Greenfield Garden Club Visits

  • Post published:06/27/2008
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If you take the long view, from my bedroom window, things look pretty neat. You even get a little more sense of the roses in bloom than the picture shows. I hoped the Greenfield Garden Club would be happy with the big picture, and wouldn’t be too bothered with details like weeds.

After slathering ourselves with bug repellent we took a walk to the Shed Bed which has really good soil, possibily because it is right next to the hen house with all that good manure. This is where I have planted the Austin rose, Mary Rose, rugosa Mrs. Doreen Pike, Leda and Belle Amour. You can’t tell from the photo but the vine on the shed is a hardy kiwi, notable for the pink and white blotched leaves.

The Rugosas which bloom earlier than some of the other varieties are putting on a good show. I have the standard single pink and white, and Scabrosa which I don’t think looks much different than the familiar beach rose, but I do have some favorite Rugosas.

Apart is one of my favorites. It has a large fragrant blossom, nodding more than usual in this photo because of all the rain we have had. Like all rugosas it is about as easy to grow as any plant. The only drawback is the short season of bloom.

Belle Poitvine grows along the pasture fence. It is more double, and a shorter shrub, so far anyway, but the fragrance is equally delicious.

This is Mount Blanc. The only double white rugosa that ever gets mentioned as a superior plant is Blanc Double de Coubert, but in my garden Mount Blanc is a bigger more vigoruous plant, sending out more shoots to dig up and give to friends. I think the flower is also superior in form and in fragrance. If you want a double white rugosa, this is the plant to look for.

The Garden Club got to see at least a single blossom from most of the roses, but they are still coming. The Official Rose Viewing is on Sunday.

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