Summer Roses

Work is still getting the better part of me, but I wanted to pop in with a quick post about roses that have bloomed this summer for me. Despite the scorching dry heat that we are having here in San Diego inland at this time of the year, some roses produced very lovely blooms in my garden.

'The Prince' outdid himself, again. This little casual arrangement brought so much joy to my heart.

'Auckland Metro' also delivered some outstandingly beautiful blooms...

...despite the adverse conditions of summer.

I am still fascinated by the lovely blooms of 'Lavender Crystal'.

This rose is planted in a very difficult spot, but is still able to gift me with its pretty blooms.

'Moonstone was doing great so far this summer.

This rose really loves the heat.... 

...and even needs it to bloom well.

'Yolande d'Aragon' surprised me with a decent second flush this year.

The fragrance of this rose is out of this world.

Another rose that flourishes in the heat is 'Pope John Paul II'. 

The only red rose in my garden: 'Mister Lincoln'.

This is 'Climbing Devoniensis', a Tea Rose. It is a shame that it is still growing in a two gallon container and hasn't made its way into the ground, yet.

'Chandos Beauty' another rose that seem to like the heat of summer.

'Reine des Violettes' is one of my favorite roses in the garden.

This year the second flush was great for the first time that the rose is in the ground.

It seemed to be mature enough now that its ability to rebloom has increased.

To my eye the blooms of this rose are absolutely lovely, the straggly bush itself is another story, though. But nobody is perfect, right?

This is 'Captain Christy'. I am pampering this beauty in a container, but it is still not decided if this rose will be able to live in my garden.

It has very little vigor and even though it is producing blooms from time to time the little bush itself hasn't grown in size.

Hope you have enjoyed this post and my roses brought a smile to your face as they did to mine.

See you in the garden!

Christina

A Tour Through my Garden on a Very Hot Day

Sorry for not blogging for two weeks. My life went on overdrive again and there was simply no time to do it.

We are having a heatwave here in San Diego right now, with temperatures raising up to 98 F/37 C and it is very unpleasant to be outside. I can't take the heat very well and there is no way for me to garden in this weather except to do the absolutely necessary maintenance chores like deadheading and spot watering very early in the morning.

Nonetheless, today I managed to record another Periscope video, touring part of my backyard and showing two vases with roses from the garden. Skylar, our Doberman, had an unexpected guest appearance in there as well. Please have a look:

Hope you enjoyed the video and wishing everyone a nice weekend.

See you in the garden!

Christina

Skyler, the Doberman is Learning Agility...

...and the handler, which is me, as well!

We had a fun dog training class with our rescue Doberman today in the morning. It was the first time that Skylar and I were trying us at agility jumps. Looks like I need more training than he does!

We have Skylar now for about seven months and he is doing great, admittedly after some initial hick-ups with mouthing and jumping, but some minor problems are to be expected when you take in a young rescue dog.

Unlike the vicious reputation of the Doberman Pinscher, Skylar doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body and has never shown any aggression towards human beings or other dogs. As a matter of fact, he is a very sweet dog, with a temperament that is a little more on the anxious side. My husband and I really love him. Can you imagine that he could have been one of the estimated three to four million dogs and cats that are euthanized in American shelters each year according to the Humane Society of the United States?

Hope you enjoy the video done by my husband!





By the way, if you are looking for a great dog trainer in the San Diego area, I can highly recommend ours to you. Her name is Alexandra Gant (resultswithbehave). We are doing our dog training group classes with her and besides that she has helped us so much with any initial issues that we had with Skylar. For us as first time dog owners her advice was/is invaluable and the training classes with her are always fun for Skylar and for us.

Wishing everyone a nice rest of the weekend.

Christina