Impossible just means you have to exercise patience. Study hard. Be ready when you stand at the crossroad of opportunity and preparation.
Three years ago, I chanced upon the possibility to import from a selection of Peter Beales Roses in the UK. There was little more than thirty days to complete the process, or I would not be allowed to help a dozen specimens immigrate here. David Varnam, formerly of Congressman Gary Miller's District Office, coached me through the process.
To get my license meant hustling over hurdles: national to state to local: then reverse back to where I began. To import a rose from the UK, first the grower raises the plantling for a couple years under agricultural inspection. Then, if they pass, there is a brief interlude where, if you are prepared, you may legally import during the bare-root season. You need an import license. The plants will have to be cared for in pots. in solitary segregation away from landscaped areas. You must agree to two years more agricultural inspections stateside. If one of the babies succumbs, the importer agrees to pay for the autopsy.
With less than a handful of days to go, I was approved.
This lovely little rose is one of the British ex-pats which arrived via the port in San Francisco. For two years, my darlings lived in the required isolation back where rabbits, squirrels and coyotes take their playtime. This spring, these new citizens are free to assimilate with the rest of the garden.
The British buds yawned open a bit after the American-born roses- adding continuum to the wave of color which washes my blessed plot of land. It is like living in a fairytale. This is the first time the clematis gave a big blooming kiss to roses like they do in photographs.
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteThat was a great piece about your English rose! I remember you showing it to me and there it sat across the "valley" from your backyard as it was in isolation. I wondered how in the heck you kept the critters from eating it! Does it have thorns? So glad it survived as it sounds like a very costly process! Maybe you missed your calling and should have been a grower for selling.:):)
I can't place that photo at the bottom. It looks like water but I can't imagine what it could be in your back yard with the blue bird bath. Is it your yard or a photo of another that you inserted?
You are amazing, girl!
Thanks for sharing! Oh yes and you forgot to mention the inspectors who would drop by to see that you were folliwng your import rules and keeping it in isolation.
Hugs, Trisha
Good morning Trisha!
ReplyDeleteThe roses were in pots and surrounded by wire fencing for protection.
The birdbath is tucked into a little corner next to Gerry's shed. Because the water is shallow- this particular one is a favorite for butterflies.