R is for Roses at the End of the Road

  • Post published:04/20/2013
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  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 on the A to Z Challenge

  • Post published:04/19/2013
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 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 Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden

  • Post published:04/18/2013
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  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,…

O is for Organizations on the A to Z Challenge

  • Post published:04/17/2013
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O is for Organizations. We gardeners have all sorts of enthusiasms, about plants, about conservations, and about education. There are many Organizations that support those enthusiasms. I belong to the Massaachusetts Horticultural Society which is headquartered in Wellesley. There Mass Hort has a library, classrooms, and wonderful gardens from the Italianate Garden to the delightful Weezies Garden for Children. Founded in 1829 this organization isty is "dedicated to encouraging the science and practice of horticulture and developing the…

Houston Gardens in March 2011

  • Post published:03/26/2013
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Two years ago this week we left the cold and muddy landscape of Heath to visit Houston and our daughter Kate and  her family. Because the landscape of Heath is currently cold and snowy I needed to revisit those sunny Houston days. One day we drove out to Cindy's Corner of Katy to visit her beautiful garden. Flowers everywhere. Cindy's corner  garden is not large, but it is colorful and filled with every kind of flowers. Roses too. So…

Time to Order New Roses – Looking for Hardiness and Fragrance

  • Post published:02/11/2013
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It is time to order new roses, even if I have to look at a wintry landscape for some weeks yet. I looked through the catalogs and agonized but I finally made my decision. I am ordering two roses from the Antique Rose Emporium (ARE) because they send large container grown roses. This makes the shipping costs more expensive but the healthy bushes are such a nice size that the extra cost is worth it to me. Basyes Purple, a…

Happy Birthday Gertrude Jekyll

  • Post published:11/29/2012
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Gertrudy Jekyll (1843-1932) was one of the great British gardeners. It is her gardens and writings that essentially define the British perennial garden to this day.  This is the 169th anniversary of her birth in in London. Though she did travel throughout England, Europe and even the United States she spent most of her life in Surrey, England. There she built her final house and garden, Munstead Wood, with Edward Luytens, the well known architect.Most of the photographs show…

Taking Stock of Experiments and Projects

  • Post published:11/11/2012
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Every spring we begin the gardening season with new energy and new plans. After a winter of reading and thinking we stride out into the spring sun to build and dig, to add and subtract with confidence and high hopes. In the fall, while we are hoping we still have time to plant some bulbs (we do) it is time to review and see how our projects and experiments turned out. Our big project this year was really…

Barren Branches – and Yet . . .

  • Post published:10/18/2012
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The  barren branches of the old yellow birch in my field retain a certain majesty this frosty morning. But the Thomas Affleck shrub rose that grows at the end of the entry walk is resisting the closing of the bloom season. The days have been chilly and windy, tearing dying leaves off many trees, but Thomas just laughs and says, "Look at me!" I bought this rose from the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas and it has been hardier and…

Our First Frost – September 25, 2012

  • Post published:09/25/2012
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We had our first frost last night. It was not a heavy frost, but the lawn was slightly frosted and the temperature was 37 degrees at 6:30 am. It was severe enough to kill the tomatoes and squash, but nothing else was much affected. Even the basic in front of the house, where it is protected, wasn't nipped. The sun is brilliant today although probably not as hot as the Arizona sun. The frost quickly melted. These petunias…