A sizeable work crew showed up to help prepare for the Annual Rose Viewing, but it was impossible to get a photo of them all working together. Diane directed the weeding of the Peony Bed that was in great need. Henry took direction as well as the girls. Eveyone felt the 90 degree heat. Granddaughters Caitlin and Tricia couldn't even spare time to look up from their labors. I directed the shed clean up. Lola and Bella were ready…
Hooray! A name has been chosen at random and Nancy is the winner of a copy of The Roses at The End of the Road. As soon as I have her address I will mail it right out. I'm glad the book - or news of the book - will be a part of your birthday celebration.
If you leave a comment here by midnight tonight you have a chance to win a copy of The Roses at the End of the Road. So much easier to read about someone else's garden adventures than weeding your own garden on a hot summer afternoon. For more information about the book and the many ways to purchase it click here I planted Mrs. Anthony Waterer, a beautiful rugosa last year and this is the first time it…
The Annual Rose Viewing, the last Sunday in June, is our early summer Seasonal Celebration. Most of my collection of 60+ hardy, trouble free roses are only in bloom for three or four weeks. The period of peak bloom is very short and we want to share that glory with our friends and neighbors - and their friends. The Annual Rose Viewing is our Garden Open Today. This year the Annual Rose Viewing will be held on…
June is Rose Month and I haven't celebrated at all - so far - but I will begin the celebration with a Special Sale Price for The Roses at the End of the Road. For all orders I receive by June 30 the cost will be $12 with no tax or shipping charge. Click here for ordering information The Roses at the End of the is not a how-to book although I do include some basic information. The most…
In order to beat the promised two (more) days of heavy rain, I dashed out to get photos for Bloom Day just as the rain began on Thursday. I've potted up many of the annuals: geraniums, fuschia, petunias, snapdragons, blue and white lobelia, and rosemary. I still have a few that have to be put in the ground. These stocks were a gift from a friend. I didn't totally realize how big the clump would get, and I certainly hadn't…
The suddenness of spring caught me by surprise yesterday. After two days of being kept inside by sometimes torrential rains, I went out and saw that the ajuga, escaped into the lawn years ago from an old flower bed, is in full and startling bloom. This area has not been mowed yet because I made the mistake of planting daffodils here and must wait until they have finished blooming and ripening. Only a few daffodils are still in…
R is for Roses at the End of the Road, my book about my life among the roses. You won't find much how to information about growing roses, because the roses that you will find at any given moment are hardy, trouble free roses. I don't grow roses that need a lot of fussing. And my climate is still to harsh for fragile hybrid tea roses. I love the old fashioned roses that speak to me of…
Q is for the Quietness Rose, one of Griffith Buck's best hybrid roses. There is hardly any more to say after noting that this is a carefree rose, fragrant and beautiful. All you need to do is cut it back in the early spring because it blooms on new wood. The Quietness rose is one of the most admired roses on the Rose Walk. This is a rose for people who say they could never grow roses because…
P is for the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden. I last visited this garden in November of 2009 when there was still plenty of bloom on view although you wouldn't know it from this photo of the view from the entry to the Gazebo where Awakening roses twine around the beautiful iron framework. I had gone to meet Peter Kukielski, self-taught rosarian, and the then curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden,…