Once I “get over” the fact that summer is over and spring is far away, I can nestle into fall and all that it can bring to the garden. Beautiful colors. Gorgeous seed pods. Luscious rose hips. Blooming Grasses. And, to the gardener. Slower pace. More time to think. More Potting Shed time. And, pumpkin spice everything. 🎃 😉
Tonight I am taking advantage of some Potting Shed time. As most of you know, this is such a special place for me. A place to work, play and pray. All with a view of the garden.
Potting Shed View
This has been quite a fall. Nice rains. Plentiful sunshine. Moderate temps. And some very lovely blooms.
Like these…
Campfire from First Editions … a new rose to me and one I am loving a lot!
Easy to Please Up CloseEasy to PleaseLions Fairy Tale from KordesLions Fairy Tale from Kordes
AlohaCherry Pie and a friend 🐝Sweet Drift from Star Roses and Plants
And the grasses…
I hope you are having a wonderful fall season full of beauty and extra time … and plenty of pumpkin spice everything!
Through the American Rose Society, I have rose friends from all over the country that enrich my rose hobby. This society exists to promote the culture and appreciation of the rose, through education and research to members, to local rose societies and their members and to the public.
Locally our rose growing season is coming to an end, but, like NYC, the American Rose Society is an organization that never sleeps. There will be something going on all winter long. If you are not a member, isn’t this a perfect time to join! So many rosey benefits!
ARS Year in Review 2016
Fun to see what’s going on in the world of the American Rose Society! Look closely, there might be a sighting of yours truly.😉
MEMBERSHIP…
Most ARS members are home gardeners who enjoy growing roses and want to expand their knowledge of rose culture. Starting now gives you all winter for learning and getting ready for spring! If you are not ready to take on a full membership, give it a try with the cost effective TRIAL MEMBERSHIP and see what you think.
FOUR-MONTH TRIAL MEMBERS RECEIVE:
Free advice from Consulting Rosarians.
Free or reduced garden admissions, a $25 value after just 3 uses.
Free online access to five quarterly bulletins, a $45 value.
2 issues of American Rose magazine, $16 value.
Discounts of up to 30% at merchant partners.
A four-month trial membership is valued at $86 for only $10!
For FULL MEMBERS, one of my fav ARS member benefits currently is the monthly newsletter. I am the editor! To see a sample of the newsletter, read on here.
For this society I serve at 1st Vice President and Chairman for website and social media.
In this organization I have met amazing people of all ages. We are all at different stages of the gardening experience and have different passions. Some are into just growing while others with the competitive spirit, enter the most amazing blooms and arrangements in competitions! We have those who use chemicals and others who are all organic. Some members have 1 rose and some have 500 roses. One of the great perks is getting to visit members gardens. This group has some amazing gardens.
But it is so much more…
We spend time enjoying all things “rose” together. We learn, we laugh, we celebrate successes and we deal with failures & issues together. It’s not just roses that keep us together, over the years–we have become family and you are welcome anytime!
This year we have members coming from Marion, Kokomo, Bloomington and most of the surrounding burgs!
Our 2017 year started off with a bang in March. Dr. Mark Windham gave a program on getting our gardens off to a good start and gave us the latest on his research with Rose Rosette.
You can keep up with what’s going on by subscribing to our blog at INDIANAPOLISROSESOCIETY.COM. You will receive posts in your email as we “post” them. Most of our meetings are the second Tuesday at 6:30 pm at the Sullivan Munce Center in charming Zionsville. Get it on your calendar! HERE’S WHAT’S COMING UP FOR 2017.
Last week when I left home for the Biltmore, there was not very much going on in the garden. (A post about the incredible Biltmore Rose Trials is coming very soon!)
Back to the garden… Something changed while I was gone. Rain. Lots of rain. The rain came and things started blooming! You can water and water and water but nothing is like a good soaking rain.
Caution... excessive garden pictures to follow...
Lady Ashe
Sunshine Daydream
Belinda’s Dream
Belinda’s Dream
Petit Pink
Quietness
More Quietness
Moje Hammarberg Rugosa
Dick Clark
Smoothie
Flamenco Rosita
Flamenco Rosita 2
View from the Potting Shed porch.
Some of them were ready to come inside! 🙂
I am enjoying every single one of them! It’s gonna be hard to say goodbye for the winter. You are going to have to help me through it!
Wishing you a wonderful day and a warm welcome wherever you go!
