Peter Kukielski and the Sustainable Rose

  • Post published:03/27/2014
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The April 2014 issue of Fine Gardening magazine has an article by Peter Kukielski, former curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden titled Easy Picture Perfect Roses.  Peter knows all about 'Easy' roses because during his tenure at that garden he ripped out 200 or so of the roses in the garden that needed pesticides and fungicides to survive and then replaced them with 693 roses that did not need that kind…

Kindle Edition of The Roses at the End of the Road Now Available

  • Post published:10/01/2012
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We continue to move into the 21st Century. The Kindle edition of The Roses at the End of the Road is now available at Amazon.com. I even have a new description. "By the time Pat and Henry Leuchtman unloaded the third U-Haul truck at their new old farmhouse at the end of a dirt road, Henry declared that this was it. He was never moving again. He had reached the end of his road. These lively essays chronicle the…

Can Roses Kill?

  • Post published:06/30/2012
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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…

Griffith Buck and His Hardy Roses

  • Post published:06/21/2011
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Applejack is the first Griffith Buck hybrid I planted and it has thrived, greeting visitors at the top of our hill as they turn  to our house. It is a large graceful shrub. Griffith Buck became a student at Iowa State College in 1946 after serving in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was in the horticulture program and after graduating with his Bachelor's degree in 1948 and his Master's in 1949, he went on to his Ph.D.…

Franklin Land Trust Tour – Here

  • Post published:06/18/2011
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  What is a garden for? It depends on the garden, of course.Vegetable gardens are for feeding us. Herb gardens are for bringing us extra savor and health. Meditation gardens are to give us moments of serenity. Ornamental gardens are to give us pleasure. But all gardens can be shared --- doubling their pleasure and utility, of whatever sort. Sometimes sharing our gardens can also support a noble project.  That is what will be happening in Heath and…

Rose Season Begins

  • Post published:06/01/2011
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June is the most important month in my garden, especially this year.   The last Sunday in June is traditionally The Annual Rose Viewing, my version of Garden Open Today.  I send out an open invitation to anyone who wants to stop and smell the roses, visit with friends and have a glass of lemonade and some cookies in the comfort of the Cottage Ornee. This year is different. This year our garden is part of the Franklin…

History of the Rose Walk

  • Post published:07/10/2009
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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,…

The Sun Shone on The Rose Viewing

  • Post published:06/29/2009
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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 – Rose of the Day

  • Post published:06/28/2009
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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 – Rose of the Day

  • Post published:06/27/2009
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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…