Year of the Rose Draws to a Close

  • Post published:10/23/2012
  • Post comments:2 Comments

 

Thomas Affleck rose 10-22-12

The Year of the Rose for 2012 as designated by the International Herb Society is drawing to a close. Thomas Affleck is the only rose in my garden that is still waving the banner.

It has been a difficult year for the garden. Because of a mild relatively snowless winter, we came into spring with a drought situation. That drought hit in full force during the summer and since I get my water from a well I had to be very cautious about watering. Vegetables were the priority. I knew the roses would survive a dry year, but vegetables would never make it to the table if they were not watered. Fortunately, the roses bloom and we have our Annual Rose Viewing before the drought became too bad. If you would like to stroll through a Virtual Rose View click here.

This spring a reader asked me whether Knock Out Roses killed bees. The answer is NO!  I gave a full explanation here.

This year I realized that I have aquired quite a number of rugosa varieties and I explained why here. I can tell you that the Kordes Goldbusch, and Rugosa Agnes are doing well.

 

Purington Rambler rose

As I look back over this year and see how lush the growth was on some of  the roses after the mild winter, and that the Rose Bank is filling out beautifully with a lot of help from the Purington Rambler, I realize how little of this I ever imagined when I planted the first rose, Passionate Nymph’s Thigh, next to the front door 32 years ago. And yet I still have plans, still have a list of must have roses, and stil expect a friendly crowd at the Annual Rose Viewing for a few more years.

 

Passionate Nymph’s Thigh rose

For more information about the Year of the Rose, and a preview of the Year of the Elderberry visit the International Herb Society.

 

 

 

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Jason

    Knockout Roses kill bees? What a bizarre idea. I tried to click on your link, but it seems to be disconnected.

  2. Pat

    Jason – I think I fixed the link. It was an interesting quesstion.

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