It's a beautiful day in my part of the world. The sun is out, the air is crisp and clean, courtesy of a big rainstorm that passed through a few days ago. More rain promises to blow in tonight and tomorrow.
But today, everybody is out enjoying the sunshine in the front yard:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieoWcaCom_tRo8vfQdAl6EqHMOhNVPFXpOFzksYafIcbvEduBUmqS-eSzjkeBUba_TP3uO4aXCD43slnzNWcv22p-bmROLUclfP19mp4cicCAMgI9r2ncuI8iAa-TyY9M98UlV-_c5dNU/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+078.jpg)
Sun-drunk pug:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0CNET46MJN-yNaf7E8vbmI8qEc0eYFEst-zOdOVwVDg494o2xcPIC_IBxEOAX6vZ_jFBmP7O4SXfn6q6h_uObLMtd1BrfTjk4V5pkDA5m1qBOfJic-3ieCR11rq-TKhzbYaX8ZSeJig/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+065.jpg)
The roses, liriope, and Russian sage are all tucked into their new beds, and everything looks great:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDetM7f-chMMA9zjJxCURYbSqUvCz3vU4OcgfhaahRcyivcQgTeQYMhDP1T4ix-DBx5sg92AcS0bCi6hoFjHnU31rPDDqVNuTASUVetVknlDqggX8mUf6B-mfmkZEX_xQXgTynWV9tEI/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+079.jpg)
The plants will spend most of our mild winter working on growing their root systems bigger and stronger. Come April, they should put on quite a show. For now, things are small and quiet:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7ZLkwhddvgeRliEIlsJQYLg95cFEi3lwwEMCDliA0Ue9al6M8IpQT79pM_Xck14NHIIQLnNIRVMT9BOa5ZwBk-wdWebBEiNqYAiLjlV5RHX8XBaBLTFn3WEft_m_OT4NK1ntQ-IxQnI/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+082.jpg)
Props to my fence guys! They were professional, on time, on budget, and friendly. I like them so much, I promised to leave their sign up for a few weeks longer:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XMtXskqakeLkCbLKWr16xt_7IrQxapkgz8fon4SDNC8YKZvAESHszbaheEBOZSmtCFUUEsdI5blIjAos_6SgWtSAIvld_yed6pnXhzquJ7-89GP_zG3XUnVsW_SVo0XinSL3ji9JCT0/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+083.jpg)
Today is a perfect day to put markers on all the rose bushes so I don't forget their names. I found these tags at my local garden shop. A pack of 50 markers is only $6.99 plus tax, and the flexible wires are long enough to tie around a rose branch with plenty of room left to grow:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaj1Z_vQ1QPM8Hgh85XL-JW0HZiVGs2SqFQBEGo7ILL9v4qYa-bEMsTtRE_IfzFJIcEgp1wx_fH-Ww9F1kMEHeq3pzBNTjtKfTm92-UQaUG3q1qSpxFCZv9YbXZUPJrKPsFZ0en8pEk44/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+067.jpg)
I usually wear gloves when working in the garden. These are by
Foxgloves. I love them because they fit very snugly, are quite flexible, and are totally washable:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJt36eolW-7qVCsaN-fMGL72PaZwv9W4WswMolVChaDD9WCwYQQef_88ALuXPFoaDTksOucrzKG_6wtbGV0allXO7O1MP4kB_v6rLNJ9I3J2bLbamf1QwOCHONHwMNbPZK4Co7NUje0I/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+071.jpg)
The tag makes me smile. "One size fits most": Well, that's being honest! I suppose there are a few pro ball players out there who wouldn't be able to jam their paws into these things:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkemDKNY56ezkqIqxZMMFq3B3pCF9VkxFbP8WNhY3PqVYdMrSqWKTW8hU4jq1nSmM6CkXfPipDktVNpmc39nhBKM7iCyHpSzZ07K9UNcEmXRnA0uvRP1fKKvL4jeLvLHar9qSvuDIQlA/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+070.jpg)
I'm taking off the large, illustrated tags that came with the rose bushes. After a quick cleanup of their plasticized surfaces, I'll pop them in an envelope and keep them just for the record. Or until I lose where I put the envelope, in which case I'll keep them for decades:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxPISb0IP1T9w_0vtkb6C2ewDS8DnTHR6j9yS4VTPLMnkXgZDDQbb2blAQ6ScAg93vzSBausgibWMJhmmhtoxNuaEnPinab5UQlw8fQtBVdgIBJQaMmbcnl2z3cv-ibLWp1qTk9oGcYE/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+068.jpg)
