Wish we could had some rain here Nollie! It’s bone dry in my garden and the surface of the soil has become crusty and hard. Completely different soil at my allotment plot, it’s really retaining the moisture well. I’ve been going there a lot trying to get it into shape. It’s a lot of work digging the new beds because the ground hasn’t been used in over three years so it’s very thick with weedy roots. Getting there though slowly.
Roses look ok despite the dry weather, I’ve done a couple of deep waterings. Noticed Kew Gardens starting to look floppy at the tips a few days ago so that called me to action. I remember it was like this last April and then we had a really soggy summer.
Mortimer Sackler has shot up, considering it started growing much later than the others and it’s been moved once in November and again in March!
..2 points to make about the naming... as I said earlier the original name was 'Kashmiri', which doesn't indicate the breeding or any association with Tuscany the place, that came later when he got more commercially orientated... similarly, his 'Shropshire Lass' rose was originally called 'Pink Ribbon' but got renamed when the English Rose designation came in.. ... secondly, I understand the late Mr Austin, in his early days, was adept at misleading other breeders regarding his roses, so he would put out there a particular line of breeding deliberately to put others off the track... so in effect the stated seed and pollen parent, could be regarded as suspect... he apparently took some pleasure in leading everyone up the garden path, so to speak..
Competition and subterfuge, combined with some jealousy at success, was rife back in those days, as it still is today... and Austins are one of the most heavily protective of their breeding lines, rarely releasing any details...
...we had heavy rain late yesterday and last night, enough to fill my water butts... I needed it, as my hose water is so hard, roses hate it.. they know the difference and all it does is keep them going, but they don't thrive on it..
Chianti is so elegant and graceful in its shape... I remember taking the picture..
..in a normal year I would check on my roses several times a day... now it's about 20 times a day.. round and round.... presumably it's the same for you all?...
I’m managing to limit myself to 2-3 times a day. I inspect the roses while I’m brushing off the aphids with my paint brush. Some days I don’t check at all, other than looking out of the window, if I’m working at the allotment. Which does mean that when I next look I see more of a change.
i noticed a big bud on my clematis Nelly Moser the other day. Which really surprised me because I planted it in autumn out of the pot I’d grown now it on in last year and cut it back to the lowest buds. So I was expecting it to just put on growth and maybe a few flowers much later on.
But it’s put out a bud at the second set of leaves on one stem
I also spotted yesterday that my cantabrigiense Geraniums, even the teeny little ones that just got popped into the ground, have got flower buds! 😁
Well we have defied the weather forecast today and it is sunny with clear blue skies!! The forecast in my little microclimate is often inaccurate, with two opposing weather systems, from the Med and the Pyrenees, always fighting for dominance.
Here is the first opened bloom of Astonomia, much bigger than I thought it was going to be at 9cm/3.5” across:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Plus the first bud on Lady of Shallott - actually I did have an earlier one but it was half munched so I snipped it off. I have noticed something is rasping away the fleshy undersides of the leaves on lots of roses, leaving a thin, see-through layer on top as you can see here:
Plus lots of new blooms on Diamond Eyes including this one:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Posts
Completely different soil at my allotment plot, it’s really retaining the moisture well. I’ve been going there a lot trying to get it into shape. It’s a lot of work digging the new beds because the ground hasn’t been used in over three years so it’s very thick with weedy roots. Getting there though slowly.
Roses look ok despite the dry weather, I’ve done a couple of deep waterings. Noticed Kew Gardens starting to look floppy at the tips a few days ago so that called me to action. I remember it was like this last April and then we had a really soggy summer.
Mortimer Sackler has shot up, considering it started growing much later than the others and it’s been moved once in November and again in March!
Im enjoying reading everyone’s posts. 🙂
... secondly, I understand the late Mr Austin, in his early days, was adept at misleading other breeders regarding his roses, so he would put out there a particular line of breeding deliberately to put others off the track... so in effect the stated seed and pollen parent, could be regarded as suspect... he apparently took some pleasure in leading everyone up the garden path, so to speak..
Competition and subterfuge, combined with some jealousy at success, was rife back in those days, as it still is today... and Austins are one of the most heavily protective of their breeding lines, rarely releasing any details...
Chianti is so elegant and graceful in its shape... I remember taking the picture..
i noticed a big bud on my clematis Nelly Moser the other day. Which really surprised me because I planted it in autumn out of the pot I’d grown now it on in last year and cut it back to the lowest buds. So I was expecting it to just put on growth and maybe a few flowers much later on.
But it’s put out a bud at the second set of leaves on one stem
I also spotted yesterday that my cantabrigiense Geraniums, even the teeny little ones that just got popped into the ground, have got flower buds! 😁
I love those and so do the bees.
.
Plus lots of new blooms on Diamond Eyes including this one: