Sunday, October 4, 2015

September Roses

Something great happened, it has rained in September! For the ones of you not familiar with the climate here let me say, that rain at this time of the year is really unusual for Southern California. The dust got washed off my roses, they took a deep sip of the refreshing rain water and burst open into blooms. So yes, the rain drops that you see on the roses in this post are not from man made artificial watering.



'Lavender Crystal' is with no doubt my favorite Miniature Rose. And the photo above, I believe, is my best shot from the ones that I took last month.



Here is 'Lavender Crystal' on a dry sunny day. No matter what the weather conditions are, the rose always produces an outstanding lavender color. 



'Captain Christy' is a rose that I love, too, but it continues to be a very weak grower. It may need to be grafted on a more vigorous rootstock to be successful in my garden.



'Stephan's Big Purple' certainly enjoyed the hot weather that we were still having in September. 



'Bewitched' is another Hybrid Tea rose that really seems to like the heat of Southern California.



The reliable 'Pope John Paul II', always good for stunning white blooms.



'Belinda's Dreams' is struggling a bit in the location where I planted it. I placed it very close to a Queen Palm and the rose doesn't seem to be quite vigorous enough to put up with the root competition of the palm. But when it blooms, it is certainly beautiful.



The Tea Rose 'Georgetown Tea' stopped flowering completely during the heat of summer, but started again to bloom in September. If I am lucky and we get a good El Nino this year the rose might be blooming throughout the winter. 



'Auckland Metro' is another very reliable Hybrid Tea rose for me. I think her blooms are stunning, too. I particular like the warm light yellow glow that the rose has in the center of the blooms.




Another shot of 'Auckland Metro'.



'Pink Pet' is outdoing itself this year.




I love how it is growing into the obelisk and starts to flirt with the hummingbird. 



'Pink Pet' grows in dappled shade from a nearby Pygmy Date Palm and seem to really like that.



'Pierre de Ronsard' was gearing up for its third flush of the year by the end of September.



Raindrops look always so romantic on roses, don't you think?



'Reine des Violettes' also produced its third flush of the year. It was just a mediocre one, but definitively better than none.



My favorite Tea Rose 'Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux'.



In parts the front yard almost looked like in spring last month. This photo shows 'Old Fashioned Girl' in the foreground, 'Pink Pet' in the middle and 'Climbing Iceberg' in the background.



The tireless 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' doing what she does best: Blooming!



I am starting to worry a little bit about this rose, though. Since about two years it hasn't produced any new basal canes, which means the rose is not renewing itself. Old basal canes die, but they are not replaced by new ones. 



I hope that this lovely Lady is not blooming herself to death. 



'The Prince', always good for a star photo. 



'Marie Pavie' is getting a light pink hue, which indicates that autumn and with that cooler temperatures are close.



I led you go with this photo of 'White Meidiland'. This rose also grows predominately in dappled shade and seem to tolerate that. I love how the light plays with the rose in this image.

After having stopped the monthly rose posts over the summer, I hope that I am able to pick them up again and show you what roses are flowering in my garden each month even throughout autumn and winter. One of the great joys of rose growing here in Southern California is, that with a little bit of planning and choosing the right varieties, you can have roses blooming throughout the whole year.

Wishing everyone a fabulous week!

See you in the garden!

Christina



14 comments:

  1. So glad you've had rain! And the roses do look wonderful with raindrops on them.

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  2. Si, se ven maravillosas. Besitos.

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  3. Even my sad roses perked up a little bit after September's rain but they don't hold a candle to yours, Christina. I hope this current storm front has brought you some more rain - so far, we've received only a pittance (0.03 inches).

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  4. Wunderschön - ich finde Rosen nach dem Regen immer sehr spannend. Hast du eigentlich auch sehr dunkelrote? Bei mir sind sie immer verbrannt. Übrigens - wenn du mal wieder in D bist, lass es mich doch mal wissen. Vielleicht bist du ja in der Nähe.

    Sigrun

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    1. Sigrun, thanks, I also love to look at rose flowers after it has rained. Yes, I do have very dark roses: 'The Prince', a David Austin rose and 'Mister Lincoln', a Hybrid Tea rose. But because our sun is so intense even these roses kind of bleach out very quickly and are not as dark as in a cooler climate except in late autumn or in winter.
      I definitively will let you know, when I am coming to Germany next time. Have to check out your blog and see if there is a way to contact you privately.
      Christina

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  5. Hooray for rain, and beautiful roses!

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  6. Je me réjouis de lire que la pluie s'est invitée dans ton jardin et ces belles pluies d'automne sont indispensables pour nourrir les racines qui ont souffert en été. Voir ce beau rosier Lavender Chrystal constellé de gouttes est un ravissement. malgré la chaleur et la sécheresse, tous tes rosiers offrent de merveilleux arbustes bien chargés de roses resplendissantes.
    Bel automne, belle journée.
    Jocelyne

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  7. Wow !!! So many beautiful roses in September !!! We had some rain too, but my roses are still so far from blooming ...

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  8. Congratulations on your September rain! Nothing says romance like roses, and your roses are gorgeous! The raindrops on your roses do make for wonderful pictures. The last few weeks have been rather dry here. We have had a lot of misty type rain, but nothing to soak the ground and get to the roots. At least we are not also contending with temps in the 90s or above!

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  9. I am pleased to hear you had some rain, The roses thrive! Groetjes, Hetty

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  10. So lovely to have roses blooming year round! It must be so wonderful to take a little stroll to see what is in bloom. They are all enchanting, but I have a special fondness for 'Marie Pavie' and 'Pink Pet'. I must find out if they will grow here near Seattle. Enjoy this lovely season :) xo Karen

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  11. Hooray! Unexpected rain is the best! Glad to see you have lots of happy roses.

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