Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Roses Are Blooming...

Spring is finally here, with masses of blooms, vibrant color, wafting fragrance and a high pollen count making allergy medication a staple in my diet.

Zéphirine Drouhin saying hello to climbing Cécile Brunner with Rosette  Delizy watching on at right

The dry, warm and windy weather we've been having made the flush of blooms on roses arrive faster and turn crisp seemingly in a matter of days...

High winds blew some Cécile Brunner's canes into the germander below making for this pretty shot. I do not arrange flowers in my pictures in any way (other than taking off a crispy bloom here and there)

 I have been busy with the camera, but not to much effect: the sun is bright even early in the morning, and I am engaged in an endless frustrating battle against glare and blown highlights.

Crépuscule

 I miss the overcast days we used to have last year...

Golden Celebration engulfing an arbor

But enough complaining. In this rather disjointed post, I have included a few single bloom shots of some not so common roses....

'Old Korbel Gold' is blooming next to a doublefile viburnum

Général Barthelot, a turn-of-the-century hybrid tea, starts out very bright....

...and fades to a reddish magenta

Intermezzo, grown in a pot, leans wearily against a house wall

...although some well known ones somehow sneaked in too:)

Carding Mill

Lady Hillingdon


I have also made a special effort to show at least a few bush shots, much as I dislike them and however  unglamorous they generally are.

Believe it or not, here is a bush shot of my Eugène de Beauharnais. By the size of the blue nierembergia that's trying to overwhelm it you can probably judge just how tiny this rose is:)

I grow a few mostly classic own root hybrid teas in permanent pots where they seem to do much better than in the ground.

Cynthia Brooke with its sumptuous cabbagey blooms. Heinrick Wendland and Dame Edith Helen are behind it.

 There is no root competition and I can fertilize them easily and frequently.

Etoile de Feu, one of my all time favorite roses for its unusual terracota color, elegant growth, clean foliage and strong fragrance. It is at least 4 years old and grows very slowly on its own roots.

Watering in summer is a pain though :).

A lovely curly bloom of Etoile de Feu

My front yard is landscaped mostly with Austins and other modern roses.

Pat Austin contemplating an azalea


 The back is where I keep most of my antiques and other treasures.

'Secret Garden Musk Climber', very prickly and very fragrant. Rather unusually, it blackspots a little almost every spring.

 Here is the raised bed that runs the width of almost the entire back yard.

There are a lot of summer blooming perennials, mostly penstemons, in that bed providing color when many roses are resting

 Left to right, the big roses are Zéphirine Drouhin (in the lawn behind the little pluot tree), climbing Cécile Brunner, Penelope, Rosette Delizy in front of a lemon tree, Crépuscule snaking all along the fence and Angel Face (not, perhaps, a treasure, but great fragrance).

Penelope between Cécile and Crépuscule. 'Benny Lopez' is just starting to bloom at lower left

There are also quite a few little roses tucked in between the big ones.

A cluster of Break o'Day blooms all the way from bud to fully open

 I actually think that good air circulation around every rose (i.e. spacing them out) is not necessary in my arid climate (I can't really say for those who garden with high blackspot pressure).  Also, grouping plants tightly seems to save on water as the ground is almost completely shaded (and mulched).

A bud of my young Sir Henry Segrave. I have recently been asked to share my pictures of this rose with the author of a biography of  Sir Henry who was a pilot in the First World War and held multiple speed racing records afterwards. The rose was introduced a few years after his death.

In a corner of the yard there is a wrought iron arbor with Mme Berard over it. For some reason, this rose does not seem to gain much girth preferring to grow a very few canes ever longer. It blackspots a little and mildews a little, never enough to disfigure it.  It smells delicious and changes in color from flesh, to peach, to shell pink. It sets hips very willingly and provides me with a season's long exercise in climbing the ladder to keep it deadheaded :).

Imagine, Colette and Ulrich Brunner fils are behind it.

Much of the fence behind the arbor is occupied by Colette, one of my prettiest climbers. It has not been very vigorous for me, and not very fragrant either. However, the plant is always clean and the shape and color of the blooms are lovely. It repeats pretty well too.


