Sunday, April 27, 2014

Busy in the Garden

The weather has been wonderful (it actually rained), and roses are still blooming (pictures coming),  but first, a brief update on a few projects.

William Shakespeare 2000 in its better days

Some of you know I have had a problem this spring with one of my two William Shakespeare 2000 shrubs. It has been in the ground for at least 6 years and growing very well.

This time last year

This year, something seems to have gone wrong. There were several possibilities (a few very scary ones), but I couldn't put my finger on anything definite.

This spring: very little growth, small leaves going senescent, few and small blooms

My mind kept running in endless unproductive circles, and I decided to post some pictures on the rose forum to see if anyone had any suggestions. I realized it would be even more difficult for people to try to pinpoint the problem just looking at pictures and I appreciated greatly the effort some posters made to come up with ideas. At the end of the day, someone pointed out that my rose had a lot of blind shoots (growth not resulting in flowers), and I should prune harder. I pruned harder. Gulp.

I took out a few old canes, and brought the bush down quite a bit (after cutting out blind growth most remaining canes did not have viable bud eyes until this far down). Gardeners of sound mind do this in winter....

 Having survived the agony of subjecting an innocent rose to such drastic surgery so late in the year, I decided to tackle my next big project, Maréchal Niel. It is a lovely tea-noisette that, unfortunately, does not perform well on its own-roots for most people. Mine was absolutely beautiful for the first two years, with gorgeous blooms and clean, almost evergreen foliage.

In its better days

It actually reached the top of a 7-foot arbor and then started on a slow but relentless decline. The blooms balled all the time, there was almost no foliage and no new growth either. I thought I would dig it out and pot it up. Maybe it will grow for me as a big potted shrub, maybe not. My husband took it out today and, in preparation for potting it up, I washed the soil off the roots. Impressive root ball, isn't it?

How did it manage to climb 7 feet? I still potted it up :)


Another thing that kept me busy today was trying to put together my last order for roses with Vintage Gardens. This nursery has been an amazing source of rare roses and kept my collector's spirit alive for years. There are so many treasures that I enjoy in my garden solely due to the efforts folks at Vintage made in sharing these roses. Thank you, Vintage.

Mme Bérard, my favorite Vintage rose


Taischa
 

Ulrich Brunner, fils

Prinzessin Marie von Arenberg

Surville

Mme Plantier

Julia Child and Wild Blue Yonder

Schön Ingeborg


Wild Blue Yonder

Souvenir de Mme. Boullet

Lyda Rose, 'Benny Lopez', Penelope, Crépuscule, Rosette Delizy

Regensberg

Sharifa Asma

Penelope and Crépuscule


Pretty Jessica

Sharifa Asma

Rosette Delizy

Climbing Cécille Brunner with a spray of Lyda

Pat Austin, Buff Beauty on the fence behind, and 'Secret Garden Musk Climber' trying to eat the house

Jude the Obscure

Memorial Day with Buff Beauty

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Saturday, April 19, 2014

The Rose House on the Corner

Our house has acquired a name.

Pat Austin

It's been mentioned to me by a number of different people over the years, such as:

A perennial embrace between Sharifa Asma and Ebb Tide

a lady jogger who stopped by and inquired about a cutting of my white seedling of Purple Pavement (I said I would be glad to dig out a sucker or three, it is marching through my yard)...,

White seedling of Purple Pavement

...many neighbors pausing for a sniff on their daily walks...,

Gloire des Rosomanes/ Ragged Robin


...a complete stranger who wanted to save money by cutting all my roses for a wedding one spring (I said no, sorry)...,

Schön Inbeborg

...a few drivers stopping by the curb and asking the names of this or that rose (one got very intrigued by a rugosa's unusual foliage and on my telling him that it was indeed a rose, cast a jaded glance at my garden and said I obviously don't know what I am talking about)...,


...and, most recently, by a newly arrived lady driving uncertainly through the neighborhood looking for a turn to our local school and stopping to tell me that her twelve-year old daughter said that everybody knows you have to turn by the rose house on the corner.

Duquesa de Peñaranda

It is not an original, or a particularly elegant name. Perhaps there are many other places called "the Rose House", but I am still grateful. I am glad that my little garden has become a local landmark of sorts, and that I am not the only one enjoying the beauty roses have to offer.

Crépuscule

Here are some, blooming now at the Rose House on the Corner.

Roseraie de l'Haÿ

Cynthia Brooke

September Morn



Mme Bérard on the arbor, Colette on the fence, and Imagine underneath

Maréchal Niel

Zéphirine Drouhin

Colette

'Tina Marie'

Break o'Day
Isabella Sprunt

'Benny Lopez'

Chandos Beauty

Lady Hillingdon


'Secret Garden Musk Climber'

Julia Child, Wild Blue Yonder and Hermann Lindecke

'Hoag House Cream'

Carding Mill

Buff Beauty and 'Secret Garden Musk Climber' growing through a Chinese Tallow


Dame Edith Helen

Roses blooming at the Rose House