The garden shop where I bought these tags said a ball-point pen works well to emboss the name into the flexible metal. They were right! They also suggested I make a paper map of which roses are planted where, just in case a tag gets lost, or accidentally lopped off by the gardeners, or otherwise goes m.i.a.:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sZ_CNSHTeYwmseVJkpUREWBK2nNHTSXWX_s4wg-rz57ZPZfhyphenhyphenyBUmwzdY-PH_Uux40L9EGA5Q-MZ4AYw4qk4KYaOa5aVdY1SbWL8lQ6MmWl_MZTELqdLN1jQGjF68-NsuDhUr0MVSFw/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+066.jpg)
Well, it's pretty messy. I think I'll rewrite this, or maybe make it a Word document:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhyphenhyphenr5tJnVZHbe2bKsiTb8uDKhtO6RPNKdMPQBdPY3TuPctvOKE0Llw592FuGR-YhHluVk5pWf-B46LgxCyOaQYvr-96G9bnwpyvCyUTONKwYxuRZoo15TXqZAOLeu2LpJ8o3OhWeRdI4/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+069.jpg)
I like that the metal tags are small yet visible:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghVF096JKIiLjl8e7YGZyW98zgCM14yDkT2jKdJ6rUNp_0Og2lzdM9KljNmJ2Jre54cz7WlcDMHaP7OFf9ERZBkodKTPrh2dslB3qTSlIQ496skLo2mb55ckgbR-dbp75gJznAgxZAzQs/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+072.jpg)
They don't distract from the beauty of the bushes:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADIUDcubD4dZVRIkSyRwGOXgVqYeblanBsSUpNlLgF2efY8BnaLMqy_wG-OoYtpRV04jKNKs0FlZufYLRLAot2G3XSONENDbXrT9_wwj_Oewunf-eFX6Zi_05zOYQBGxr6AltO0AvVhw/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+073.jpg)
They're just sorta there, waiting to be asked, "What was this one called, again?":
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOB129rmYhEIH3RJxW_a-FvLhd-mkTcbstotbKIwZH682jrP4zXPS4HMooFqT1QGOdo3kvtNl7MIfqQvmK0hVUzFM59RorGY1g54P8VQW3jMlMLHEVNnry0aL0TXEI6jEL4gmRUY4G_Ik/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+074.jpg)
About a third of the plants came with a metal tag from the grower. They're small and unobtrusive, plus they're embossed metal, too, so they will last a long while:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKjNkScb2k4OVQupgkOVHjOgwB8stA4BkjqQsyvCVc7BpUsDQqjjjD8J4p11xVmMFndG8hoDRtDDZeyNzWDH_eYzIfuY9ZqTuc5A5mEB1o7sYn3KqmQrlwQCBYIRy2RIwq8N_4GXWPeo/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+076.jpg)
The job's done, and I still have tags left over, since the grower's tags were so good. I'll save these for the future.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27usQXT6d_FeCYutBnIewfDhC7R2A3R5hcz9CB_Gu7BzjK4pryy7-8o4TaQRjy7SRvjFc9xLVw7zsalkdtjYVW8Uy8VlHOsH0dDNQS1QhJO2ILX2MWEhsT8touNHTfFCzRz3yK79e_lE/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+085.jpg)
Obligatory glamour shot of pug lying amongst the rose petals:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXCMMlJhi7t56XCYe3OKGAqxwLfSA2ZwgEnJrQ7URmIdhpqy9UWmw_iN8apH-sXO_VTRPSUzpR9ZUrt3aTnvR-Wtos6B12foTeqexJRJKje6u4MteSwJVQZleHX3SjozvGsGdCcKVy1E/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+087.jpg)
Potted cat. I forgot to mention, I'm very good at growing Potted Cat:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vVxVJgObeD3Idn89gWp3UW3Q-4Dn5iZFT_Y79NRf2El-MGpogLdrjXOyrs-rsJO0g_nhRHYuM4JMuyMWsOmw43QEAB7d7euojrqma5iGzrYOu9R85OxWhSbwG2srd8mvO5B2ctR0qEo/s400/Blog+Photos+Dec.+2009+089.jpg)
But do NOT try to tie a tag on this plant. It can get quite irritable.
The garden - stunning! The sun-drunk Pugs and the Potted Cat - precious, precious, precious!!! I have 2 pair of the Foxgloves -- love 'em! (I also use them as regular gloves when its a bit nippy out but not cold enough for my heavy-duty ones). Thanks for sharing!
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