Addicted to Roses

My current rose list is below. Some pix follow. My roses are planted with lots of compost. And mulched regularly with compost. The roses generally sulk in the worst of summer's heat. Summer 2002 brought us a serious drought. Now, November, after several good soaking rains, some of the roses are blooming again. I am training a mystery pink rose up into the ornamental peach tree, and it is now higher than the garage roof! It offers large clusters of pale pink roses that mingle with the dark burgundy peach tree leaves...quite nice. Every year I hard prune and thin the peach so sunlight can reach the rose. White 'Casa Blanca' is climbing up one side of a trellis in the front and is mixing with Kay's Mystery red rose climbing up the other side. I just added Clematis 'Multi Blue' to this group. Nearby is the yellow rose 'Golden Showers' with pale blue Clematis 'Ramona' climbing way up. Rugosa rose 'Blanc Double de Coubert' has an absolutely delicious scent and is putting on some size and is beginning to crowd a lavender plant. 'Climbing Peace' is on the fence behind her. 'Climbing Joseph's Coat' has been a great performer so far this year. Growing up through its stems is a grove of thalictrum 'Lavender Mist.' Miniature rose 'Jeanne Lajoie' got enormous this year, billowing over the corner of the front wall. Her hundreds of perfect tiny pink flowers are surrounded by huge pillows of nepeta 'Six Hills Giant.' Centaurea dealbata 'Rosea' is just up the slope. To get to Jeanne you step around a huge salvia officinalis which peeks out from underneath Hypericum x moseranum 'Tricolor.' In front of the hypericum is Rosa Cherry Sunblaze, whose bright red flowers echo the red-pink in the hypericum's leaves. Nice. A couple years ago, I dug up 'Jacques Cartier' to give to a fellow plant nut in order to make room for a big hole for a goldfish and water plant pond (see my pond page). And this spring I dug up two 'Touch of Class' HT roses, a mystery deep red rose, and 'Dame de Couer' to sell at our plant sale, and to make room for chard and tomatoes! 'Dame de Couer' now lives in North Carolina. Tip: keep a big container of epsom salts in the kitchen for soaking your fingers if you get pricked by a thorn. Get the water as hot as you can stand it and soak for at least 10 minutes, several times. Or, better yet, try to stay centered and calm while fiddling with your roses... yeah, right. I bought Judith McKeon's book: Gardening with Roses. She was the Rosarian at the Morris Arboretum and her love for roses is contagious. Lots of great combination ideas can be found in the book. Recommend her Encyclopedia of Roses as well. Next, you'll see my rose list and several photos.

Here is my 2002 rose list:

Name Type Source Color 'Paul's Scarlet' Climber, old-timer it was already here very RED 'Buff Beauty' Hybrid musk Morris Arboretum buffy creamy 'Rosa Mundi' Gallica Roses of Yesterday deep pink & white 'Blanc Double de Coubert' Rugosa Roses of Yesterday PURE WHITE, fragrant 'Black Jade' Mini Morris Arboretum blackish red 'Seashell' Hybrid tea Morris Arboretum pinkish coral 'Cherry Sunblaze' Patio/mini Bryn Mawr Feed RED 'Hansa' Rugosa Morris Arboretum magenta Kay's Mystery Rose Climber from a friend hot red-pink 'Jeanne Lajoie' Mini Nor'East Min. Roses pink 'Rainbow's End' Mini Nor'East Min. Roses yellows & reds 'Love' Grandiflora Butner's Old Mill red & white 'Casa Blanca' Climber Roseraie at Bayfields WHITE Name Type Source Color 'Harison's Yellow' Hybrid foetida Roseraie at Bayfields yellow 'Climbing Peace' Cl. Hybrid tea Mostardi's Multi 'Cl. Joseph's Coat' Cl. Hybrid tea Mostardi's Multi-amazing-colors 'Old Blush' China rose Mom Pink Mystery Pink Climber, vigorous Hortico/Mom not Zepherine Drouhin as sold and 4 more unknown types hither & yon don't know colors yet 'Carefree Beauty' Dr. Griffith Buck Roseraie at Bayfields rose pink 'Alba Semi Plena' Alba Roseraie at Bayfields milky white 'Perdita' David Austin my sister pale pinkish cream 'Meipoque' Meidiland a fellow rose nut  pink 'MEIdomonac' Bonica same rose nut pink 'Cl. Queen Elizabeth' Climber Flower Show 1999 pink/yellow/cream 'Simplicity' Shrub a friend pink 'Golden Showers' (2) Climber a friend yellow 10 mysteries Miniatures Flower Show rejects reds, yellows Rosa 'Simplicity' 'Buff Beauty' on the fence 'Alba Semi-Plena' can take some shade 'Perdita' is a David Austin Buds of 'Climbing Peace' "SO MANY ROSES, SO LITTLE TIME..." Home Page | Composting | Worms | Cats | Amorphophallus | Suza's Plants | Garden Tips | Ponds and Aquatics | TradeWorms...world travelers | Related Links  suzaplants@earthlink.net Back to top