I’ve had a little ‘clear out’ of my main balcony this season.. I’ve given away two of my patio roses to my partner as I just wasn’t in love with them last year.. both sold as ‘good fragrance’ at the garden centre but only very mildly scented to my nose..
I’ve also moved the other two patio roses and sadly my ‘royal William’ to my shady second balcony.. again I wasn’t overly in love with these three either but didn’t have the heart to banish them completely..
This means I now have more space for potentially 2 to 3 new roses.. but they must all be tolerant of strong wind as the most sheltered spots have all been taken up by my favourites.. Roald Dhal so far has proven itself being worthy of being wind tolerant and i shall see how Tottering by gently, Gabriel Oak and Eustacia Vye fare this year.. all marketed as tolerant of windy and exposed environment and all three in the most exposed spot on my balcony.. I might buy a few more of these if they turn out to be as hardy as DA makes them out to be..
Some of you may notice that I seem very DA-centric.. that’s partly because none of the other rose breeders include a ‘suitable for windy and exposed site’ filter on their search engine.. I believe DA is the only one that does that and given my circumstance of a very windy balcony I feel naturally drawn to them.. (okay and their brochures and website look stunning too 🤩) 😉
@celcius_kkw ..your balcony is a joy Adrian, I prefer bulbs in pots too, yours are superlative.. and the roses all looking good... I'm looking forward to some more choices from you..
.. @Mr. Vine Eye ...I'm glad you like the grass, it is very popular everywhere... so you got lucky with that actually.. it's amazing how Brunnera survive even from tiny little pieces.. you've got some planting to do I see..
.. @newbie77 ..oh I love your Viburnums, wish I had some.. I can see your Daphne is not happy, but your burkwoodii is a gem..
Sorry to ask another question, Ive had a bit of clear out/move around of perenials to make way for some roses. My veg patch is a temporary home for many until I can work out where to fit them back in. I have a load of monarda I'd like to keep, their most likely new home will be next to a trio of Da's eglantyne. The monarda almost always get mildew in the late summer, my question is.. does that dramatically increase the chances of neighboring roses catching it too? Tia.
..a few bits and pieces from me today.. nothing extraordinary..
Veronica 'Georgia Blue' is indispensable for early flowering.. Narcissus 'Jetfire' has been flowering for a long time.. 'The Country Parson' in a pot.. I think it's going to be quite nice this year.. ..part of my road frontage.. some of these border edgers get run over occasionally.. 'England's Rose' is bottom right, showing signs it's recovering from rose replant..
Veronica 'Georgia Blue' is looking beautiful. Those little blue flowers are looking great with fresh green foliage.
In my morning day off, I sowed lots of seeds from whatever old packets I had lying around. Dont know they would even germinate. Then divided hosta June. This is a beautiful variety and somehow a bit slug/snail resistant, so I wanted to create more plants of it. Also re-potted some plants in fresh compost. And the time finished
This is first time I am noticing rose foliage. They are so different some red, some green, big and small.
I think my munstead wood cuttings are not surviving, but anyway... I didnt dispose them yet.
Feels like spring has sprung today after two nice days. Lots of bugs waking up, saw first butterfly (small tort), bee fly and several queen wasps.
My two stugglees are picking up, should hopefully be ok if I keep an eye on them. Countess of Wessex which was planted over winter but started dying back. I've already chopped away half of it.
Evelyn Fison which I previously had in a border but never did well. I'm hoping it'll do better in a pot on its own without any other plants harassing it.
Posts
I’ve had a little ‘clear out’ of my main balcony this season.. I’ve given away two of my patio roses to my partner as I just wasn’t in love with them last year.. both sold as ‘good fragrance’ at the garden centre but only very mildly scented to my nose..
I’ve also moved the other two patio roses and sadly my ‘royal William’ to my shady second balcony.. again I wasn’t overly in love with these three either but didn’t have the heart to banish them completely..
This means I now have more space for potentially 2 to 3 new roses.. but they must all be tolerant of strong wind as the most sheltered spots have all been taken up by my favourites.. Roald Dhal so far has proven itself being worthy of being wind tolerant and i shall see how Tottering by gently, Gabriel Oak and Eustacia Vye fare this year.. all marketed as tolerant of windy and exposed environment and all three in the most exposed spot on my balcony.. I might buy a few more of these if they turn out to be as hardy as DA makes them out to be..
Some of you may notice that I seem very DA-centric.. that’s partly because none of the other rose breeders include a ‘suitable for windy and exposed site’ filter on their search engine.. I believe DA is the only one that does that and given my circumstance of a very windy balcony I feel naturally drawn to them.. (okay and their brochures and website look stunning too 🤩) 😉
..your balcony is a joy Adrian, I prefer bulbs in pots too, yours are superlative.. and the roses all looking good... I'm looking forward to some more choices from you..
.. @Mr. Vine Eye
...I'm glad you like the grass, it is very popular everywhere... so you got lucky with that actually.. it's amazing how Brunnera survive even from tiny little pieces.. you've got some planting to do I see..
.. @newbie77
..oh I love your Viburnums, wish I had some.. I can see your Daphne is not happy, but your burkwoodii is a gem..
Veronica 'Georgia Blue' is indispensable for early flowering..
Narcissus 'Jetfire' has been flowering for a long time..
'The Country Parson' in a pot.. I think it's going to be quite nice this year..
..part of my road frontage.. some of these border edgers get run over occasionally..
'England's Rose' is bottom right, showing signs it's recovering from rose replant..
In my morning day off, I sowed lots of seeds from whatever old packets I had lying around. Dont know they would even germinate. Then divided hosta June. This is a beautiful variety and somehow a bit slug/snail resistant, so I wanted to create more plants of it. Also re-potted some plants in fresh compost. And the time finished
This is first time I am noticing rose foliage. They are so different some red, some green, big and small.
I think my munstead wood cuttings are not surviving, but anyway... I didnt dispose them yet.
My two stugglees are picking up, should hopefully be ok if I keep an eye on them. Countess of Wessex which was planted over winter but started dying back. I've already chopped away half of it.
Evelyn Fison which I previously had in a border but never did well. I'm hoping it'll do better in a pot on its own without any other plants harassing it.