Friday, March 11, 2016

February Roses

Roses were flowering sparsely in February this year, but at least a few had produced the first new bloom of the season. Other roses have set plenty of buds, but they didn't open last month. Altogether it looks like I will be getting a great first rose flush this year and it will probably start at the end of March already. Because there were only a few blooms in February, each of them was even more dear to me. Here is what I was able to capture with my camera.



'Belinda's Dream' knocked me off my feet with her lovely first bloom.



I couldn't help, but taking photos of the different stages in the development of that flower...



...and want them share it with you.



'Belinda's Dream' is classified as a Shrub rose, but to me it looks like a very fully petaled Hybrid Tea rose. 



This rose is very healthy in my garden and really easy to grow. Definitively a rose that I would recommend at least for a similar climate like mine.



As expected 'Marie Pavie' started to bloom early this year, as she did in the previous years. This rose is also super healthy in my garden.  



Here is a bush shot of 'Grandmother's Hat'. This rose is six to seven feet (180 cm - 210 cm) high and has grown into a very nice bush. The foliage is marvelous and completely clean. You can't see it on the photo, but 'Grandmother's Hat' is loaded with buds. I am looking so much forward for them to open.  



'Climbing Devoniensis' is a rose that I seldom show, but here is a rain drenched elegant bud of it.



First bud of 'Pierre de Ronsard' reaching for the sky.



Another rose with beautiful foliage in February was 'Yolande d'Aragon'. That can not always be said of this rose since sometimes it suffers from disease problems, but so far so good. 



'Madame Alfred Carriere' is the biggest rose that I have growing in my garden. After being generously fertilized it has started to bloom again and I am in love with its flowers. It is one of my all time favorite roses.



New foliage of 'Chandos Beauty'. As you can see it is also very healthy.



Last but not least a bloom of 'Souvernir de la Malmaison', one of my newly acquired baby roses. 

We had another strong storm, which unfortunately slightly damaged the foliage of a few roses, which are planted in locations very exposed to the wind, but it brought some much needed rain. I think the developing rose buds will benefit from it and I am very excited about the March blooms, which, of course, I will share with you. I would be delighted if you would come back to have a look.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

See you in the garden!

Christina



22 comments:

  1. Una preciosidad de rosas, mis más sinceras felicitaciones desde Plantukis

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  2. I enjoyed so much wandering in your magnificant spring rose garden. So nice to see a wonderful bud of Pierre de Ronsard which Is on my list for pruning today. Souvenir de Malmaison one of my favorites and I think a very good one for your climate, she does not like rain on her flowers. I love the size and healthy foliage of Grandmother's hat, I wonder how her flowers are, never seen this rose before.
    I wish you a happy rosy weekend Christina!

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    1. Janneke, you are always so kind in your comments! Your are spot on with your remark that 'Souvenir de la Maison' doesn't like the rain. The bloom balled, when it got wet!
      'Grandmother's Hat' is a found rose, which was discovered in old gardens in California. For that reason it might not be available in Europe. It is doing exceptionally well in my climate. The blooms are a delicious shade of of soft pink, with a darker pink center. I will post photos when the flowers open!

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  3. As long as there was not too much damage, it must be worth it for the rain. 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' is going to be a beauty!

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  4. You always have such beautiful roses to share with us. I 'love' ~ 'Madame Alfred Carriere' The shape of that flower just gets to me.

    Have a lovely weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  5. Oh my god! How beautiful your photos are. Lovely Belinda Dreams

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  6. Gorgeous ! My vote goes to Mme Alfred Carriere :)

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  7. An exciting time for you Christina. The foliage you have shown looks incredibly health - a testament to your hard work in providing for them. Your new baby rose looks like it's going to be a stunner. I hope it does well for you.
    I pruned all my roses yesterday. Some of them had made a lot of new growth but it had all been damaged by the frosts and were not looking too great.

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  8. Christina, all roses are beautiful! I have a Pierre de Ronsard rose, but lighter than this Bud. Ronsard has the charm of old roses. Nice to see these pictures! Belinda''s Dream - very feminine.

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  9. Your roses look very healthy, Christina. I love that 'Madame Alfred Carriere'! I suspect our March rains will be of real benefit. Other than a few stray blooms on my 'Pink Meidiland' shrub roses, I've got only one shrub that's blooming well - my climbing 'Joseph's Coat' but the others have healthy foliage, buds and, so far, no aphids.

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  10. Gorgeous photos! The white roses' shapes are so pretty, and the pink are my favorites. Have a wonderful weekend. xoxo Su

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  11. Wunderschön! Ich freue mich immer wieder, wenn bei dir die Rosen blühen - weil sie bei mir ja nicht so wollen.

    Sigrun

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  12. Se ven maravillosas y todas me gustan. Besos.

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  13. You are so fortunate to have roses in februari! I am only pruning and dreaming of summer days.... Belinda's dream is beautiful. Love the soft pink colour and this rose looks so heathy. But I better wait to see my own roses flowering before I buy new ones. You know how difficult it is to find a spot! Groetjes,
    Hetty

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    1. Hetty, yes, I know I am lucky to have such a long growing season here in Southern California! I wonder if Belinda's Dream is also available in Europe. She does well in warm climates, but I don't know how she would do for you in the Netherlands, if you would be able to buy her. I am just saying in case you think you find a spot for another rose ;-)!

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  14. I have to say your header is most impressive. All the roses look wonderful.
    I still have pruning to do here but today is a high of 60 degrees...would like it warmer.

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  15. How beautiful, Christina! They all look so healthy and happy! Such a beautiful, pale shade of pink on Belinda's Dream. We still have a couple of months to go before we get roses, but they are leafing out nicely. We are getting a big wind storm today, and I am worried about my climbers. Hope you are enjoying some sunshine this weekend! xx Karen

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  16. These are marvelous! There are many times I wish I had less humidity and a sunnier location, so that I could grow lots of fabulous roses. I do have a few, but nothing to compare to yours. I probably will be adding one or two more, 'Belinda's Dream' or 'Souvernir de la Malmaison' could be contenders!

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    1. Thanks, Deb! I think you probably can find roses that can deal with high humidity, but roses do need sunshine, unfortunately you can't get around that. I would love to know how 'Belinda's Dream' and 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' would do for you, in case you decide to buy them for your garden.
      Have you thought about Tea Roses? I believe that some varieties in this rose class even like humidity. I have one, 'Georgetown Tea', that definitely suffers from the low humidity levels that we have here in inland San Diego.

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  17. Dear Christina:
    It is so wonderful to know we can count on your garden to bless us with beauty during this winter! Thanks so much for sharing these lovely roses. I can't decide which is the most beautiful!! Thanks for linking and sharing!

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  18. A visitor from Finland says hi :) Your roses are so lovely. Here in northern Finland is still snow. My roses will start to bloom in June...So at this time of year it's very comforting to visit blogs around the world, in places where summer is endless :)

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  19. You have a lot of beautiful roses in your garden! I used to have Belinda's Dream (before it was crowded out by other things) and I loved the flowers. Your pictures of Marie Pavie and MAC are gorgeous.

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