I just learned about a wonderful rose site, Roger Phillip's Rose Reference, which has photos of thousands of roses and information about where you can get them, as well as lots of general rose information. I am also excited to learn from them about a rose nursery in California, AND it is having a sale! Today, the 31st is the last day for a super sale. I am going right back to the Vintage Gardens Antique Roses site.
We moved from Manhattan to the End of the Road with our three daughters the day after Thanksgiving in 1979. Winter arrived in Heath that night. It was a long cold Heath winter in our uninsulated house. We spent a lot of time dreaming and planning for the spring when we could be warm - and make a garden. After having just read Katherine White’s book, Onward and Upward in the Garden I was determined to have hardy,…
There was so much sun at the Annual Rose Viewing that many Viewers were happy to come into the Cottage Ornee for lemonade, cookies and cool conversation. Of course, at this point in the afternoon you will notice that the cookie plate is empty. My daughter Diane who came to enjoy the roses was hard put to keep the punchbowl and cookie plate filled. Not to mention the strawberry bowl. Fortunately, Cheryl, far right, brought one of her…
Passionate Nymph's Thigh has been delighting gardeners, and possibly lovers, ever since the 15th century. Possibly longer. The color made the French think of a passionate nymph's thigh and called it Cuisse de Nymphe, but the English found that excessive and vulgar. Maiden's Blush was their reading. This is a perfect alba rose, blushing pink, a delicious perfume and slightly blue grey leaves. She has amazing vigor and stamina, having survived under the roof line of our New England…
Applejack was one of Dr. Griffith Buck's first successes at hybridizing hardy roses at Iowa State University. By the time he retired at 70 in 1986 he had created about 90 hybrids, many of which are still available. I planted my Applejack in 1981. Other Buck hybrids I planted did die, but I think it was probably improper planting on my part. Last year I planted Carefree Beauty and it has just bloomed. At first I…
My friend BJ asked me how the roses were doing when she visited this afternoon. And I said, "I'll show you!" and shoved her across the lawn. "This is what one rose is doing, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Of course, I'll have to wait until after the Rose Viewing. Maybe someone will know who this imposter rose is. Do you? If you want the story about making this, my first video, you'll have to…
As I prepare for this year's Annual Rose Viewing, I thought I'd re-run a tale of preparation in 2006, another wet spring. I have been working all week to prepare the garden for the Annual Rose Viewing which we hold the last Sunday in June from 1-4 pm. In between rainstorms my husband has mowed lawns and trimmed, moved potted plants and been at the ready to weed and prune. As I’ve worked, trimming the grass around the…
'It's raining, raining, raining. I hear the raindrops fall.' The lawn is sodden, the Sunken Garden is a swamp and the vegetable garden is sulking as morning temperatures are still in the 50s. And yet, and yet, the rains have mostly been gentle and the roses have drunk their fill. Applejack, at the head of the drive is all grace, and the rugosas are blooming fragrantly. Rose buds are swelling on every bush. I think this will be…
“June! Finally I’m going to have flowers,” a friend said after bemoaning how long it took for spring flowers to arrive in her garden. While it is true that a June garden can hardly avoid blooming, it is also true that a garden can have some bloom from April into October, even here in Heath. When my friend Elsa Bakalar was gardening in Heath she had enormous beds of perennials…
Rose season has begun. My purchases from the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas arrived in good shape. The Double Red Knock-Out will join two others on the bank at the end of the house where I hope they will grow into a large clump. Pink Grootendorst which is billed as a large moundy rugosa will also go on the bank. I also shopped in my own garden and dug up some roots from my Dart's Dash, a low rugosa…