I find a relief in the end of the season. Some say we shouldn't think of "putting the garden to bed" but I always look forward to it.
Is it because there is just too much to do during the season? I don't have a proper garden yet but I am begining to wonder if choosing lower maintenance shrubs (except for roses of course) is the way to go for me. Even now I am barely able to stay on top of it all...
I have various long term health issues going on and a very dodgy back so I find the daily physicality quite hard going, esp lifting soil and pots.
I also find it difficult to go away in the spring and summer to grow on small plants, esp seeds. I find the plants in my garden feel a bit like a bit like pets to me. I am trying to grow fewer plants better; I want them - in my small garden - to thrive. So I'm having a relationship with thousands of plants that I'm trying to nurture and it's quite tiring. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. That said, I would love to have a garden of many acres. Yes, it's a conundrum. @Dasha
Glad you're getting some late season compensation @Nollie. I'm mentally ready to prune and transplant roses but everything has buds on again. Colder now so I don't know how this will pan out.
One thing puzzling me is how Bathsheba blooms have become rain resistant, we had heavy rain for 2 days Thurs and Fri, these blooms were open.
@PeterAberdeen any idea what variety is your Daphne? I read they don't live long but your experience is different. I read similar things about lavender but then some people keep them alive for decades... Trial and error I guess
Sorry @Dasha as it was planted 20 years or so ago I have no idea. But looking up Daphne × transatlantica Eternal Fragrance - it looks very similar.
I’m not sure yet re Love Song @WAMS, probably down to 12”. I’ve made the mistake of not being brutal enough with floribundas before.
It’s been a mixed year due to mad weather swings @Tack, so it’s nice to get a late bonus. Gorgeous Bathsheba blooms there with the pop of red in the background. Rain (and heat) resistance can improve with age, I recall how bad Soul was in rain to begin with, but it soon toughened up. Not every rose, I have late blooms on La Rose de Molinard but they’re spoiling even in morning dew!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
What happens if I was to trim the top of the canes on a rambler (Dorothy Perkins) to keep it within a defined space/height. I do not mean a silly short length - more 5 meters?
Would it just get bushier along the cane or would I be causing it to throw up even more canes?
I have one rambler climbing along wires and it has reached the end (5 mtrs) and was wondering how to contain it.
PeterAberdeen said: What happens if I was to trim the top of the canes on a rambler
I trim mine back to fit the space and it just seems to encourage more flowers on the rest of it. I do, however, somewhat train some of the canes horizontally (for more flowers), so, if you have the opportunity to wire the canes sideways instead of cutting them back, that might be a good option.
@Nollie, knowing how good you are with roses, I hope you don't mind me asking, but when you were referring to cutting back your floribundas to 12" were you talking about doing it now for the winter? I have several of them and was considering cutting mine back. tia
@Meomye, mine are still in full growth, so no, it’s too early for me. I do my main annual prune around January.
You have a bigger winter dormancy window in the UK, roughly November to March, depending on your local climate. Tbh, roses are much more relaxed about these things than we are!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
You think the garden is winding down, only to find after a weekend away you have a bowl of Raspberries and these in flower! The heads are bowed after heavy rain, but these were in flower in July and have been cut back twice after flowering already. Ruby Wedding Red standard. It had defoliated after its first flush, but has flowered again. Celebration for the third time. White climber that was cut back to the rope swags in August. On the other side of the trellis this Sheila's Perfumed is looking very sorry for itself.
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It’s been a mixed year due to mad weather swings @Tack, so it’s nice to get a late bonus. Gorgeous Bathsheba blooms there with the pop of red in the background. Rain (and heat) resistance can improve with age, I recall how bad Soul was in rain to begin with, but it soon toughened up. Not every rose, I have late blooms on La Rose de Molinard but they’re spoiling even in morning dew!
What happens if I was to trim the top of the canes on a rambler (Dorothy Perkins) to keep it within a defined space/height. I do not mean a silly short length - more 5 meters?
Would it just get bushier along the cane or would I be causing it to throw up even more canes?
I have one rambler climbing along wires and it has reached the end (5 mtrs) and was wondering how to contain it.
You have a bigger winter dormancy window in the UK, roughly November to March, depending on your local climate. Tbh, roses are much more relaxed about these things than we are!
The heads are bowed after heavy rain, but these were in flower in July and have been cut back twice after flowering already. Ruby Wedding
Red standard. It had defoliated after its first flush, but has flowered again.
Celebration for the third time.
White climber that was cut back to the rope swags in August.
On the other side of the trellis this Sheila's Perfumed is looking very sorry for itself.