Fireworks and Fragrance

Link | July 1, 2016July 22, 2016 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

In life and in gardens the right companions can make the difference. They can make us stronger, cover up our short comings and enhance our beauty.

My garden style is cottage gardening …. I grow everything from trees and shrubs to herbs and roses. These garden companions work beautifully together to give me just what I want—continuous beauty. In fact, once we get through one of the midwest’s hard, cold winters, I am looking for fireworks and fragrance. Nothing adds the fireworks and fragrance like roses.

In April, lilacs give me beauty and fragrance that garden dreams are made of however, in a few weeks they are finished — for a year. Forsythia make a huge showing too— bringing all that yellow sunshine into our world—for a few weeks. Just as I am saying goodbye to those lovely shrubs, along comes the Rugosa Roses and Old Garden Roses with an explosion of blooms that fill the garden and many vases to the brim with beauty, fragrance and over the top charm. While most of the old garden roses only have one bloom per season (about 4 weeks), many of the rugosas don’t stop with just one bloom cycle and will give you at least a few fragrant blooms throughout the growing season.

Just as the rugosas are taking a break and the one-time blooming old garden roses are finished for the season, here come the easy care roses I call garden roses (sometimes referred to as shrub roses). These power bloomers go to work and believe me their bloom season will continue all the way to fall. There is no shrub or perennial that gives me season-long bloom like the garden roses and paired together, they work their cottage charm.

Rugosas putting on a show in my garden!

Whether you are like me and have have lots of space, or you have a few nooks and crannies you would like to brighten or have containers on a balcony that need some punch, there is a garden rose for you. Garden roses come in all sizes and colors and will take no more care than any other plant or shrub in your garden. Give them sunshine, water, a bit of fertilizer, a quick trim of the spent blooms, then just stand back and enjoy. (And have your vases ready to fill and share.)

When deciding on companions for your roses, the first thing to consider is compatible growing conditions and here are two companions that have their relationship all worked out and have become a match made in heaven… roses and clematis!

Etoile de Violette and New Dawn Climber…

Here are some easy care, power blooming shrub roses that fill my garden with beauty and work well with all of the other plants that catch my fancy.

Petit Pink… This small shrub from the Proven Winners OSO Happy series is constantly happy in my garden covered in these dainty pink flowers. We can thank David Zlesak for this amazing shrub!

Music Box and her companions… This is a lovely blooming machine from the Ping Lim’s Easy Elegance Collection. Starts out creamy yellow and adds more pink as it matures.

Sunrise Sunset… also from the Easy Elegance Collection paired with Double Red Knockout

The Generous Gardener… One of the best and most disease resistant David Austin roses I have ever had!

Peach, Apricot and Red Drift Roses… These beauties from Star Roses and Plants grow low and spreading fitting nicely in the front of a border but they also do equally as well in a container. These are super blooming garden roses.

Quietness… This lovely Buck Rose is a part of the Earth Kind series and is one of the most beautiful bloomers in my garden. If it can make it through the rigors of the Earth Kind testing program and is considered hardy for your zone… take a chance! Did I mention it is very fragrant!!

Quietness with her lily companions…

Beverly HT from Kordes... Beautiful, sustainable and fragrant. Big winner at the Biltmore International Rose Trails. Love it!

Belinda’s Dream and her companions… This is another rose from the Earth-Kind series. This rose grows big and strong in a container on my deck and is rarely without beautiful and fragrant blooms.

Cherry Pie… The amazing bloomer below is from the Proven Winner’s OSO Easy collection. This picture is of a three-year-old rose in my herb garden. What started out as a tiny test rose, is now a show stopper. She has more than proven herself to me!

The rose is our national floral emblem and
the most popular and beloved flower!

So, if you have shied away from roses in the past, thinking they are divas that take more time and energy than you have … Think again!

It’s not just hair styles that have changed since the 80s… The new Millennium brought us new classes of easy care, sustainable garden roses and we are getting more and more every year.

Maybe it’s time to dress up your shrub borders and add more blooms to your flower beds with the new rose kids on the block–they will bring the fireworks!