Even though the temps are still high and the rain has decided to pour down on us, it’s time for me to admit that fall is near and winter is coming. Time to prepare the garden for the long winter’s nap. In my Zone 5b garden that could mean most anything as I’ve seen winters with more days than I care to count below 0 and then there are the mild midwest winters. From the blizzard of 1978 to the polar vortex to jacket weather–we’ve seen it all!
Regardless, good fall care makes spring all the sweeter.
STOP FERTILIZING & DEADHEADING
About 6 weeks before expected frost, it is time to stop fertilizing and deadheading the roses. Since in my neck of the woods, the first frost date can be anywhere from October 5 – October 28.
Stopping the deadheading process tells the roses it’s okay to begin to go to sleep and start producing seeds in the form of rose hips. (Read more about rose hips here.) Don’t trim those off either–the birds find them particularly yummy.
Remove all diseased leaves from around your roses. Black spot and other fungal diseases are not discouraged by cold temperatures and will just over winter and be there next spring– so they must go! Don’t add any of your diseased leaves to your compost pile … they will overwinter there too!
PRUNING
I don’t do much pruning in the fall (Read about spring care here.), unless there are rose canes that have gotten extra tall or spindly. Those I trim back to prevent them from flapping in those cold winter winds as there is a danger of loosening around the roots and making the roses more susceptible to damage from the cold. Pruning says, “Let’s get busy growing.” That is the wrong message to send in the fall!
MULCH
I think it is very important to add an extra layer of mulch to protect the roses through the winter. And, for roses that are more tender, I will mound the mulch much higher on them–to about 1/2 the height of the shrub.
NOW WHAT?
Now it’s time to sit back, relax and pour through those beautiful catalogs and websites and get to dreaming, plotting and planning. Spring will be here in about 174 days.
Although fall and winter are not my favorites, I am thankful for every season in life and in the garden. My heart knows that… He makes everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11
More than 25 years ago I attended a herb festival that served some amazing herby lemonade. When I came home, I immediately started making “my version” of this wonderfully refreshing drink. Every time I serve it, I get rave reviews. I have shared this very simple recipe a million times. Maybe not a million–but a lot! One of the best things about it, is that it is so simple. I decided many years ago, the more I can keep things simple, the more I can entertain.
My daughter calls this lemonade … LEMONADE THE MOM WAY. I just love that.
She wrote about it a few years back on her blog…
Summer isn’t summer without lemonade and my mom’s lemonade is the best. I don’t just say this because she’s my mom…it’s the best. Hands down. She gets asked all the time for the recipe which is super easy and wonderfully refreshing.
Mom’s Lemonade
For each can of Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade add…
2 cans water
2 cans Canada Dry Ginger Ale
1/2 cup sugar3 large sprigs of fresh mint
1 – 2 lemons, thinly sliced
Add ice and ENJOY!
Here’s where the SWEETNESS comes in…
My grandson loves to make lemonade with me. We make a very simple lemon shake up. Lemons, sugar, water & ice. Every second we spend working on our refreshing lemony drinks… are the sweetest ever!
This week while with him, we used special lemonade cups I found (on Amazon). He loved them! #moresweetness
There “might” be truth to the rumor that I bought him a lemonade stand…
NOW FOR THE ROSEY PART…
On Wednesday we shared a glass of rose flavored lemonade at the Grateful Cafe. We were hot and sweaty from our tour of Exposition Park Rose Garden and the lemonade was just what we needed!
Here we are enjoying Pretty Lady Rose in the garden … the fragrance surrounding us was amazing! I will never forget the fragrance and I hope he won’t either!
Oh how I love to see him put his nose in a fragrant rose. #memories
Pretty Lady Rose was having a very good day in the garden! Loads of blooms!
BACK TO LEMONS…
Here are some fun lemonade facts:
August 20th is National Lemonade Day.
Lemonade can trace it’s origins to the Egyptians when in 500 AD lemon juice was mixed with sugar to make a beverage known as qatarmizat.
The first lemonade “soft drink” debuted in Paris on August 20th, 1630. The drink was made from sparkling water and lemon juice sweetened with honey.
Frozen lemonade made its debut in 1840 in Naples, Italy.
The earliest documented lemonade stands were introduced by a young entrepreneur named Edward Bok who formed them in Brooklyn street cars from 1873 to 1876.
Lemonade stands were first referenced in news media by the New York Times in 1879.
The “ade” in lemonade means that the product is not 100 percent juice.
