Sunday, January 15, 2017

December Roses

All the rain that we were having here in Southern California in December brought the roses back to live after more than five years of severe drought and many were blooming beautifully again. Hence I would like to resume my habit to show you which roses have been flowering in my garden in the last month. I have to say, though, that there were more roses flowering, I just chose the ones of which I got a good photo for this post. So here they come!



I am really happy with this picture of rosa 'Auckland Metro'. I shot it while venturing outside between rain showers. The bloom is drenched in natural rain drops. I feel somehow the roses can withstand natural rain better than irrigation water. It might have to do with all the chemicals that are put in the drinking water nowadays.



Here is a bud of 'Auckland Metro'.



And another rain shot.



'Grandmother's Hat' showing a lovely, saturated, pink color in the cooler weather that we finally had in December.



The buds of rosa 'Bewitched' are particular elongated and always very elegant.



The fact that rosa 'Iceberg' is very common and easy to grow in California, doesn't diminish the beauty of 'Iceberg' in my eyes.



Another shot of 'Iceberg'.



I like how the sun back-lits the flowers of 'Iceberg' in this photo.



Certainly one of my most unusual roses is 'Nimbus'. The mauve color of this rose has a very brownish tint, which makes it quite special.



What do you think? Isn't the subtle coloration of 'Nimbus' to die for? 



The noble rosa 'Pope John Paul II'. One of my all time favorites!



Fully open flower of 'Pope John Paul II'. A little bit tattered by the rain. White roses always seem to be the most vulnerable to the exposure of water on their petals.



The Tea Rose, 'Georgetown Tea' was especially floriferous last month. 



Close-up of a bloom of 'Georgetown Tea'.



Another image of the bush of  'Georgetown Tea'.



Rosa 'Moonstone' lovely, huge flowers on a very sickly bush.



Small spray of rosa 'Piere de Ronsard'.



The same spray later with one fully open bloom. 



One rose that was absolutely outstanding last month is 'Belinda's Dream'.



I am so in love with the pale pink, perfectly formed, big blooms of this rose.



Above is a bush shot of 'Belinda's Dream'. The winter flush was almost as prolific as you would expect it to be in spring.



Some more images of 'Belinda's Dream', just because this rose is so incredible beautiful and I wanted to show you the different facets of it.








I hope seeing the photos of my December roses brought a bit of joy to you, my dear readers, but especially to those, who are suffering from a cold winter. I know how harsh the winter can be from my many years of living in Berlin, Germany, and really feel for you!

See you in the garden!

Warm regards,

Christina

23 comments:

  1. Christina your roses and photo's of it are so gorgeous. I wish the computer could sent the parfume that they bring. It makes me longing for springtime. It must be great to see how your garden is doing after the to you very welcome rain. It's cold and lots of snow in parts of Europe. In Holland there is a bit of frost during the nights but no snow.
    Have a wonderful day
    Warm wishes Marijke

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  2. Son todas preciosas. Por aquí hace poco frío, ahora mismo hace un sol espléndido. Besitos.

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  3. As always, beautiful roses. The one that spoke to my heart this time was 'Iceburg' Thanks for sharing these lovelies from your garden.

    Happy January ~ FlowerLady

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  4. Your roses always make me long to plant more in my garden, Christina. But then I remind myself that my current roses aren't anything to crow about. I guess I'll just try to do a better job caring for those I've got. Best wishes!

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    1. Kris, in my experience roses really thrive on care. They do need quite a bit of fertilizer and water, both on a regular base. Also finding the right varieties that love to grow in our climate is another key factor. I also two roses in my garden that seem to have "burned out", which I will replace with newer varieties, hopefully this spring. So maybe getting some new roses could solve the problem as well. At least you would know then if it is the rose or if you need to tweak your rose care a little bit. An any case I hope you get some wonderful roses this year!

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  5. Liebe Christina, also hier bei mir in Salzburg werden die Rosen noch länger nicht blühen, hier liegt eine dicke Schneedecke und zumindest diese Woche soll dies auch so bleiben.

    LG kathrin

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  6. Oh, so dreamy! I'm glad the drought is lessening, although I know some people have had too much rain in a short period of time. Still, this should help the conditions for the months ahead, at least. As always, all your roses are stunning.'Aukland Metro' and 'Iceberg'--wow!

