Parade of Roses

Delphinuim and 'Vineyard Song'

I'm busy busy right now so I can't discuss much, but suffice it to say that June is my favorite month in the garden. I love my roses! So I'm posting some of my rose photos for you to to enjoy. : )


'Just Joey', Hybrid Tea


'St Cecelia', English


'Belle de Crecy', Gallica


'Hawkeye Belle', Buck


'Reine Des Violettes', Hybrid Perpetual


'Prairie Sunrise', Buck


'Darlow's Enigma' in a corner of the vegetable garden


'Mme. Ernest Calvat', Bourbon

Hope you enjoyed the pics!

Sometimes You Get Lucky When You Though You Were Not

Unidentified Old Rose

So 6 years ago on a warm day in Feb. I dug up my Bowl of Beauty peony to relocate it in my garden. I had it next to the front walk and it is much to tall for there. I posted on GW for trades of the extra when I dug it. I did a few trades.

One lady offered me a piece of an old rose she had. Her description was this, ""my heirloom rose which originally came from my husband's grandmother's house in Binghamton NY so it should thrive in your location. It has very fragrant double yellow blooms about 2 inches across, very thorny stems and shoots up new growth from the ground up at least 6 feet high--then with blooms all along the stem." So I said sure.

She sent me a dinky hardly rooted rose stick for the beautiful many eyed piece of peony I sent her. I was disappointed to say the least, but I didn't complain. Others sent better quality plants, and it really all works out in the end with trading. You always seem to end up with more than you wanted.
I managed to keep the stick alive. It grew a bit and the next year, I knew it was more of a species type rose. It never bloomed. The next year again it didn't bloom, but I posted pics of the bottom canes and foliage on the Antique Rose Forum on GardenWeb.



Everyone agreed it was probably Harrison's Yellow. This is a nice bright yellow rose, but not on my list of wants. So the next few years grew some and didn't bloom. I was getting quite annoyed with this little rose. I even contemplated ripping the darn thing out. But it had been so tough to stay alive, I didn't have the heart.
A couple days ago it finally started to bloom. I was expecting those bright Harrison's Yellow blooms, but that isn't what happened at all. The blooms are a pretty buttery yellow brushed with red giving an apricot coloration to them.


They fade to a creamy pink color.


So I posted these pics and a couple more on the Antique Rose Forum for ID. No one so far knows what it is besides that it is a hybrid spinosissima. I searched through the list on HelpMeFind.com to no avail.
It is ok though. I have a pretty rose I could of never bought in a garden center or even mail order it seems.


If someone comes along and IDs it, I'll let you know.

May, Going Out With A Bang

Poppy 'Princess Victoria Louise'

Many first blooms happened today!


Kevin's Theme Tall Bearded Iris blooming near the grapes.

As many of you in the northeaster part of the country know, we had the worst spring ever. It was the rainiest it has ever been, and I am not exaggerating. It was also cold. Well we went from that straight to summer. It was hot yesterday and today was about 90! So this really kick started the blooms.


Hansa, a rugosa rose

Hansa is reliably early. Most years it does begin to bloom by the end of May. Once in full bloom, it smells fantastic. The scent travels a long way.


Iris tectorum(Japanese Roof Iris)

I was thrilled to see these! I thought they were Iris cristata when I got them. These things happen sometimes. So Iris cristata needs to be acquired.


Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus syn. H. flava (Lemon Lily)

Ok so it is not a very good pic of this daylily, but I had to include it since it started blooming today. Most years it is even earlier. I see people complain about this flower, that it has too short of a bloom time. I say who cares! It is a daylily blooming super early, and it smells good too.


Viburnum trilobum (American Cranberry Viburnum)

So this one has been blooming for a little while now. I don't often see it advertised, but this shrub's blossoms smell good. Later in the year, it will make edible fruit which the birds love. If you don't grow viburnums, you should!! They are wonderful shrubs. Even when out of bloom, they look attractive. I have this one, V. Carlcephalum, which I've posted pics of before, and V. dentatum 'Chicago Luster' (Arrow Wood Viburnum.) Chicago Luster still is in bud at the moment.
I was at first afraid of them not doing well since the open spots I had were in full sun. Viburnums are often though of a part shade shrubs. I've found that as long as the soil it good and well mulched, they are happy.


Tree Wisteris, that I trained

Lastly, I leave you with this pic. No it is not blooming now. It is done, but I didn't get around to posting anything when it was in its height of bloom this month. I wish you could see how wonderful this looks in person.

Tulips, Big and Small

Species Tulip 'Little Beauty' with Veronica 'Georgia Blue'

Another cold day, so another post so close to the last one! I don't believe I posted about tulips before. Tulips are another spring favorite of mine. Though the daffodil still leads. Tulips aren't always as easy as daffodils. Some people think of them as annuals and replace them every year. Some people don't want to go to that trouble so they don't plant them at all. They do need a bit more careful selection of siting to be successful perennials in they garden, but it is possible.


Rem's (Rembrant's) Favorite in a sunny border full of tulips

There are a few things you must do to have the best possible chances of perennialization. First, you must have a sunny spot that is fairly well drained all year and is fairly dry in the summer. You do not want them in a border that you do supplemental watering to. A raised bed is always a good choice.
Second, plant them deep. Shallow planted tulips will bloom very well the first spring, but they won't perennialize as well.


Rem's Favorite from above

Third, choose the right varieties. Species tulips are an excellent choice. They often cost less too. (Though there a few costly ones.) These are the best for down south. Many do not need the chill time of their large Dutch bred relatives. The Dutch ones are the long stemmed types that people often think of when you say tulip. Though there are many other kinds of tulips. Tulips species originated in southern Europe across the middle east and over to China. So there are quite a few from milder climates. They may not have the tall cutting stems of the Dutch bred ones, but in the garden, they can still hold their.


Species Tulip bakeri 'Lilac Wonder'

Some types like the Fosteriana(sometimes called Emperor) have quite large flowers.

Clump of Analita Fosteriana tulips

Some have really neat leaves. kaufmanniana types have variegated foliage.

Ancilla Tulip

For taller traditional dutch bred bedding tulips to be perennials, choose ones from the Darwin Group. Those seem to have more staying power. Also, choose older time tested cultivars. They have a better chance of having been bred for the garden as opposed to a cutting flower like many of the more modern varieties have been. Though, I have had success with various other dutch tulips. It is more of a gamble though. It is good to record the names. So when you find strong ones in your garden, you can purchase them a few years later to add more punch to your spring border.


Fringed Tulip 'Blue Heron', I still have a few returning even though I planted them over 10 years ago.

Fourthly, to optimize success, break off the tip of the stem where the flower was after it falls off. You do not want your tulips to develop seeds. This weakens the bulb. You want the energy to go back into the bulb.



Lastly, let the foliage get old and ratty. I know it doesn't look so hot, but there is no way around it. You need to let the bulb get all the nutrients it can from the foliage. Species tulip foliage though is less noticeable so for you neat freaks these are definitely a better choice.


My two favorite places to buy bulbs from are
Brent and Becky's
John Scheepers