Roses are red, at least when they're new

After a pretty bold bloom earlier in the spring, the blossoms on my rose bush were starting to look a bit second hand, especially with the recent heat wave.

So it was time to haul out the tarp and pruning shears and get to dead heading. There were a few groups of new buds showing up already including some that had opened, so the timing was just about perfect to clean things up.

The result looks a bit less rosy, at least for now, but certainly much, much cleaner.

Now I just need to wait for the next wave of blooms.