Rosa setigera, sometimes known as the climbing prairie rose, is a native American rose, and while it is a climber it merely arches gracefully in my climate. It blooms later than the other roses and is a particular pleasure. I bought it at Nasami Farm the propagation arm of the New England Wildflower Society. For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
It's Bloom Day and this is the big show in my garden right now, the daylily bank. I have records of the names of these daylilies, but I'd be hard put to identify them all now. Many of the roses just have a bloom or two, but The Fairy will go on and on. I have one in each of the Lawn Beds. The Purington rambler rose, an old un-named rose, has been and will be exuberant for some…
Red roses. Red and white roses. White Mothlight hydrangea. White Switzerland shasta daisies. Blue Connecticut Yankee delphiniums. Falling over, but unbowed. For more Wordlessness this Independence Day Wednesday click here.
It's summer and I've been out viewing plants and gardens and then relaxing at a local pond. Summer doesn't get any more perfect than this. I went to the Annual Japanese Iris Show in Shelburne Falls and got to see the best and most beautiful examples of Japanese Iris grown in the area. Japanese iris are the last iris to bloom in our area. After seeing this display of irises, I had to run over to Fox Brook…
Can roses, Knock Out Roses kill butterflies? That is the question asked by a reader in Colrain. Knock Outs are a fairly new hybrid family of roses bred to be disease and insect resistant. I had never heard that Knock-Outs had this potential for killing butterflies so I set out to do some research. I was quickly reminded that butterflies are not much interested in roses of any sort because they supply nothing they need, not a site…
The Annual Rose Viewing was a success! The weather was perfect. The roses were in uproarious bloom. The guests were entranced. I got to speak to many of the guests, and then they got to wander down the Rose Walk by themselves. All the roses are labelled. The air was filled with fragrance. Adrienne, an old friend, took this great photo. I think Rachel was possibly the biggest attraction this year, blooming at the top of the Rose…
The rugosa rose may strike many New Englanders as the quintessential American rose, hardy and trouble free, but this rose is a native of Asia. Long before it made its way halfway around the world it grew and bloomed on the coasts of northeastern China and Japan. It had to make its way to Europe first, and did not arrive in the United States until the mid-1800s when it was imported for the nutritional value of the hips.…
The Annual Rose Viewing is almost upon us. The roses have held up in the heat pretty well. So have the weeds, unfortunately. But the roses don't care and neither do I. From 1-4 pm we will be enjoying rosy visions and the Heath zephyrs carrying their perfume. Cookies and lemonade in the Cottage Ornee to restore the tissues. Come up Route 2 to Charlemont, take 8A north to Rowe Road where you will see a ROSES sign,…
End of the Road Farm is now officially Zone 5b, with winter temperatures down to -15 degrees. I think that is pretty accurate. When we first moved here I put us in Zone 4b, with temperatures down to -25 degrees. Thirty years ago we would have those bitter temperatures for days at a time, not just a day or two. Even allowing that winters are generally milder, we had a very early spring, after a mild winter. The…
The hardy rugosas are so cheering, blooming early and beautifully as they do. Belle Poitvine suffered a lot of winter damage as did several of the other rugosas. I don't think it was simply the weather which was very mild, but the age of the shrub. Like any living creature a rugosa has a life span, but it also has babies. More on that later. Like Belle Poitvine, Blanc Double de Coubert, is only about two feet tall…