I hope you enjoyed this rather disorganized tour of a part of my garden. The roses are looking splendid and there is no time like spring to enjoy them. But now I have to go and water the pots again :(

A cane of Penelope covered in blooms, with Crépuscule looking on

20 comments:

  1. Hi Masha, your roses are sooo... beautiful! What a joy to see them blooming again! The raised bed with "the wall of roses" looks absolutely spectacular. Thanks for the photo treat! Here hot dry winds also let to the crisping of some of my roses flowers :-(. Especially the Old Garden Roses like 'Reine des Violettes', 'Grandmother's Hat' are affected. I think in the future in my garden I need to go for roses with a little bit more petal substance. Have a nice rest of the weekend!
    Christina

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  2. So wonderful roses!
    Nice day!
    Crissi

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  3. Masha, wonderful tour in your garden. Your roses are beautiful!
    You write about bright sun and glare but I can say that here the sun rarely shines and even a little heat.
    Yesterday I opened the roses after wintering and upset...
    My rose Margaret Merrill completely lost,has black trunks. I had cut them and left a small stump after inoculation, may it will grow up, I do not know.
    So many difficulties with maintaining roses in winter.
    Have a nice weekend!

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  4. so beautiful, merveillous, a dream !

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  5. So beautiful!!!! They are all beauties but Crepuscule and also Colette are very special, I think. I am longing to my own roses start flowering but I have to wait another 6 weeks.

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  6. I love the peach with purple combinations..its very stricking.

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  7. Oh my gosh, what heavenly bliss! I have to admit I am 'green' looking at all of the roses you have surrounding you. It must be absolutely wonderful to walk around in among all that beauty and the scents, oh my.

    Thank you for sharing ~ FlowerLady

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  8. Wow, Masha! Your roses look stunning! I am so glad you included the bush shots, and the shot of your garden. I love to see roses packed together, and hope my garden will one day be as crowded. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be to be able to sit in your garden, looking at these beautiful bloom, and smelling the wonderful fragrance.

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  9. Ladder climbing to deadhead? You ARE dedicated! I planted roses last fall and this spring. I still have a bit of a wait before I will need a ladder. :)

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  10. Masha, Thank you for that photo tour of your garden. I especially loved the photo of the roses in your back yard raised bed. Simply beautiful!
    I agree that grouping plants closely does save on watering and also on weeding! Enjoy these lovely days of spring. But be careful climbing that ladder!

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  11. Love the shots of your roses and the backyard. Having a bit of trouble reading this post it is very slow loading. Cecille brunner is a favourite of mine. I also have plant allergies and take medication on a regular basis, nothing stops me from enjoying the garden. Always enjoy looking at single rose shots, which you do so well, but seeing shots of your garden is a real treat.

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  12. Wow, that shot of the wall of various types of Roses really puts it in perspective. Your garden must be so spectacular and so sweetly scented! Gorgeous!

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  13. I love seeing your whole garden. It gives me a better sense of your design. Good air circulation is imperative in my humid climate. I really love Crepuscle. Beautiful!

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  14. Oh, how I wish I could see your lovely rose garden live... but that's definitely too far away for me :o). Stop complaining about sunshine, else I send you some snowflake over *LoL*. And when I see your Penelope and compair it with mine, then I see that she really prefers your milder climate. She looks gorgeous in your garden. I guess it smells unbelievable wonderful in your garden at this time of the year.
    Have a lovely day!
    Alex

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  15. Luscious photos of your amazing garden! I especially like the wide shots showing what an enormous bounty of roses you are enjoying. I noticed the doublefile viburnum on the side of one shot - I've got a 'Shasta' doublefile sitting in a pot to be planted next weekend. So excited for the great show that shrub will put on in a few years. Keep up with the allergy meds - I totally understand and am keeping up with mine :-)

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  16. As always, I am just blown away by your lovely garden.... Such beauty.

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  17. Hi Masha!
    I am so impressed with your garden, it looks so lushous and scented! I love all your pictures, I remember that white single musk from last year and I like in particular Break o'Day.
    Alberto

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  18. The first picture and the picture of the raised bed I found to be extra spectacular! So many blooms, just wonderful! I am so glad you included the bush shots. They are beautiful!

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  19. What an amazing garden! Knocks my socks off! What a treat it would be to tour your garden.

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I am so glad you have stopped by!