Sweet Sixteen ~ Shrub. Introduced in 2002. Apricot blend, approx. 15 petals. Not enough comments on it to evaulate.
I've had this rose since it's introduction and have to admit that until this year didn't really like it. The color is lovely, leaning more toward a pink than an apricot in my garden, but as far as a garden specimen it seemed to be lacking. I knew I had it in a rather crowded spot, so I took the chance and moved it to a new bed we created in the early spring to encompus two tiny dogwood trees, three blue spruces and hopefully have enough room for a few roses and other plants. The bed is big beautiful and has lots of room for a number of roses. Sweet Sixteen has really blossomed since putting it in this new bed. It is blooming well and spreading nicely. It's form isn't as loose as Little Darling which is nearby but just as large and spreading. It also seems to be much more disease resistant than I had first thought. I am anticipating that in a couple of years, this one will be quite the beauty.
Now for new news...
This summer the developer along with his engineer and builder picked which lot next to be built on. It appears from the neighborhood rumors that this is the way things will be done from now on. The builder will build a spec home on the lot chosen by the developer and engineer and then sold. No more custom homes. That's to bad. It's one of the biggest reasons I chose to build here. I wanted my home. A home that reflected my personality, not a home of someone else's idea. At least eight of us got the home of our visions. It's funny, but none of these homes hurt the eyes. They all speak volumns about the owners and their tastes. They all look nice and add character to the neighborhood. Some of them are huge homes and others, like mine are more modest on the outside. We're all about the same price range although square footage does vary some. No two houses look similar and that's the charm we will lose in our neighborhood. That's the biggest thing I don't like about most neighborhoods. All the houses look almost identical...I call them cookie cutter houses. I don't want to look like my neighbor. I'm not my neighbor and don't want to go into a huge debt to live in a house that looks so much like the rest that the dog gets confused to which one he lives in.
Anyway, when the builder had the new lot surveyed, I realized that I had more room in the back than I had thought. The rear 100 feet of my property is an easement for the electric company right away. They insist that there be no permanent structures or large trees that could get in the way of them checking the lines. I keep a border fence back there that can easily be removed to display a variety of perennials that can take abuse and snap back should the electric company crush them. They're mostly wild flowers back there to encourage the birds and insects to visit. Then there's a vast open space where we can set up volleyball nets and such should we wish to entertain with games. A play area. As you get closer to the house, the shed and large trees have been planted.
When the surveyers laid out the new lot, I realized that I was a good 50' into the plantable part of the garden. Instantly I staked out a spot for another shade tree. The nurseries are now getting their tree stock for fall planting. I found a lovely Red Maple to put in the back, kind of off center between the tulip poplar and the beech, placing it at about a 50' angle between these two trees in a triangle shape. When all three trees are fully mature (about 50 years), they should just touch each other with the tips of their branches making a lovely area for a gazebo or other outdoor room. Also, long before they fully mature, we can enjoy the wonderful fall coloring. The tulip poplar gets bright yellow fall color, the beech gets a deep bronze and the maple will get a brilliant red to orange. Add to that the now tiny Japanese maple that will get a gorgeous bright deep red color, the red oak that will get a lovely reddish bronze and the purple cherry that will get a more brilliant purple.
Add to all this the other benefits of shade trees. They help with heating and cooling costs, offer shade to an area that would otherwise bake in the sun and offer the rest of the garden one of the best benefits of all ~ leaf mold. As the autumn leaves drop, we like to rake them up, put them through a grinder and use them as winter mulch. This is the best (in my opinion) winter protection there is. In early spring, with just a light raking, the leaf mold disappears and turns into fertilizer for the plants filling the soil with it's loam and minerals.
You guessed it. I like trees. I need trees. My fair skin won't take a lot of baking from the sun and I need the escape the trees offer. The trees I mentioned are just the ones in the back yard. There are more, you know.
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