New Favorite Roses!

Who says climber aren't as pretty as hybrid teas? These two older large climbers are topping my chart right now with the shear number of blooms, the amount of new growth and the strength of very good roses. The color of Summer Wine is very luscious as is the fragrance. There are few coral/pink roses that I really like and this is one.

Summer Wine ~ Kordes, Germany, 1984, Parentage Unknown.

Another new (for me) variety that has impressed me is City of York, a lovely white rose with very yellow centers and stamens and a fragrance that is extremely mouth watering and unique.

This is also an extremely vigorous rose similar to a rambler. The buds are a creamy yellow opening into a lovely white bloom with the bright yellow stamens. It was named after the city of York, Pennsylvania.

City of York ~ Tantau, Germany, 1945, 'Professor Gnau' x 'Dorthy Perkins'.

Both these roses were planted last year and allowed to grow a full year before they started blooms. It is normal for climbers to bloom on old wood, so they do need that first year to gather their strength and grow some wood for the following season.

I was also impressed with the strength and ability to overwinter in my area. Neither had any winter kill and started just where they left off this spring. I've been watching these roses as they pushed out this spring and budded up. Now I will get to see them boom in all their glory and wonder why I hid these terrific beauties back around the square foot garden. Actually it was the only place I had with a fence large enough for these large beauties to grow on. And when I thought about it, I spend a good many of my early mornings and almost every evening back in the garden tending it, so they will get seen and enjoyed on a daily basis.

I spent a year deciding on which roses I wanted for this area and another year as they got their start. It was a decision that I am not displeased with at all.

Mornings

There are morning when I don't have to report to the office until a bit later. Those morning this time of year are my favorite. I get to do the things I love to do most - inspect my garden with my morning coffee and water the pot plants. The earlier it begins to get light, the earlier I'm outside.

This year my beech is looking exceptionally stunning. Usually a lovely shade of pink this time of year, this year it is a deep pink. Just beautiful.

The rhododendrons are beginning to be done now. This Roseum Elegans which was found two years ago dying in a Walmart parking lot, is now one of the most stunning of my Rhodies. Still quite small, it is just knocking itself out trying to let me know that it likes my care.

The trees are finished blooming now and the perennials are just getting started. I was very happy this morning, complete content as I picked the first strawberries for the season. I see good eating coming.

Spring

Spring here is always lovely and sometimes heartbreaking. Last autumn we had a buck rub the bark off our Sweet gum tree. It was really bad and totally around the tree, so we replaced it with another sweet gum. This spring, the new sweet gum didn't even break dormancy and we knew it had died almost as soon as it was dug. So, we gathered all the paper work and took it back to the nursery and got another Autumn Purple Ash for back there. This one is in leaf and for the past week seems to be adjusting well to it's new environment. Of course there has been nothing but high wind and lots of rain. The rain is OK, but the high winds can be a problem. I really need to get out there with some of the systemic for bore for it. Then next month this time I will give it a second douse of the fish emulsion for the roots. Then it will be allowed to grow and establish for the rest of the season.

Every year I try to plant something interesting that we found somewhere. Three years ago I found a little rhododendron that was half dead from no care and sitting in the blazing sun in the middle of a parking lot at Walmart. I had gotten several plants that day, but this one looked interesting. It turned out to be a mismarked variety, was very, very weak but cost $1. Oh, what the heck, if it died, then it died. But for $1, I bought it. Today it is strong and healthy and gives me the most beautiful 'Roseum Elegans' blooms you could ask for.

Last autumn I was strolling through Home Depot looking for bargains when I ran across a cart that had a bunch of half dead plants on it. I checked out the plants closely than asked a clerk about the plants on the cart. She told me that they were headed for the "burn pile" and she would get me a manager if I wanted anything off that cart. When the manager arrived I had asked about a very tiny Threadleaf Japanese maple that had most of its branches broken off from the dry summer. So, for a few dollars, I brought home this small, sad looking maple that pushed out this spring and grew like it was completely happy. The original price tag was still on this tree when I acquired it. $79.95. This was quite the buy and I was able to save this little guy from the burn bin.

There are some things you will pay full price for but every now and again I do run across this wonderful acquisitions. This little tree has the makings to be a really beautiful, low, spreading maple which is what I want for this area. It came out nicely and is growing very nicely.