A little gift in full bloom
Helena Stokey, 86, smiles Friday afternoon as she looks over the roses along her walkway. She was surprised to see vibrant orange roses emerge where no rose bush was previously planted. “I’ve never had this color. It’s like orange sherbet,” she said with a chuckle.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
These brilliant tangerine orange roses, seen Friday, have appeared along the walkway of Helena Stokey's midtown Coeur d'Alene home where red, white and pink roses come up every year. A pleasantly puzzled Stokey said nothing was previously planted in the spot where the orange roses are growing, and she hasn't planted any new roses in quite some time.
COEUR d'ALENE — Don’t just expect the unexpected.
Embrace it.
Coeur d’Alene resident Helena Stokey, 86, has been pleasantly surprised by the appearance of vibrant, tangerine-colored roses that have emerged among her walkway arrangements of red, white, pink — and otherwise not orange — roses.
“I’ve never had this color," she said with a chuckle. "It’s like orange sherbet."
The midtown green thumb has 51 rose bushes, all different shades of whites, reds and even lavender.
About six days ago, she noticed one of the little bushes was not like the others. Nothing grew in that spot last year, she said, as her walkway roses are planted 4 feet apart. This one burst through weed fabric between where she had planted red and pink roses years ago. Stokey said she has not put down new seeds in some time.
“And then all of sudden, she shows up,” she said. "Where did it come from? I’ll never know that. The seed had to come from somewhere."
Stokey, who has lived at her home since 2005, considers the tropically vibrant roses to be a welcome addition, if not a divine acknowledgement.
“It’s a real gift,” she said. “It’s like God saying to me, ‘OK, look at what you’ve done with all these beautiful roses, now we’re going to give you one you’ll never forget.’”
