Tomatoes…Seriously

April 24, 2013April 23, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Mention tomatoes to any veggie gardener and stand back! From heirloom seeds to cages, those of us who grow tomatoes take it very seriously. And, why shouldn’t we, tomatoes are valuable… Anything that starts out as a love apple and ends up on my beloved BLT and Tacos The Mom Way …. well that’s serious.

Every year I go into Tomato Frenzy … trying decide which ones to grow that taste the best and produce the most in my limited space. (We will not talk about the fact that I seem to have an unlimited amount of space for roses!) but, back to the tomato…

Last year I asked my garden friends on Twitter and Facebook to tell me their favorite tomatoes. My goal this year is to plant 5 regular sized tomatoes and 3 patio tomatoes. But, my resolve is crumbling and my mouth is watering.

A Favorite tomato QUOTE

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” – Lewis Grizzard

Recommendations from some SERIOUS TOMATO GROWERS

TOMATO TRIVIA … Did you know that?

When the tomato was introduced to Europe in the 1500s, The French called it “the apple of love.” The Germans called it “the apple of paradise.”
Thomas Jefferson first ate a tomato in Paris and sent seeds back to America.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans eat between 22-24 pounds of tomatoes per person, per year.
Heinz released it’s first bottled ketchup in 1876.
Tomato juice is the official state beverage of Ohio.
Tomatoes are a natural antioxidant and high in Vitamin C.
In 1897 Joseph Campbell came out with condensed tomato soup.
The “Hornworm” can eat an entire tomato plant in ONE DAY.

Do you have tomato stories? Ever get in to a tomato frenzy? Come on, you can tell me!

Rose Parade: The Grande Dame

April 23, 2013April 23, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

The Grande Dame in my garden Summer 2012

The Grande Dame is a lovely and very fragrant hybrid tea.

Here’s what Weeks Roses has to say about this 2011 release…

Grande Dame… 

Everything old is new again … or is it the other way around?

Here’s a clean mean flowering machine whose big bountiful beauties reek with old rose romance, style & fragrance. Each lovely blossom invites you to bury your nose…to swoon from the perfume of the ‘old time’ roses of your dreams. A big vigorous ‘shrubby’ bush whose nodding clusters, abundant deep-green leaves & low-thorned cutting stems provide a perfect touch to a landscape or bouquet.

Height / Habit: Tall/Upright & bushy
Bloom / Size: Full, old-fashioned, in nodding clusters
Petal count: Over 30 broad petals
Parentage: Meredith x Wild Blue Yonder
Fragrance: Intense old rose
Hybridizer: Carruth – 2011
Comments: A modern antique for all climates.

Mixing old and new is what my garden is all about!

Here is the Grande Dame in my garden last summer. Stunning!

I now have 3 of these lovelies!

Rose Parade: Roseraie de l’Hay

April 19, 2013April 6, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Roseraie de l’Hay is a rugosa rose introduced in 1901 and was named for the French rose garden of the same name.

Technically rugosa roses are species roses native to eastern Asia, but to me they are a bit of heaven on earth.

I have several of these beauties in my Zone 5b garden. When these roses are blooming our entire garden is filled with their beautiful fragrance. If someone new visits our garden during this time, the first question is always, What is that?

In addition to beauty and fragrance, the upside to rugosa roses–they are tough, trouble free and need very little maintenance. But, you need some room because these beauties grow to be around 6′ X 5′ in my garden. An extra bonus … rugosas produce large red-orange rose hips that are very high in Vitamin C and I am told make great jelly. We just let the birds enjoy them.

Roseraie de l’Hay is a good repeat bloomer for me, but nothing compares to that first bloom of early summer … see video below!

USDA Hardiness Zones 3 – 9.

Rose Parade: Francis Meilland

April 12, 2013April 11, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Star Roses and Plants award winning rose!

Here’s how they describe it…

Francis Meilland® is a tall Hybrid Tea rose with a very large bloom, good exhibition form and strong fragrance. It is a multiple award winner in Europe for disease resistance as well as aesthetics. It is one of the first Hybrid Tea roses to win the prestigious ADR contest in Germany. 2013 AARS winner.

This remarkable rose bears the name of a remarkable rose breeder, in honor of his 100th birthday — the legendary breeder of the Peace rose.

My friend, Chris, The Redneck Rosarian, says this rose grew to about 9ft in his garden last year. Wo…. I ordered two this year from Edmunds and they are planted in my new raised exhibition bed Mr. G built for me. I am so excited to see how they grow!

Tall, disease resistance, beautiful fragrance and beautiful form … I hope I have some ready June 15 to enter in the Indianapolis Rose Society’s Rose Show!! Fingers crossed.

Rose Parade: Peace Rose

April 8, 2013April 29, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

The Peace Rose is one of the most famous and beloved roses of all time. I had this rose once upon a time, in fact … it is one of the first roses my son gave to me– which made it very special. However, during one of our particularly harsh Indiana winters, we lost it.