Grape juice is added to plain lemonade to make commercial pink lemonade.
Even though for many of us summer is coming to an end… there’s still time to make some lemonade and celebrate the sweetness in your life!
The American Rose Society Vice President, Bob Martin, joined us recently on Rose Chat to chat about his top 5 exhibition roses and a few other things as well!
Exhibiting roses is a fun and rewarding hobby. We believe deep inside most every rose grower is an exhibitor waiting for an opportunity to show the world their blooms. This Top 5 list includes one rose that gets as big as a Volkswagen! Well, at least in Bob’s garden…
Click on the icon below to listen…
Here are the roses Bob chatted about:
Click the links to view photo’s and purchase information for these roses from online retailers.
Bob’s Julia Child … Yes, maybe it is as big as a Volkswagen!
MORE ABOUT BOB:
Bob Martin is the current Vice President of the American Rose Society. He has been growing roses for 44 years and maintains a garden of over 400 varieties.
He is an ARS Master Rosarian, an Accredited Horticultural Judge and an Accredited Arrangements Judge. Bob is the Chairman of the American Rose Society Horticultural Exhibitor’s Committee and Editor of the American Rose Society quarterly publication, the Rose Exhibitors’ Forum. He maintains a website covering U.S. rose shows at RoseShow.com as well as a Facebook site for Rose Exhibitors’ Forum. Bob has also been an Editor of Horizon Roses for 21 years and the National Editor for ten years. He is the author of the book “Showing Good Roses” and was honored for his lifetime contribution to rose education as a 2009 recipient of the ARS Klima Medal.
Bob is one of the top exhibitors in the United States and the recipient of numerous awards including the 2007 recipient of the ARS Guy Blake Hedrick Jr. Award for lifetime achievement in rose exhibiting. During his 30 year exhibiting career, he has shown roses in more than 220 shows, winning more than 1,400 trophies in every exhibiting class, including 13 national trophies. Bob has also judged an additional 84 shows and is a frequent lecturer at judging schools through out the country.
An avid hybridizer, he has 14 registered varieties, including the show roses ‘Butter Cream’ & ‘Dona Martin’, varieties mentioned on today’s broadcast.
Denise Schreiber, garden friend and author of Eat Your Roses, shared a wonderful, super easy rose ice cream recipe with me recently.
ROSE PETAL ICE CREAM
¾ cup of dried edible rose petals 1 quart of good quality vanilla ice cream 1 tablespoon of rose syrup (I used Monin) ½ cup of finely chopped pistachios 1 teaspoon of cardamom (Optional)
Soften ice cream. Crumble in your hand the dried rose petals (from roses that have not been sprayed with chemicals) as you would dried herbs. Stir in slightly then add rose syrup. Taste test first to see if you desire more syrup. Refreeze then serve.
For more recipes like this one, check out Denise’s Facebook page here.
What a treat! I used Rugosas petals in our ice cream and it was delicious! Yes, yummy rose flavored ice cream is a great way to enjoy summertime in the rose garden.
Do you have recipes that use roses and other flowers?
I wanted to share with you some pictures and a video from the “veriest back” of my garden.
My children coined that phrase “veriest back” for the back area of the garden as well as the 3rd seat in the back of our family station wagon. A spot that was often sought after and sometimes fought for! 😉
Remember the station wagons of the 80s? That was pre mini van. The station wagon worked so well for us, we never went the mini van route. Secretly, I believe that Mr. G who loves sporty cars, trucks and SUVs, never could bring himself to buy a mini van. But, he did provide a state of the art station wagon for me and my little crew, and later an SUV for me, a sporty car for the girl and a black truck for the boy.
But, oh how I loved my station wagon. L O V E!!! #memories #family #children
The “veriest back” of the garden is where the wild things grow — and things that do not need much care from the gardener (me). With limited time to “garden,” this area sometimes gets left out in the “care department.” But it is still very beautiful to me. Today it seemed the Black Forrest (Kordes) and Candy Oh (Proven Winners) roses just begged to be photographed! This is not their biggest flush of the season, but still they beckoned me today and I found myself remembering my children and my station wagon as I took time to enjoy “the veriest.”
PS
I even found a stunning lily hiding back there! It was in so much shade I could hardly capture it. #shestough
I also found the largest rose hip I have ever seen on a rugosa… bigger than a quarter!
I also found some weeds … they were not in a photographic mood, so I just moved on. 😬