Rose Buzz: Poseidon Floribunda

Link | January 15, 2016January 10, 2016 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

If you are looking for a lovely lavender rose to add to your garden this is the one! I love the soft color. It pairs so beautifully with all the pinkness that goes on in my garden! 😃

The blooms on this beautiful Kordes rose are large, full, ruffly and fragrant. Win. Win. Win. Win.

This rose grows tall and narrow in my garden so I have 5 growing close together for a more dramatic look.

I have read that it is hardy in Zones 5b – 9 and I have also read recommendations that it does best in Zones 6 – 9. While officially my garden is in Zone 5b, the last 3 years that I have grown this rose, the winters have all been very different from each other! #crazyweather

This rose is one of the most disease resistant roses in my garden, which is just the icing on the cake as far as I’m concerned!

I checked and Chamblee Roses has it! Read more or purchase here.

I think this blog post should carry a warning–#excessivepictures! But, I just love taking pictures of this rose! 🙂

Do you grow Poseidon or have other recommendations for lavender roses?

Let us know.

🐝🐝🐝

Adventures in watering…

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

This year I have talked a lot about water in the garden. Mainly because we have had so much rain. Seriously, in my area we set a record for rain in July … breaking a record that was set in 1835. That’s a lot of rain.

When you have as many plants as I do, water is very important. Not only is it needed for plants to survive–roses just happen to really like it! I will tell you that I love hand watering my roses. I like to be up close and personal with them and watering is a great time for that. I even find it very relaxing! However, when you have as many as I do, that is not always possible, so a couple of years ago I began to dream of a “system” of water. One that would provide water to some of my garden areas … not all … just some. Water that came at just the right time, in just the right amount and was programmable with a timer!!!

My engineer, Mr. G, started researching some simple solutions. One of the main criteria for the solution was that it could be easily moved. He knows me very well and how I love to move plants around!! If you are a gardener you totally get that! 🙂

Believe it or not, we decided that this would be the year we would take the “plunge” and add a “system” of water to some of the garden areas. Dream come true … pushing some buttons, setting a timer. The roses were going to love it. I was going to love it.

But it just kept raining. And raining. And raining. No need to push any buttons. And, the roses loved it.

While it rained, Mr. G brought home pieces and parts of water systems for me to choose from! I learned about different sprinkler heads, shrublers and timing systems.

I’ve been excited to get things set up and geek out over water flow direction, water amounts, etc.

Finally we have a dry week and then another dry week. And scorching temps! The time had come! This week was our driest week of the summer and I was ready to set that timer, push a few buttons and watch water come at just the right time, in just the right amount. Big week! Great right?

Well last night was the ultimate in the water adventure so far … at 10 :30 pm, I jumped up out of my chair and in somewhat of a panic I asked Mr. G if I could have his biggest flash light. He looked at me with a look that said “what are you up to now!” I exclaimed, “I need to turn off my timer!!! It had been pouring rain all day and I feared my great new “system” was about to drown my babies!

Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for the rain–so much more nourishing than what will come from my “system,” but know this … when the rain stops and the drought comes, I am prepared! I am already! I am eager! …to push the buttons on my timer and smile! Especially on those extremely busy days when there is just not enough time to give each one of them my attention. 🙂

More Rain….

Roses and Water

Roses love water; however, they do not like wet feet so provide them with good drainage. Something of grand importance in my area where we have so much clay in our soil.
Water when the top 2-3″ of soil is dry. As you observe your roses, you will begin to recognize the signs.
Water deeply. The roots of your roses go down to about 18″ … that’s where the water is needed. Less frequent but deep watering is ideal.
The best time to water roses is in the early morning. Giving them plenty of time to dry before nightfall.
Keeping the leaves as dry as possible especially at night can help deter the fungus that loves your roses too.
Mulch! Not only does mulch give our garden beds that finished look, it is extremely helpful in retaining moisture!

Here are some pictures from this week in the garden…

The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild (DA) taking center stage

Beverly Hybrid Tea … lovely, fragrant, easy care

Getting kind on jungley ... time to move things around! — Getting kind of jungley … time to move things around!

The Grand Dame Hybrid Tea ... old fashioned form and fragrance — The Grand Dame Hybrid Tea … old fashioned form and fragrance

Has it been dry or rainy where you garden?

