Beauty Revealed

For several years, this lovely rose has languished in the arms of a family of yuccas, all the result of one yucca I planted from the woods here in Leon County taking hold and then daring anyone to lay hands on them. I know because I have been stabbed by this beast more times than I can count. I've always called my yucca variety Spanish dagger because a neighbor used this name when I asked him about the yuccas growing in our woods. A glance at the yucca variety bounty on Wikipedia baffles me as to the exact name. Beautiful in its own way, the yucca is indeed a mighty foe. The Spanish dagger has rigid leaves which end in knife-sharp points, making the name Spanish dagger right on target. Left to its own, this yucca simply spreads and spreads and spreads. On my trip here this spring, I'd had enough. In fact, I'd had enough a long time ago. This time, I paid the man who periodically helps me with my yard to take a machete to old Spanish dagger. Given some light and the glorious rains of the winter and spring of 2012, the rose is flourishing. It is from a cutting I made from my aunt Edna's old stock more than a dozen years ago. She didn't know it's name and neither do I. Not to be vanquished, though, pups from the yucca are already peeking out of the ground. That's okay. Vigilance is the order of the day, and if my resources continue, my splendid rose beauty will continue to bask and thrive in its rightful share of sunshine and rain.