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  7. So beautiful Christina, with and without the raindrops - and I agree with you about Nimbus, such a lovely dusky colour

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  8. Dear Christina,
    thank you for sharing these lovely pictures of your beautiful roses. So good to look at rose pictures this time of the year. I especially like your 'Georgetown Tea' rose, such a pretty colour.
    Best wishes,
    Lisa

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  9. Your roses are gorgeous and lifted up my spirits on this "Blue Monday". I didn't know that Pope John Paul II had a rose named after him.

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    1. Margie, I am so glad that my rose photos had an uplifting effect on your mood! In my opinion they have chosen a fantastic rose to honor 'Pope John Paul II', it is supposed to be growing in the gardens of the Vatican. Besides its visual beauty 'Pope John Paul II' has an outstanding fragrance.

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  10. Beautiful roses, all of them. The color of 'Nimbus' is indeed beautiful--how is the performance of the plant? 'Moonstone' had such terrible Rust here I had to remove it. Prolific flowers but unbearable Rust. With 'Belindas Dream'-mine just get better and better every year. Right up there with 'Iceberg'.

    Happy (belated) GBBD! More rain ahead--wheeee!

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  11. Gail, thanks for your kind words about my roses!
    I can't really judge about the performance of 'Nimbus' yet, because until very recently it was still growing only in a two gallon container. Just a week or so ago, I potted it up into a five gallon one. What I have observed so far is that the plant is not a vigorous grower (mine is an own root plant which came from Vintage Gardens). If I recall correctly it suffers from powdery mildew if the conditions are right (I grow all my roses no spray). Greg, from Vintage Gardens, had a high opinion of this rose, though, so I assume that it will be at least reasonably healthy, but only the future will tell...
    My experience with 'Moonstone' is exactly the same like yours. It is on the removal list. If only the blooms wouldn't be that pretty, it would be long gone already.
    My 'Belinda's Dream' is still young and it is growing just a few feet away from a Queen Palm, so it remains to be seen if it can withstand the palm root competition. The rose is so beautiful, though, that I am thinking about getting a second one and plant it in a prominent spot in the front yard.
    And oh yes, more rain please :-)!

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  12. Your roses are stunning. I also live in SO CA and my roses are also doing so well, it's like they are dancing in the rain. There color is so vibrant.

    I will be following you as I do like your blog. I am looking forward to more rain and prettier roses this Spring.

    Mary

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    1. Mary, welcome to my blog and thanks for becoming a follower!
      Looks like we have at least two hobbies in common: Gardening and dogs! I will check out your blog, when I have a moment of time. Hope to see some of your roses there as well.

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  13. Christina, all gorgeous, but I especially like the Aukland Metro. Perhaps one day I'll plant one of those.

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  14. Calling by from Share Your Cup Thursday, stunning photos I love roses.

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    1. LindyLou Mac, thanks for popping over! Glad you like my photos. Who can not love roses ;-)?

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  15. I am so happy for you to have some rain. I am looking enviously at your roses. I can only buy some at the supermarket. Enjoyed your photo's! Groetjes,
    Hetty

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    1. Thanks Hetty, we had another day and night of rain and storm, which is great, even though I could do without the storm. There are three more days of rain in the forecast, yippeee...
      Hardly any flowering roses left in the garden, because most of them are now deleafed and winter pruned, though.
      I may have to resort to buy them at the supermarket as well ;-)! Just can't be without them...

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  16. Oh wow Christina, they took my breath away! We are up to our knees in snow and I needed this. Each and everyone was a delight! That pale pink Nimbus certainly is stunning! Love the ones kissed by the rain! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  17. Your roses are beautiful and so happy you shared on Dishing it and Digging it link party.

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  18. Liebe Christina,
    einfach ein Traum deine Rosen im Winter!
    Zum Glück habt ihr nun so viel Regen gehabt
    und ich drück dir die Daumen, dass es erstmal
    nicht wieder so trocken wird!
    Es muss herrlich sein, Rosen auch im Winter genießen
    zu können :-)
    Ganz viele liebe Grüße
    sendet dir die Urte

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