This week’s bloomers…

July 18, 2015July 18, 2015 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Yesterday I had the pleasure of creating some bokays for a special friend’s art exhibit. Check out the artwork of Kelly Wilkerson at Blue Bossa Prints here. Despite all the rain this week, I had plenty of flowers to choose from. The big question was which ones should I use. The Belinda’s Dream roses paired with the Stargazer lilies won my heart and filled the vases quite nicely.

Take a look at my options for vases this week…

Lovely Senorita Rosalita Cleome from Proven Winners… a real winner in my garden!

Here are a couple of bokays I made earlier this week…

David Austin's Wollerton Old Hall — David Austin’s Wollerton Old Hall

: Lovely creamer from P. Allen Smith’s garden shop with Drift Roses … a true fav.

And here are the flower bokays for Kelly’s very first art exhibit…

Hope things are blooming in your world this week… whether it is in the form of actual flowers or beautiful snow that they are having in my friend Elspeth’s world in Australia!

Do you have a favorite flower you like to see in arrangements?

Bloom Thyme Friday: Adventures Old and New

September 5, 2014September 5, 2014 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Mr. G’s grandfather was quite the adventurer … at the age of 9, he decided to jump on a boat with his much older cousins who were leaving Greece and heading for America where new opportunities awaited! They were “sure” they didn’t want to work in the family’s olive groves! Can you imagine doing that at 9? Well, he did.

Life wasn’t easy in this new world, but he was a hard worker with an entrepreneurial spirit. He worked his way from New York to Ohio on the railroad project to a small river town and began to make ice cream and confections to sell on the street. Soon he was able to buy property for a real confection shoppe where he began bottling pop and making his wonderful ice cream and other treats. Through the late 40s, 50s and 60s the business was booming. Mr. G still measures all ice creams and chocolate milk by the ones his grandfather crafted!

We were recently visiting with Mr. G’s mom and came upon several items that had belonged to his grandfather …. A picture of him as a young man, a picture of him as a soldier who proudly fought and was even wounded twice in WW 2. We found his business card, pictures of the “shoppe’ and an amazing bucket that was used to mix the ingredients for the ice cream. There is even a handle low on the back of the bucket for ease in pouring a large amount.

Guess what… that super cool bucket is my new MOO POO bucket. It is perfect and since MOO POO is brewing throughout the summer in our garden, we get to see and use our new found heirloom all the time. We absolutely love it! For more about Moo Poo Teas, visit Annie’s site at ManureTea.com or follow her on Social Media… Twitter @greensoil and Facebook.

IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK…

First of all I have to say that hummingbirds are particularly happy in the garden this week. They are everywhere! We love to watch them! Aren’t they just so fascinating!

The heat is up and we are doing a lot more watering. I hear rain is in the forecast BUT it would take a lot of rain to get us where we need to be so… hand watering it is!

Even with the heat, we still have blooms and the pollinators are feasting on many of them today! Especially the sedums. I don’t blame them, the sedums are spectacular this time of year!

The roses that are showing their best side are getting snipped and put in the fridge to exhibit at the Indianapolis Rose Society rose show tomorrow! Wish me luck! I’ll let you know how I do.

Falling In Love

Moonflower

Lady Salisburg

The Lady’s Blush

Zinnias

Sedums

Pollinator’s delight

If it’s hot where you are, take a break, get out of the heat and …

Bloom Thyme Friday: A Week of Extremes

June 27, 2014June 27, 2014 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

This week has been a week of extremes. Extreme heat & humidity; extreme storms (even a tornado touch down within 10 miles of us); and EXTREME visits by the not so welcomed moles.

I have been on an “extreme” Japanese beetle watch since so many of my online garden friends are reporting beetle invasions in their gardens. The last two years we have seen very few and wouldn’t it be nice it that continued. If you are interested in reading more about Japanese Beetles (and who wouldn’t!?!), check out my friend Lynn Hunt’s article–Meet the Beetles.

Back to moles….

Have you ever dealt with moles? Do you have any advice on what we should do? Mr. G is on “mole” detail and maybe it’s better if I don’t even know what he is going to do about it. Might not be pretty.

But, speaking of pretty, there are some pretty blooms this week. Most of the roses are taking a break but some are keeping on! And, many of the rose companions are just starting to take center stage! (Click on any of the pictures below to start the gallery feature.)