rose bush

We were given this rose bush by a dear friend, and honestly, I don't know much about roses except that they are thorny, have some pretty looking and smelling flowers, and there are lots of different varieties. Needless to say, like most plants in my yard, I plant it, prune it some, give it some food every now and then, and just let them grow. I am not big on maintenance on the yard. I don't have the time, nor inclination, to work out in the yard every day, or every weekend (not withstanding the garden, of course). It is too damn hot here most of the time to do so, and I have xeriscaped my yard so that I don't have to do a lot of maintenance. Don't get me wrong, I like working in my yard. It is calming, soothing, and I like to see the progress of my plants. So when we were given this rose bush, I didn't know what to expect. It kind of got crazy and wild with the growing, so I cut it back FAR about 2 weeks ago. It was nothing but sticks, but still growing. There were a few branches that had died that needed to be cut away. I go to look at it yesterday and it is growing some very pretty leaves! I am not used to red leaves, and there was a very small, not quite full, flowering bud on a lower branch. 

I think it looks pretty good. It survived the trimming and I obviously didn't kill it. I think I'll keep it cut back so it's not so huge. It's kinda difficult to mow around. Those damn thorns catch on your clothes.