Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Mad, Mad Pernetianas

I wonder if I will ever run out of excuses for disappearing from the blogosphere for such long periods of time. :) A new school year has begun (too soon!) and kept me busy and anxious for a while.

Still, I somehow managed to add another ornamental oregano, "Amethyst Falls", to my no longer small collection

 In the garden, I was trying to decide whether I could possibly acquire a few more Pernetiana roses while they are still available.

Angelita Riaux, one of several Pernetiana roses no longer sold commercially. Photo taken at the Heritage Rose Garden

I corresponded with a local nursery (Burlington) about their availability and grafting options, waiting all the while for a final sale at Vintage hoping they would release some rare beauties from their collection (they didn't).

Àngel Guimerà, another Pernetiana that has disappeared from commerce. Photo from the Heritage

At the same time, I was trying to whittle down an order from a third nursery from the 9 roses I would really like to about two that might, if I allow myself to be wildly optimistic, still fit into my garden. And then there is the fall rose sale at the Heritage garden to look forward to...

Duquesa de Peñaranda
 On top of it all, I was forcing myself to come to terms with the fact that, if I am really honest, I have no options left to grow any more roses well.

I have resigned myself to a permanent pot ghetto after I ran out of room in the ground. Discovery with Intermezzo in the background

 In (admittedly rare) moments of depression I think the only way for me to expand my rose collection would be to become a caryatid and stack the new ones on top of my head.

At Hearst Castle
But back to the roses. Among rosarians, the word "mad", when not applied to rose collectors, is most often used in describing the colors of gallica roses. They are called "mad" because their blooms can be striped, mottled, and spotted in various shades of purple and pink (see my post on gallicas).

Alain Blanchard (gallica) at the Heritage
 Lately I have begun to wonder whether the same adjective should be applied to Pernetianas....

'Lundy's Lane Yellow', a found Pernetiana shows muted colors in cooler weather

 ....and for the same reason.

'Lundy's Lane Yellow' becoming much more vibrant in the heat

 Pernetianas, named after the French rose breeder Pernet-Ducher, come in flame colors, and, in my mind, they certainly rival gallicas for  truly mad color combinations.

Heinrich Wendland
However, unlike gallicas, which usually have the good sense to produce blooms in complimentary colors, Pernetiana blooms are rarely color coordinated.

Hot terracota orange combine with cool pink on these blooms of Mme. Edouard Herriot

 As Pernetianas in my garden mature and I have more time to observe them, the bursts of color in their blooms often make my head spin. I wonder sometimes what a typical flower really looks like.

Heinrich Wendland. Each bloom is different

Someone on a gardening forum once asked why we grow roses. My answer would be because they are the most changeable and unpredictable of plants in my experience.

Condesa de Sástago
My camellias are just as beautiful as my roses, but year after year as they come into bloom I know exactly what they will look like. With roses I never know for sure.

Étoile de Feu
Pernetianas are the epitome of this changeability, for which I have come to love them.

Heinrich Wendland
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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Companion Plants for Roses at Berkeley Botanical Gardens

We went to Berkeley Botanical Gardens this weekend. It is a long drive for us, which is why we don't go as often as I would like.

A spectacular grouping of salvia confertiflora. I was so impressed I bought a plant on my previous visit, but it  is not frost-hardy in my Sunset Zone 15 garden, so I lost it to winter.

On the other hand, the gardens have not become too familiar and there is always a surprise discovery or two.

I am pretty sure these masses of zinnia peruviana all throughout the cacti collection are new. Otherwise I am sure I would have noticed them before :)

 I never seem to leave their propagation shop empty-handed either.

This time, Marshall's Memory oregano went home with me. To the best of my knowledge, I now have all varieties of ornamental oreganos in my garden.

 My plan was to start at the rose garden and work my way back.

Marchesa Boccella

 It was a good plan but it didn't amount to anything because I never left the roses.



They were almost all in bloom and so were hundreds and hundreds of companion plants.


I knew then what this blog post would be about :).




 I spent hours going around the garden carefully looking at the plantings and trying to take as many pictures as I could.

Mme. Berkeley


Kathleen


Many tags were either too far away to read or missing altogether, and there is practically no information on this particular collection provided by the Botanical Gardens.

Cornelia with Cupid's Dart and coreopsis

 With all these caveats, here is the best I came up with.

Graham Thomas and hollyhock

 This year the garden seemed to feature more perennials, and some spectacular annual flowers I was looking forward to seeing were missing (cleomes were most conspicuously absent).

But there was still a profusion of cosmos flowers

 Vertical accents were left almost entirely to hollihocks and foxgloves...


Graham Thomas

...with a few taller verbenas scattered here and there.

La Marne with purple verbena bonariensis and hollyhocks.

 I grow all of these companion plants in my garden, and they seem to do well in the same cultural conditions that are necessary for roses.

More Graham Thomas

Most impressive (and at peak bloom) were the low-gowing perennials and herbs.

From left, a heliotrope, an ornamental oregano (most likely Marshall's Memory or Hopley's Purple), English lavender (lavandula angustifolia) and brown-eyed susan (rudbeckia triloba).

They look wonderful with roses, but of the ones I grow, lavender and ornamental oregano especially cannot tolerate the amount of water that many roses require to bloom.


In this garden, roses are on drip irrigation, and hoses are laid to keep water away from less thirsty plants.

Tea roses with a border of lavender

A planting of the blue heliotrope (heliotropium amplexicaule) and several petunias vining enthusiastically through the heliotrope and into the roses was so exuberant it stopped me in my tracks.


I don't grow either of them: petunias look ragged with overhead irrigation and require vigilant applications of snail bait. The particular species of heliotrope planted in this garden seemed to spread everywhere making me wonder if it was perhaps invasive. I do not remember seeing it in nurseries.

Lots of heliotrope (with coreopsis 'Moonbeam')

Most of my garden has sprinkler irrigation, so not all these companion plants would work for me.

Large clumps of Cupid's Dart (catanache caerulea 'Amor Blue'). Mine grows well in the drier parts of the garden.

 However, I came away determined to plant more coreopsis. Despite its bright colors, drifts of these small cheerful flowers create a soothing, painting-like effect of broad bold brushstokes.



And panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay to crown it all. Who could wish for more?

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Étoile de Feu and Sunday Rose Portraits

I have been enjoying my little pernetiana rose, Étoile de Feu, very much lately.



At three and a half years old, it has finally matured enough to dazzle me with some amazing blooms.



 I am becoming convinced that, unlike many roses which shut down in summer, pernetianas thrive in the heat and sunshine. These blooms of Étoile de Feu show richer colors and a higher petal count compared to spring.



Although I have seen a few vermilion blooms like the one in the picture above, most blooms start terracota orange....



... and fade to lovely sunset colors. One of my favorite roses.



To make up for another long absence, here is a quick tour of some rare beauties blooming at the Heritage now. I hope you like them.

Jeannie Deans (?)

Coral Hume
Little Murmaid
A row of Centenaire de Lourdes

White Cécile Brunner

Jet Spray

Lady Ann Kidwell

Mme Alfred Carrière

Mrs. F. Hope Thompson

Olala

Lindee
Mateo's Pink Butterflies
Mrs. Dudley Cross
'Bermuda's Kathleen'
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