Roses, Roses

I have a lot of roses but most of them struggle to get full size. Aside from the ever rampant 'Therese Bugnet', none of my roses have reached full size. Many of them are climbing and lack something to climb on. My fault. Some of them are in spots that are too dry or have too little sun. My fault again. None of them get fed enough. Oops, that's my fault too!

My roses survive in spite of me.

Yet, survive they do. For 11 years here since they were the first plants I put in. They always bloom which is nice because most roses are long blooming. They smell great... not as good as lilac but close. They do last much longer than lilac though so I suppose its all a trade off.

Corner of the Drive

I almost titled this post, My Favourite Spot. Then I realized that I don't have a favourite spot. I have many, many favourite spots. So unless I wanted to do a very long series of posts, I'd have to find another title!

This corner is passed by if you move from the house to anywhere, or from the car to anywhere. It sits at the junction of the road to the Campground yard (which also leads to the dogs building), the drive parking, the path to the firepit and the entry to the Boardwalk Garden. It is impossible to move around without passing by here and yet, Sean still does not notice the blooms... but that is another story, for another day.

The 'William Baffin' rose fills with blooms here, even if it does stretch forever to reach the sun, making it lean all to one side. Still, the roses are pretty with a lovely, soft scent. The lamium continually threatens to take the whole spot over and Iris were added last year. They are my most scented Iris so it is a nice spot to stand when they are blooming. Johnny-Jump-Up shows up in the rock, outside the garden edge, as often as the many, many weeds. But still this spot manages to put on a magnificent display year after year.

I think this is one of my favourite spots because it represents the way I see my garden. A little messy, slightly overgrown, never weeded enough but still dazzling me daily!

The Season of the Rose

Here are all the reasons I love roses today.

 

Morden Blush

 John Cabot

John Cabot (closer) with friend

William Baffin

unknown rose, saved from the trash at my aunt's garden

Marilyn's rose

That is going to look awesome once those buds open along with the baby's breath behind them. Plus, I can't even begin to describe the scents as I wander through them all!

Rose, 'Therese Bugnet'

'Therese Bugnet' is one of my favourite roses. They fill with flowers in the summer, starting early and ending late. The leaves start out light green, turn dark and then turn shades of burgundy and red that last throughout the fall, ending well after the first snowfall. They grew quickly, reaching full height within two seasons and have been an anchor in my sun gardens ever since. Best of all, they require very little attention. This year I moved the slide between them and the Siberian Iris which also add to an interesting fall display. Many of my perennials disappear or become little piles of dead leaves and stalks by now which leaves me always searching for something to plant next year that will add to my fall garden views. Today, I am thinking I will try coneflower again next year. Of course, by spring I could have a change of heart. Coneflower can be a challenge in our too dry, too hot, too short season and they cost too much to treat them as annuals. Too many too's to try for a lazy gardener! Whatever I add, it will be hard to beat the fall view in this tiny spot in my large, empty, October garden. No doubt about it, 'Therese Bugnet' is a winner.

Rose, 'J.P. Connell'

This 'J.P. Connell' rose was a gift from Judy and is my first yellow rose. It came to me in a bag and I transplanted it to a pot while I got its' permanent spot ready. I was told it was a climbing rose so I planned to put it on the second trellis next to the 'John Davis' pink climbing rose. It is very fragrant and I thought the pink and yellow would look pretty together off the front deck. However, looking it up this evening, I discovered it is an explorer shrub rose. It will not have room to grow between the trellis and the deck. This means I need to find a place for the 'J.P. Connell' and decide which of the climbing roses will climb the second front trellis. All the climbing roses I have are in shades of pink. I think I may still have an unplanted 'John Davis'. I could plant them together, one on each trellis. I'll have to give that a think.

Roses!

As much as I hate to see the iris end, it means the roses have started! The 'Therese Bugnet' is the earliest of my roses and started with the iris but 'William Baffin' (above) had its' first open bloom yesterday. Today it is full. 'John Cabot' and Marilyn's rose opened along with it. All the others are in full bud and I expect to see more varieties open over the next few days. There are several reasons I love roses. The scent, the colours, the abundant blooms and the fact that they will flower now right through until fall. What more could you ask of a flowering shrub?