SUMMER SALE…
Last summer I saw an extremely healthy Peace Rose on the Lowes sale table. I thought it was time I had a Peace Rose again.

THE DETAILS…

Yellow blend Hybrid Tea
Bred by Francis Meilland (France, 1935)
Introduced in US by Conard-Pyle (Star Roses) on April 29, 1945 as ‘Peace’
Strong fragrance
Very large, full (26-40 petals), cupped, high-centered bloom form
Blooms in flushes throughout the season.
Height of 4′ to 6½’ (120 to 200 cm)
Width of up to 3′ (up to 90 cm)
USDA zone 5b and warmer
Prune lightly or not at all

AN ALL AMERICAN..
The Peace rose was awarded the prestigious All-American Rose Selections Award (AARS) for 1946, the only rose to receive this honor that year.

HISTORY FROM WIKIPEDIA…

It was developed by French horticulturist Francis Meilland in the years 1935 to 1939. When Meilland foresaw the German invasion of France he sent cuttings to friends in Italy, Turkey, Germany, and the United States to protect the new rose. It is said, that it was sent to the US on the last plane available before the German invasion, where it was safely propagated by the Conard Pyle Co. during the war.

The adoption of the trade name “Peace” was publicly announced in the United States on 29 April 1945 by the introducers, Messrs Conard Pyle Co. This was the very day that Berlin fell, officially considered the end of the Second World War in Europe. Later that year Peace roses were given to each of the delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco, each with a note which read:

“We hope the ‘Peace’ rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace”. -Wikepedia

What a beautiful history!

If you are looking for this rose, check with these suppliers.

Daffodils and Memories

April 5, 2013March 9, 2014 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

From the tiny Tete e Tete to the gigantic yellow trumpets … I have always loved daffodils. They scream spring!!

Daffodils are perennial, increase eagerly and are wonderfully deer and rodent proof.

Four years ago they became even more important to me. We lost a beloved family member on March 19, just as the daffodils were blooming. Uncle Tony (Mr. G’s brother) heroically battled cancer for 20 years. At 49 years of age, it was much too early to lose him. Uncle Tony was a rare and special person … extremely creative, rock solid in his faith, a lover of people, a gardener AND a lover of spring & daffodils.

Just before his death when we were visiting with him, he mentioned wanting to get out in his garden and in particular wanted to see the daffodils blooming. That did not happen.

In the fall of that year, I individually wrapped hundreds of daffodils in burlap, tied them with a jute bow and gave them away to anyone who wanted to plant daffodils in Tony’s memory and so many did!

Each year people give me reports on Tony’s daffodils and I know he is remembered.

He was just too special to forget.

Here are a couple of favorite family pictures….

Uncle Tony, Mr. G and our son Matt when we was about 4

So many of our family memories are tied to plants and gardening. Here are a couple of other posts about family members and gardens…

Memories of my Mom

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Do you have plants that hold special memories for you?

Rose Companions: Celebrating Over Achievers

April 3, 2013April 2, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Since my garden style is cottage gardening, companions play a key role along with “all those roses.” There are some plants in my Zone 5 garden that are wonderful rose companions, but I really have to keep an eye on them. I affectionately call them my over achievers. They can and will take over! However, I have to say that after 2 years of extremely hot and extremely dry conditions, I am very grateful for my over achievers. They perform beautifully–even when other plants are giving up.

I don’t know what this summer will bring, but even if it is H O T and D R Y again, these are some plants I will be able to count on to be companions to my roses.

Top 7 Over Achievers…

#7 Daisies: A determined and prolific bloomer in most any condition. And as we learned in You’ve Got Mail, they are the “friendliest flower”!

Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flowers? -Kathleen Kelly, You’ve Got Mail 🙂

#6 Black-eyed Susans: Bright, dependable and beautiful in mass.

#5 Catmint: Low, sprawling and brings in the bees!

#4 Autumn Joy Sedum: Truly low maintenance and they say to hot, dry conditions, “Bring it on. We can take it!”

#3 Yarrow: It comes in pinks, yellows, white, reds, lavender and on and on. Great to hug up to and around other flowers and roses and fill in around the edges of borders. Perfect as filler in rose arrangements.

NOTE: Recently I interviewed Baldo Villegas (leading expert for the ARS on rose insects and diseases — entomologist, gardener, horticulturalist and self professed rose nut) on Rose Chat Radio. One of the many wonderful things he said about companion planting as it pertains to the over all health of roses and other plants, was that he considered Yarrow to be one of the premiere companion plants for roses! Listen to the his entertaining and informative interview HERE.

#2 Moonbeam Coreopsis: Easy, breezy, long blooming and beautiful. Love Love Love! There are so many varieties of coreopsis … check them out!

Moonbeam Coreopsis around pink rose... — Moonbeam Coreopsis around pink rose…

Moonbean Coreopsis up close and personal

#1 Feverfew: Tiny little daisy-like flowers that are great fillers in rose arrangements!

Do you have plants in your garden that are over achievers —- one day they are all over the place and you are ready to “shovel-prune.” Then the next day they are glorious and you think you can’t live without them?