Friday, April 29, 2011

April Roses

On one side I feel my roses never have been more beautiful than in the spring flush of this April. That is mostly due to the fact that many of my rose bushes are now three years planted into the ground and they have become mature enough to develop their full potential. On the other side I have lots of fungal disease problems, especially powdery mildew and blackspot. I believe, that the relatively cool and wet spring that we were having here in Southern California is responsible for that and expect the fungal disease problems  to go away as the weather is warming up.

I would like to share with you a couple of my favorite pictures of roses blooming in my garden from this month, even though some will show the fungal problems that certain roses are suffering from. I feel, I would like to keep my blog "real" and also dare to post the "not so perfect"-shots of roses flowering in my garden.

(you can click on the photos to enlarge)



'Mme. Ernest Calvat'. This is a photo of a nice bud just opening, but unfortunately 'Mme. Ernest Calvat' is one of the roses that is suffering so badly from some kind of blackspot that I do not know, if I will keep it in the garden. If only the blooms were not so beautiful and the fragrance so strong and pleasing, it probably would have been kicked out of the yard already...




'Baronne Prevost'. The first flush of this rose is already over, but at least 'Baronne Prevost' wants to repeat for me. The bloom is lovely, but as you can see this rose is having some powdery mildew on the leaves.




My 'White Bed" in the back yard is approaching its spring flush peak. From the left to the right you can see 'Pope John Paul II,' 'Iceberg', 'Iceberg', and 'Climbing Iceberg'.




'Rose de Rescht'. This rose is so fragrant, it is unbelievable. I really love the pompom like blooms. The color is hard to capture for my camera, but it is a truly nice cerise. One of my favorite roses right now!




'Grandmother's Hat'. Since I planted this rose in the ground a couple of weeks ago it has really been taking off. I am very fond of the darker pink center in contrast to the pale pink outer petals of this rose bloom.




Another shot of 'Grandmother's Hat'.  As you can see the look of this bloom differs quite a bit from the photo of the one above. One could almost believe that it is a different rose, but it is not. I like that the Old Garden Roses change a lot in appearance depending on the weather, the amount of sunlight that they get etc. Rarely one bloom is exactly like the other. In contrast to that modern Hybrid Tea rose flowers look much more alike.




'Mme. Caroline Testout' looking down on me. This is one of my new bands. The small rose is already showing the characteristically bloom form, very globular, with the outer edge of rose petals scrolling backwards. It is one of the early bred Hybrid Tea roses and I find the shape of the flower, which is so far away from the nowadays favored  "exhibition form", quite charming.



'Pope John Paul II'. This year the first flush of this rose is suffering a lot from insect damage. I have no idea, why they bug PJPII so much this spring. Still I love it. I also like the green buds, especially in contrast to the pure white open blooms.




On the photo above you can see a full bush shot of the 'Pope John Paul II'. Other than the reputation of modern Hybrid Tea roses, which is that they are bare legged, this one is producing a nice bush fully closed in leaves down to the ground. In my yard this rose is very vigorous and bloomiferous.



'Sweet Chariot' is also one of my new bands that is doing particularly well. This little guy has a very strong fragrance and just wants to bloom and bloom and bloom. The small flowers are quite charming and I appreciate the different coloration of the blooms on one bush as they age. There is just one catch. It needs constant deadheading of the little flowers, which I guess can become quite a chore as the rose matures.




Yolande d'Aragon in the bud stage...




... and when the flower is open. This one is also a very fragrant rose.




'Pierre de Ronsard'. This is one of the first open flowers of this rose. Somehow it is very late to bloom this year.




'Devoniensis Climbing'. Showing a very delicate bud with morning dew.


Hope you enjoyed the photos of some of my roses that bloomed this month!

See you in the garden!

Christina



9 comments:

  1. Very pretty roses. I can't believe how many blooms 'Sweet Chariot' has on it already! I don't spray either, so I'm used to roses not being perfect. I think real is better. Love your white garden!

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  2. Beautiful roses ! Mine are having mostly blackspot and a little mildew and rust ... and, it's raining again !!! Very unusual for this time of year !

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  3. Oh, what a lovely tour! The white garden is wonderful. I have been considering Sweet Chariot. The deadheading chore seems a worthwhile trade-off for this charming little guy!
    Sandra

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  4. Such beautiful roses you in bloom this Spring. Very lovely blooms, beautiful foliage. I have considered Pope John Paul II for some time and may have to take the plunge soon!

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  5. Oh Christina, I really love how different our gardens are. I love all your vintage roses, especially grandmother's hat. How is that rose doing as far as the foliage? I really need to come see and smell them all. How are your newest austins doing?

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  6. Holley, thanks for leaving such a nice comment! Yeah, 'Sweet Chariot' seems to be quite a trooper. I am curious to see how this rose will behave as it becomes taller.

    DANI, thanks! Now we already could need rain here in Southern California, again. The last days have been quite warm and windy so everything dried out pretty quickly.

    Sandra, thanks, I am glad you stopped by again. I am happy that you like my "White Bed". 'Sweet Chariot' seems like a real winner judging of what I have seen so far. And the fragrance... for such a little rose it is truly amazing. Maybe you just should get him?!

    Redneck Rosarian, thanks for your kind words. 'Pope John Paul II' is definitively my favorite white Hybrid Tea rose. It is also coming with an outstanding fragrance. I would encourage everyone to give this rose a try!

    Stephanie, thanks for leaving a comment! Yes, our gardens are truly different, even though we live close by. It makes my heart leap that you love the Old Garden Roses. They are just so dear to me. 'Grandmother's Hat's' foliage is looking great no disease whatsoever! I would love you to come over to see and smell the roses whenever you have time!

    Christina

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  7. Gorgeous roses here! I found you thru A Gardener in Progress. I'm attempting to grow a few roses organically in NC. I spent an hour this morning hand-picking some sort of worm off one bush, which I then fed to the chickens :o) I'll be back when I have some time to peruse your lovely blog. I definitely need some help!

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  8. Beautiful roses! My PJPII is just covered in blackspot :(. You must be working some kind of magic on yours.... I have wanted Sweet Chariot for awhile, maybe I will finally get it after seeing your picture - it looks great.

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  9. Laurie, welcome to my blog and thanks for leaving a comment! It always makes me happy to hear that someone is growing roses organically. I also have some small green caterpillars, which look like worms, eating my rose leaves right now and I pick them by hand, too. Unfortunately I don't have any chickens to feed them to ;-)! I looked briefly at your blog and liked it quite a bit. Love your dogs! Will revisit your blog soon!

    Masha, sorry to hear that your PJPII is covered in blackspot. Without exaggerating mine is completely healthy here, except insect damage on the flower (most likely caused by thrips). I don't do anything special to it other than watering and fertilizing it well and give it worm castings. I guess it just likes my climate.
    Today it was very hot here and 'Sweet Chariot' took the heat well whereas other of my roses fried. One more reason that speaks for this little guy. I say: Get it! I think, you really will enjoy the strong fragrance, too.

    Christina

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