Flowers---I haz dem?

Happy Fat Tuesday!!! 

For the past few days, I’ve been had spring flowers on my brain. I’ve always been a rose lover, but have never undertaken growing my own until recently.  

The rose above is the first one I planted in my yard 2 years ago. I forget the name of it though!!  Isn’t it beautiful?  This plant had continuous blooms for the entire summer and most of the fall as well.  At one point, DH counted 12 roses blooming on that bush.  I rarely even cut them because they were so pretty!  I thought I had some kind of magic touch when it came to roses because that one grow so easily and abundantly.  LOL—was I wrong!

Last year, I got my hands on the last Blue Moon rose bush at Walmart.  I had looked around several places for a few weeks but this was the only one I found.  I planted it and didn’t have the same luck with my roses as last year.   Last year’s spring and summer were incredibly wet and humid and my roses developed black spot. (You can see some if on the leaves of the yellow rose pic) Now the Blue Moon above did grow but not nearly as big and full as my yellow bush the first year.  I was disappointed but also started to educate myself on how to care for my roses.  I stopped at my fave local greenhouse, Chapon’s Greenhouse. They not only do organic gardening but have a very knowledgeable stuff that was willing to answer questions for a clueless newb like myself.  They even have 2 adorable, friendly kittehs that live there—Ashes and Lily, pictured below from their site.

Chapon’s recommended a spray for the black spot, which did help. But I was still cutting diseased leaves all summer.  I’m hoping that this year I can get ahead and do some pruning this evening if it isn’t raining.   I also plan to do some fertilizing come early spring time to help encourage as much new growth as possible.   And with spring comes new flowers and and ideas!

I FINALLY got DH to give in on his clematis plant.  He had grown it for 3 years on our metal arbor and every year it would die.  I talked to one of the guys at Chapon’s, who confirmed for me that the metal arbor was too hot.  The plant was probably being scorched.  I had been nagging him for the past 2 years to admit defeat and let me plant some climbing roses so I was so happy to run home and deliver the verdict from an expert!  The pic above is called Eden Climber or Pierre de Ronsard.  Just look at those beautiful blooms!   It’s considered to be an old fashioned English rose and it blooms perpetually all summer.  Within a year it can grow to cover your arbor, which is what I am hoping for!  And the color runs from deeper pink to light pale pink.  Just so pretty. 

I’ve also built up a pretty healthy wishlist for roses even though my small yard couldn’t accommodate them all.  The pic above is the Anne Boleyn Rose. (All pics after the kittehs have been taken from my Pinterest page and you can find direct links there).  It’s a David Austin Rose, a specialty English rose breeder.  The thing I like about this is the name (I’m a huge Tudor history buff) and that it can be grown in a large container.  I would like to order this one and put on my deck for the summer.

The next one is so pretty.  It’s a Joseph’s Coat climbing rose.  The variations of color would make a great contrast to climb up the other side our arbor.

Now isn’t this one gorgeous?  It’s a Marilyn Monroe Hybrid Tea rose.  Most of the roses you buy in a florist shop are Hybrid Teas.  We think of these as traditional roses, but they are far from it.  The MM rose is a beautiful apricot shade and very tolerant to heat.  Also considered disease resistant, which I am starting to appreciate after dealing with black spot for the first time!

This one is just so striking---the Kleopatra rose.  I have no idea where I would plant this one but I would find somewhere for it if I had to!

Here are some of my fave images from my Pinterest of some gardens (click on pics as they are linked to original sources):

 

I just love that romantic cottage look that climbing roses can give to a home.  Now if I can just find a climbing rose that likes some shade!  Then I will have something to plant to grow around the ugly metal things that hold up our porch roof!

Would love to hear any rose tips, tricks or advice if you have any!  I’m in Zone 6b and most of the roses I have been researching are able to be grown there.  

Do you have any favorite roses or rose memories?  My fave memory is when DH used to buy me roses when we were first married.  (We’re an ‘old’ married couple now, so flowers are few and far between).   Our kitteh Duncan would always steal one of the roses from the vase.  And he would just lie down with it, never eating it.  I have caught him sneaking up to vases several times over the years!!!   Maybe he just likes the smell! 

I will keep you updated on my flowers for this year too!  My lilac bush is already budding thanks to our warm winter!!!