variety, usually the result of a natural mutation. A climbing rose is an example of a growth sport.
I have a few miniatures, too - they came as cute little mail-order gift roses, sent by family members in the last few months so are question marks as to size and survival.
The link to the recipe didn't work for me, but raspberries never seem to go on sale here. They can't take our summers, or I'd give them room in my garden. At the prices for berries here, I don't bake with them, just savor them one-by-one.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
What are you thinking of girl? I've put on 2 pounds just by looking at those muffins. :-)
What a brave little trooper that rose is and what fun that you suddenly have a pink flower too.
My daughter gave me a minature rose for Mother's Day 2 years ago. I stuck it in the ground & it has bloomed each year since.
I agree the muffins look tempting.
Hi Mary Carlson, Thanks for visiting. Those are the glossiest leaves I have on any plant! I took a look at your miniatures, they look great. I'd love to see the long view of your walk. Oh, those muffins were good!
Zoey, they were almost too big! You really had to be hungry to finish a whole one. And I think the pink rose is just trying to get some attention!
Monarch, the muffins are gone now. I did share!
Lynne, I bet those miniatures look nice next to St. Francis. A picture, please! Wish I could give you a muffin to go with your coffee!
Annie, I had to go outside with the flashlight and make sure! There are white roses on the same cane and it's not coming from the ground. I think you're right about it being a sport as that was my first thought when I saw it. I'll be curious to see if it happens again when this bloom is done.
I bet your gift miniatures will do just fine in your garden, everything else does!
As for the berries, I'll probably never make those muffins again but I just had to do it once. "Sale" is a relative word when it comes to raspberries, isn't it? Two half-pints for $5 was the bargain price this week. Oh well, it's payday for the month!
Well, Yolanda, if you gained 2 pounds just looking, how about me? I ate four of them! (I keep meaning to eat better).
kgmom, isn't it nice when a gift plant thrives? My daughter loves to send me mail-order plants and I always hate to tell her that some of them "are no longer with me", but it happens!
P.S. I tried to post the link again but that didn't work either. Wish I understood blogging! Anyway you can find it at Posie's blog http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy
It was an entry earlier in May.
mmmm.. I'm hungry now
Oooh, I am enjoying your blog!
Lovely, lovely pics!
Love your roses, peonies, raspberries....
Thanks for sharing with us desert dwellers!
I love that pink oustanding rose! And your cake looks just to yummy hmmmm
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