Friday, March 29, 2013

Some Rare Roses and the Enemy at My Door

Spring is here already, and my lilacs, lavenders and fruit trees are in full bloom.



All my roses are a dense forest of buds (a very heartening sight), and a first few blooms are popping up. Here they are:


Sutter's Gold

Sutter's Gold is an own-root hybrid tea, which I think I got from Vintage Gardens a few years ago. I love the warm and changeable colors on the blooms. However, they last only a few hours, rebloom is not at all fast, and the fragrance, while powerful, is quite fleeting for me. Still, when a bloom is newly open, it is a gem. The plant stays very clean for me too.

Sutter's Gold

Miss Rowena Thom is another plant from Vintage. I bought it primarily to ensure against extinction: it is a very rare rose, and Vintage is going out of business. It turned out to be quite vigorous, an unusual development in an own root classic hybrid tea. The blooms are often, but not always, well formed, of a dullish pink with a yellow base. It always has good fragrance for me.

Miss Rowena Thom

 My rampant climbing Cecille Brunner has been jointly tamed by my neighbor, me and squirrels (who are partial to tender new shoots). It looks set for a spectacular spring display and I am convinced  that keeping it in bounds is a good thing :).

Cl Cecille Brunner

 I have an old plant of Chrysler Imperial that came to me with the house as a collection of old dying canes. I have done my best with it, but it has not become as vigorous as I would like it to be. Still, its blooms are so beautiful and fragrant that I don't have the heart to dig it out. I am now growing a young plant of Chrysler Imperial next to the old one, and am hoping it will eventually take over and provide me with more of these gorgeous fragrant blooms for cutting.

Chrysler Imperial

Maréchal Niel, a tea-noisette, opened its first shyly nodding bloom. It seems to be packed with petals and fragrance. I love this rose not only for the lovely blooms, but also for its restrained (so far) growth and clean foliage. This rose is completely evergreen for me and carries no disease.

Maréchal Niel

And finally, another rose from Vintage, Duquesa de Peñaranda, a Pernetiana. It is still a baby but shows great promise I think. I wanted to have it for a number of years but only managed to order it last fall :).

Duquesa de Peñaranda

Despite all the beautiful blooms, not all is well in the garden. Brown and green, flying and hopping, aphids have descended on the roses in full force.


Even though they are more a nuisance than a serious threat, I confess it makes me angry to see them up close, snouts in a rose cane, bottoms up in the air, eyes half closed in ecstasy, sucking sap from the new growth.


Oh well, at least their predators are out in force too. I am glad someone thinks them a tasty morsel.



19 comments:

  1. It's Rose time in your garden! Yay! The macros are eye-popping! And I just love 'Sutter's Gold'! And actually Chrysler Imperial looks pretty leaning against the garden wall. Very romantic.

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  2. What a beauty you are sharing which I love to see. Overhere we may be happy if the roses do survive. We have the coldest Marchmonth since 1964. I think we have roses not earlier as July when the weather does'nt change. But we have your lovely photograph's to keep dreaming what is going to come hopefully.
    Have a wonderful Easter Masha.

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  3. What beautiful macro shots. I love the one with the Aphids. Gorgeous work. Have a lovely weekend.

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  4. Masha, I thought own-root hybrid tea don't exist! It's wonderful, I will try to buy those, I suppose they could be hardy in our climate.
    I get angry when see aphids on my roses too and use chemical treatment.
    Happy Easter!

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  5. "The vocation of a rose is to exhale scent; for that reason do we plant roses in our garden. But a rose on its own exhales a sweeter scent than we could ever demand of it. It craves for nothing else in life."

    - Isak Dinesen (pen name of Countess Karen Blixen), from "A Country Tale," in "Last Tales"

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  6. I have never seen such an up-close view of aphids! They do look like they're enjoying themselves! Your roses are gorgeous. Your Duquesa is very pretty, and Chrysler Imperial looks fabulous!

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  7. To rozkosz patrzeć na pięknie kwitnące róże, tym bardzie, że u nas kwiatów nie widać. Mamy zimę, zamiast wiosny. Zdjęcie z mszycami jest świetne, ale mszyce nie są miłe. Dobrze, że są też biedronki. Życzę wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych.
    Is a delight to look at the beauty of blooming roses, the more that u can not see us flowers. We have winter, rather than spring. Photo of aphids is great, but the aphids are not nice. Well, that is a ladybug. I wish you a happy Easter.

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  8. Me parece hermosas " duquesa de Peñaranda" ¿Donde la has conseguido?
    Te deseo un muy feliz Domingo de Pascua

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  9. This really is wonderful article ! I simply love’d it !

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  10. Your photos are a real joy for my snow pained eyes :o). No spring in sight here at all :o(. Love your roses and know your enemies only too well.
    Have a great day!
    Alex

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  11. Bravo! Great photos. I never even knew that aphids had eyes!

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  12. I hate aphids, too. Thankfully there are predators that will eat them but they're so irritating in the meantime. Gorgeous rose photos, as usual! I can hardly wait for mine to bloom.

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  13. Masha, I am as happy as the aphids to see the return of your Roses.

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  14. Never know what you will find when you take a close look! Beautiful photos!

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  15. Lovely photos and gorgeous roses, Masha. I chuckled to read your description of snouts, bottoms and eyes half closed in ecstasy, sucking at sap. Who wouldn't? I like your humour even when under duress and fuming away.

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  16. Great roses! Your photography skills are awesome!

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I am so glad you have stopped by!