Saturday, May 7, 2011

"Come into the Garden, My Roses Would Like to Meet You"

I have been really busy this spring, and I am sorry to say I have not taken as many pictures of my roses as I usually do. But here are some glimpses of what my garden has looked like this spring.

Rosette Delizy (Tea, Nabonnand)
I don't know exactly how many roses I have. I lost count at 120 bushes and climbers, and probably have a few more now.

Some of my front yard, counter-clockwise from bottom, Regensberg (Floribunda, McGredy), Heritage (Shrub, Austin), Pat Austin (Shrub, Austin), Gruss an Aachen (Floribunda, Geduldig)
Like most people, I started out with Hybrid Teas and Floribundas.

Classic Woman (Hybird Tea, Meilland), with a bit of Crepuscule (Noisette, Dubreuil) showing in the background.
They worked well in the narrow driveway bed that also serves as a privacy screen from our neighbors, so that was my highest priority when we moved into this house.

Sheila's Perfume (Floribunda, Sheridan) is one of few roses that went well with our oddly-colored house
Later I began buying English roses from David Austin because of their romantic old-fashioned form and strong fragrance.

Crown Princess Margareta (Shrub, Austin), with Golden Celebration (Shrub, Austin) behind it
Austins are complex hybrids that behave in a widely different manner (and not at all the way they are supposed to in England), so I went through quite a few before I ended up with the ones that I like...

William Shakespeare 2000 (Shrub, Austin), one of the best Austins for my climate
 ... and that don't grow into "Jolly Green Giants" with "octopus arms" (and no blooms).

Sharifa Asma (Shrub, David Austin) with Ebb Tide (Floribunda, Carruth) in the background
Later still, I went online to specialty rose nurseries, in search of old, heirloom varieties...

Lady Hillingdon (Tea, Lowe&Shawyer)
...mostly Teas.

Rosette Delizy (Tea, Nabonnand) with Cécile Brunner, climbing (Polyantha, Hosp) in the background
When most of my garden was full, I started growing roses vertically, and added climbers and noisettes.

Mme Bérard (Tea-Noisette, Levet)
My garden is a work in progress - roses are always evaluated for disease-resistance, growth habit, rebloom, color...

A cane of Baron Giraud de l'Ain (Hybrid Perpetual, Reverchon)
 ... and fragrance, and the decisions of where to plant them, or whether to plant them, are made accordingly.

Carding Mill (Shrub, Austin) peeking in from behind a doublefile viburnum
I have always tried not to be snobbish in my rose selections, and, provided the rose performs well, I will grow a Hybrid Tea, or an Austin, or a rare heirloom rose. They are all my children!



Finally, taking care of roses, traditionally considered high-maintenance plants, is much easier if you plant varieties that do well in your climate. There are quite a few roses out there that do not require bi-monthly spraying with fungicide, heavy feeding, or even deadheading.

Penelope (Hybrid Musk, Pemberton)
Pruning will be minimized (or eliminated) if you don't try to squeeze a big rose into a small space, and there are roses that have few or no prickles.

Heritage (Shrub, Austin) with Regensberg (Floribunda, McGredy) and Buff Beauty (Hybrid Musk, Bentall). Heritage has no prickles
Some people who love roses (including me) elect to grow roses that require a lot of extra care because it is a labor of love, not a chore...

Gertrude Jekyll (Shrub, Austin), also known as "Galloping Gerty" for its propensity to throw long prickly canes that need to be pruned off or pegged
 ...but it doesn't have to be like that. Do your research!


56 comments:

  1. What beautiful images of your gardens!!

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  2. Oh my goodness you have a lot of roses! They are all lovely and BIG! I am not a rose connoisseur I only have your standard knock-outs and Lady Banks. You have inspired me to try more.

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  3. In other words there is a rose for everyone! Including me.....

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  4. Thank you, Darla. I am glad you liked them.

    Karin, thank you, and I am glad I have inspired you to try more... Lady Banks is beautiful, and Knock-Outs should be easy-care roses, so you made the right choices.

    Greggo, yes, there is more than one for you.

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  5. Thank you, Jess. I am glad you liked them!

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  6. How gorgeous! You are an inspiration!

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  7. Oh my, I am in awe of your beautiful roses. How wonderful to be able to grow so many.

    FlowerLady

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  8. Thank you, Sheila. You have some incredible roses too!

    Thank you, FlowerLady. One day they might match yours in beauty and abundance.

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  9. Oh how I love your roses & your garden! I visited a famous Rose Garden here in Cape Town today and I have to say ... yours is more beautiful!! Coming to your blog to see what you've posted is always rewarding - for the lovely roses, photos and because I seem to learn something new every time!

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  10. Amazing!! And I love that rose by your house - and your house color also!

    If I am ever out to see Filoli, I hope I can drop in and see the Masha's famous rose garden also :) That will not be for quite a few years though.

