Trees Helping Roses

Dear Liza,

I love seeing how trees and roses grow together!
In your great grandma Billie’s yard, there was a giant lemon tree that grew right above a pink rose bush. When Billie didn’t trim the rose one summer, we got this:

Yes, that is a rose that climbed up into the tree and used its branches as a trellis! I had never seen such a thing, so I took a picture. The rose wasn’t hurting the tree, just climbing. So we let it be.

Since then, I have been on the lookout for clever roses that borrow space in nearby trees to get up into the sunlight. There is one, just down the street by Sunnyside School. It is a Cecile Bruner Rose, which may be my favorite kind of rose, (although I hate to have favorites.)

This rose has grown up into a large tree, and its tiny pink blossoms are almost completely covering it! It is beautiful. Still, if I were that tree I might feel a bit crowded.

A third rose bush has taken up residence in what I call “The Best Maple Tree” , just down the block. This is Heritage Tree #241, a Japanese Maple about a hundred years old. It is so big it is impossible to get a clear picture of!

But here is what I saw the other day, walking under it. The nearby roses have grown up, looking for sun, and climbed right into the tree. It is amazing and lovely.

Maybe you could be on the lookout for climbing roses in your neighborhood.

Love,

Grandma Judy