What To Do?

Our rose bushes are loaded with roses! The roses produce numerous buds on one stem and each bud blooms at a different time, sort of on a rotation. I don’t like to take any cuttings for one bloom if it means sacrificing three to six buds. The pink roses have also given more blooms than I could possibly pick. At the same time, I want to somehow use the blooms for more than just to have something “pretty” on the counter. What to do? What to do? Make stuff of course! This morning I began two projects; homemade extract and homemade rose water.


So far, here is what I’ve done:
Collected the petals from the roses that are nearly spent.
Washed and spun dry the petals.
I filled two jars with petals and covered them with vodka to make extract. (Within three hours the color has nearly leached completely and left a soft pink hue.) Visit my recipe page for my full flower extract recipe.
The remaining petals went into a pot and got covered in spring water. I simmered the petals until they lost their color. And allowed the water to cool. This is rose water but it’s my first attempt so I may drain and add more petals and repeat. It sure smells lovely!
I also picked roses that have a single bloom we can enjoy as something “pretty” but the petals can also be used to make rose sugar or for candying later.


Please share in the comments section if you do anything with your roses besides putting them in a vase.