    I regularly peg my Rosa 'The Fairy' down to our Hill garden... are there roses that you regularly peg? of certain variety? I see that you wanted height out of many of them.

    Julie

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  11. Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!! Your garden is magnificent!! You are truly a rose expert!! I only have five: three David Austins - William Shakespeare, Sceptre d'isle, and Ginger Syllabub, plus 2 other climbers: Westmoreland and Night Owl. I went through quite a few before I could find ones that tolerated our heat, humidity, and heavy soil. Thanks for the help earlier! :o)

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  12. Oh, Masha, what a beautiful, romantic garden you have full of special energy of love and inspiration! I love all of your roses - each one reveals to me it's own energy as well as alchemy of their creator! What a feast for the censes it must be to walk through your garden...Thank you very much for sharing it

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  13. What a surprise ! What a beautiful roses !!! You have such a beautiful rose garden. Absolutely gorgeous place... I wish I could visit and smell the roses! Just love all your roses, they are gorgeous !
    I very like 'Sharifa Asma'.

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  14. Thank you, Julie, and you are very welcome to stop by if you ever come to the area. I peg mostly old roses that throw long canes, such as Baron Giraud de l'Ain or Mme Isaac Pereire. I fan my climbers out on fences.

    Thank you, Casa Mariposa. You made good choices in your roses - these should all be excellent!

    Thank yo, klaraau01. I appreciate your compliments.

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  15. Thank you, Sandra, I wish you could visit, too... Maybe one day.

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  16. Lovely, lovely. So exciting to see all that lush foliage and so many blossoms. Thank you for sharing with us.

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  17. I love, love, LOVE your wonderful range of colors, like jewels tumbling out over the grass. What a wonderful setting for a family to grow in. Thanks for the lovely post.
    Sandra

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  18. Thank you, NellJean, I am glad you found the time to see this post.

    Thank you, Sandra, for saying the roses look like jewels. You made my day!

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  19. Hi, Masha. Which roses are your most disease resistant? I used to do the whole fungicide spraying thing with HTs, but have discovered that in this climate 10A (Miami), that OGRs require the least maintenance. But I'm always looking for other roses that will take the humidity.

    -- Penny

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  20. Penny, California's climate is very dry, so rose diseases are very different. We have mildew and rust, but rarely the dreaded blackspot which must be the bane of your roses. Noisette roses originated in South Carolina (humid also), and should work well for you. Probably most Teas too. Try Le Vesuve, I have heard lots of good reports about it.

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  21. Wow, Masha, so many roses! I only have knockout roses right now....maybe I will plant some climbers! Love your pictures! Carla

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  22. I think this is my favorite post on a blog ever! Such beauty and inspiration! I bought my first roses a year ago and now have around forty and have many more places for them! I love collecting roses because unlike china which you jus stick in a cabinet - roses get to be played with! Please please please let us see more of your garden photos and any tips on design are greatly appreciated! What a treat tonight to read this post! Thanks- Kelsey at cowgirl culture

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  23. Oh, Masha, Masha, Masha, what a garden! What gorgeous roses! You are incredible in every way. Only one thing wrong. Not enough photos.

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  24. Thank you, Carla, I hope you will and post pictures!

    Kelsey, thank you so much. Wow, forty new roses must be very exciting! I will be watching your blog in the hopes of seeing them grow and bloom. I hope they give you a lot of pleasure.

    Sherry, thank you for your compliments and for making me laugh. I tried to edit out the weeds and lopsided bushes and all that :). With the tree falling down across our back yard, and workers trampling all through our front, my garden just hasn't been that photogenic this spring :(. I will try harder next year...

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  25. Your garden is Paradise ! Wonderful !

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  26. Quel paradis masha!! Je suis admirative du travail que tu as accompli, c'est magnifique.. Je partage ta conception du jardin: les travaux qu'il occasionne ne sont pas à mon sens des corvées.. Lorsque j'achète une plnte ou une rose, je ferai tout pour qu'elle se developpe au mieux dans mon jardin.. Pas de traitements chimique mais un apport de fumure naturelle.. Je ne peux integrer certaines variétes de roses (comme les nabonnands: pas assez rustiques pour ma région). Par contre, j'ai installé de nombres variétés anciennes (jacques cartier, cuisse de nymple, ghislaine de féligonde) et des anglaises (graham thomas, golden celebration, heritage, gertrude gekyll, jayne austin..).
    J'ai craqué dernièrement sur the fairy, ballerina, un rosier pleureur léontine gervais, buff beauty, golden wings...
    J'ai encore tant d'envies et lorsque je vois tes photos, j'ai déjà pris de nombreuses références.. Continue de nous faire rêver masha..
    Bises
    sophie

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  27. Your garden is perfect, Masha ! Perfect roses and everything else ... Thank you, for shoving ,that is posible, to have such a garden ! It is like a dream for me ...

