This rose is the reason why I started a Garden wisdom blog.  This will be the longest blog entry, but it needs to be told, so please sit back and enjoy reading this completely true story:

One Day, in September of 2010, Dr. Tae Yun Kim announced that instead of at Jung Suwon, as usual, class would be at her garden.  Whow!  What a treat!  Right away I knew something special was going to happen!

Once at her garden, Dr. Tae Yun Kim led us to a bunch of rose bushes.  They all looked very scraggly and rugged, as if they had been neglected for a long time, and should be thrown away.

“I saved these for you,” she said, “Close your eyes, and relax, meditate.  Then pick the one that you feel is talking to you.  Then give it your energy, and pray and see what you can do.”

I was headed to this nice little friendly rose bush that had still some leaves and didn’t look too tattered.  But just as I was about to pick it up, I turned around and saw this really tall, big, but totally bare rose bush, that looked completely hopeless.  In my mind I thought, how can this already dead rose bush ever grow again?  But it seemed to cry out to me and so I chose it.

Very carefully we planted our rose bushes, in places Dr. Tae Yun Kim had designated for us.

Here are some pictures of my rose:

As you can see, nothing but some dead sticks, right?

Dr. Kim gave us permission to come and check on our plants every day.

I checked my rose at least once a week.  I watered it.  I fertilized it.  I spent time with it.   After a couple of weeks, everyone else’s rose had some new leaves on it.  Mine?  No change.

No problem, I thought.  I will be patient.  Dr. Kim has taught me to be patient, and so I will be.

One month had passed, and most of the other roses were covered with fresh new leaves, and had new buds.

Mine?  Bare sticks.  Not even the slightest sign of new life.

I started to feel concerned and asked Dr. Tae Yun Kim what to do.  Together, we fertilized and trimmed the rose sticks and prayed.  After 2 months, when all the other rose bushes had flowered profusely and were now slowing down for the winter, my rose hadn’t shown any change whatsoever since I planted it.

None.

Nothing at all.

See?

I started to feel really sad.  I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.  While everyone else raved about the beauty and fragrance of their rose blossoms, I had only bare sticks.

Finally, in January of 2011, on the coldest day of the year, I went to my rose, to say good bye and let it know that it was ok, that we gave it our best shot, and that if it couldn’t grow any more, it would be ok.  I felt sad, like losing a good friend, but I also felt sorry for the dear sticks, and thought they just couldn’t grow any more.

But guess what I found, that very cold day of January 6th, 2011:

The rose “sticks” had new shoots on them!  On the frostiest, coldest day of the winter, it had shoots!

Yes, I cried.  Yes, I told Dr. Kim immediately, and what a celebration it was!

Later, at the end of March, this is how my wonderful plant looked:

and by June, it had the first flower bud!

And finally, in July, I was rewarded with the most beautiful, pink flowers:

Dr. Tae Yun Kim summarized:

“You must never give up.  Whatever you set your mind to, whatever you start – never give up.  Put all your energy in it, and no matter how long it takes, or how bleak it looks, NEVER give up.  See what you would have missed if you had given up? ”

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!