Cheap roses,,,,,,

Every once in a while I get brave and try out a cheap rose. Some of them at the department stores have strong traditional names, but the quality really isn't as good as the expensive rose. Nala our cat is checking out the one that I bought recently. It is called Iceberg and it is a florabunda rose. I know in my heart that this is probably a good way to throw away four dollars but I will baby it and maybe see it bloom at least one year. The thing we have to do in Iowa because of our confusing borderline zones is to plant them very deep. We are zone 4 for some years and we can be zone 5 on other years. When you look on the zone map of Iowa we are this little special small bubble part that is surrounded by zone 5 and we are suppose to be zone 4. Anyway, we have to plant our roses deep enough to generously cover the graft with soil by three to four inches. Otherwise they freeze out and we get these funny rose foliages from the stock root and it never blooms again. I am also anxious to see if the transplanted roses from my late mothers property will grow and bloom this year. I moved them from southern Iowa to this central northern part of Iowa and I think they are still alive. We have to wait for a few more warmer days to see if the greening starts at the base of the plants.
I also found some other seeds for future planting. I saved zinnia seeds from last year. I plant a water melon for grandpa each year and we get one or two good ones but not many. Also you can see those gourd seeds that I bought new this year. One can paint beaks and eyes on them and turn them into swans. A little corney, but off the wall is ok sometimes. It will be fun to see what happens. Thanks for reading.....