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  28. Hey my roses are finally growing lovely leaves and it won't be long before we get flowers...some were hit rather hard this winter and will take longer...although I will never have roses such as yours, my few will soon give me one of my fav blooms and scents...I just marvel at yours...

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  29. Oh my ~ your roses are wonderful! So much beauty! And a view of the mountains too.

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  30. Merci, Isabelle! I am so happy you liked it.

    Merci, Sophie, you are very sweet. Thank you for telling me more about your garden, I have always admired it on your blog.

    Thank you, Dani, I am glad you liked it.

    Donna, i am glad your roses are coming back. I hope to see pictures!

    Thank you, Sweetbay. I don't have as many rugosas as you do, unfortunately, and your baptisias are substituted by salvias here..

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  31. Dear Masha,
    This is very, very impressing. What a different lots of roses!!!, and...so beautiful. As usually, your photos are exeptional.
    I have enjoyed your reportage of some your roses.
    My compliments Masha!!
    A hint!!!Did you ever considered to make a book of roses??? You know very much about it and...you make very, very beautiful photos from them.
    If you did'nt, think about it!!!
    Lovely greetings, Elly

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  32. This post certainly satisfies my need to see roses.

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  33. Thank you, Elly. I appreciate your suggestion about a book a lot - I am glad you think my roses are a worthy subject! Maybe one day...

    Thank you, Donna. I am glad it does.

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  34. Masha, how everyone loves your Roses, and really, is it any wonder.Your garden looks beautiful. I like how you make reference to Rose snobbery, you are so correct if it looks good, then it is.

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  35. Thank you, Alistair. I am glad you agree on the rose selection criteria - beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not in the pedigree:).

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  36. Wow - I go away for a couple of days and I almost missed this! What a spectacular view of your garden! Magnificent! Love them all, but that last picture is my favorite. Love all the colors. Is that an arbor for a climber? Very romantic! Thanks for the peek!

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  37. Thank you, Holley. Yes, it is an arbor, the empty left side is where baby Marechal Niel is :).

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  38. I have had a long day a work. I'm tired and mentally fatigued. But now I see your amazing rose garden, and I am transported to paradise. Now I shall lay my head down and dream of sweet roses!

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  39. Thank you for your sweet comment! I am so glad my pictures helped.

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  40. You give very good advice when you say do your research. There is often a local public garden you can visit to find good roses for your area and even talk with the rosarian. I do this at the Morris Arboretum in PA.

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  41. All I can say is "Ahhhhh"! Such a beautiful stroll through your garden. The Rosette Delizy really caught my eye, as did the final photo. Amazing capture of the young man enjoying your roses.

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  42. Carolyn, you have a very good point about a public garden, or even neighbors' gardens. Thank you for your comment.

    RR, thank you. The last is my favorite too, I like to think my boys enjoy the roses too, at least sometimes...

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  43. What a wonderland of Roses you have!! I have never seen anything like it!! I will have to be content with my own little space but Roses seem to grow in California like wildflowers!! Loved seeing your Roses!

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  44. Gorgeous pictures of a gorgeous garden! I'm still chuckling over the 'I lost count around 120 roses' comment. No wonder! Your Crown Princess Margareta is so pretty on the arch. I have a couple on trellises that died back to about 8" tall this winter, which was especially bad for my roses. I'll have to get better at winter protection if I expect them to ever grow up the trellis, I guess.

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  45. Thank you, Jeannie, and you are right, California is a great place to grow roses. If only our water bills were a little lower....

    Thank you, VW. I am sorry your roses had a bad winter. I heard from people in Michigan and New England that Austins are some of their best roses. Interesting...

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  46. Masha, your rose garden is incredible. So many roses in different colors and shapes. How nice it must be to live in a house surrounded by all that beauty.

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  47. Thank you, Olga, I am glad you liked it! Your new picture looks great.

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  48. LOVE your garden and all the roses in it! Beautiful. Give urself a pat on the back. Beautiful garden, beautiful roses!

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  49. loved ur page....loved the roses !!!
    Shalu & oc

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  50. Hi,

    Great selection of roses and a very beautful garden.

    About the picture after "Carding Mill" and before the "Penelope" rose.(i.e. the orange blend) which rose is that ?

    thanks,
    iyadh

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  51. Beautiful I just got my Sheila's perfume in the mail and its way too cold to plant. I have to wait 2 days for the weather to be decent.

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  52. Hi Masha
    Wondering how your Gertrude Jekyll is going. I am thinking of pegging mine and would like to know if it was successful.
    Always a great blog with stacks of information. Keep up the good work!

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  53. Absolutely gorgeous. I particularly liked Classic woman…that will go on my list. Have a look at a very new rose called
    St. Saviour, named after the Anglican Cathedral in Goulburn NSW Australia and grown for the Goulburn Centenary. Crimson, fading to mauve and lavender, has a medium perfume. Grows in bunches and is disease and pest resistant.

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I am so glad you have stopped by!