Monday, June 5, 2017

April And May Roses

No, in case you have wondered, this is not another blog that has bitten the dust, as seem to happen to so many lately. I just have been super busy with my job and two trips in May, one to Germany and one to Santa Fe, New Mexico that I simply couldn't find the time to post. But before spring is officially over I want to show you some roses that have been blooming in my garden in the months of April and May. Sadly, even when I was at home in April and May, I often couldn't find the time to take photos, but here are some that I got of my roses.

Interestingly, because of all the rain that we got this winter and intermittently even this spring I had assumed that my roses would bloom better than for a long time, but not so much. I have a lot of rose disease this year in the garden, predominantly rose rust, but also black spot, which was almost unheard of in my garden so far. I also didn't have the time to take proper care of my roses in terms of fertilizing and that definitely results in fewer blooms, but still, I was very happy about the blooms I got despite all the odds.



Undoubtedly one of my most beautiful roses in the last two months is 'Bewitched', an older Hybrid Tea rose.



Almost all the blooms open up to perfection...



...and they have a very strong and pleasing damask scent.



The bush has struggled after it was replanted from a five pot into the ground, probably because it had been in the container for too long and was pot bound. But now, after I think two years, it is finally strutting its stuff and showing what this rose can do. 



The blooms remind me of the super big ones that you can buy for equally big bucks at the florist.



No necessity for that, if you plant 'Bewitched' in your garden. You can have your own home grown ones yourself. 

The rose has also become infected with rose rust at the end of May though, but it continues to bloom and doesn't seem to mind. 



I have often shown rosa 'Auckland Metro', one of my favorite light colored Hybrid Tea roses, on this blog. I am still in love with the blooms, but unfortunately, this rose has also become heavily infected with rose rust this year for the very first time in my garden.



Rosa 'Reine des Violettes' has admittedly small blooms, but they are exquisite and the perfume is enchanting.



I also like the informal old-fashioned flower form of this rose very much.



If you follow my blog for a while you know that I am not a fan of yellow, but rosa 'Charles Darwin's ' particular yellow tone won me over.



I have planted two bushes of this variety in my garden lately and both of them are still growing in, but so far things look very promising. Besides the gorgeous blooms, what I am the happiest about is, that both bushes haven't shown any signs of disease so far.



Love this shot of rosa 'Pierre de Ronsard'. The blooms of this rose are one of the biggest in my garden and they are jam packed with rose petals.



I think I will always be smitten with this rose.



Rosa 'Yolande d'Aragon' is a wonderful Old Garden Rose with a very strong and lovely fragrance, but in my garden, this variety has disease problems and the blooms have also trouble to withstand the strong winds that we receive on our top of the hill location. The blooms get often so damaged by the wind that they become unsightly.



Not all is rosy in a predominantly organic no spray garden. Aphids can have a feast, but usually, with a strong ray of water from the hose, I can keep them in check.



This is rosa 'Rose de Rescht, which I had grown for a long time in a five gallon container. Lately, I have removed the second of my 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' roses because of increasing problems with powdery mildew and replaced it with this variety. I am curious how 'Rose de Rescht' will fair in the same location. It is too early to say anything, though.



A scene from the front yard. To the left you see my last remaining rosa 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' and to the right rosa 'The Prince'. I am quite pleased how this part of the garden looks, especially considering the little bit shady location.



A closer look at rosa 'Our Lady of Guadalupe'. Despite an almost ongoing infestation with powdery mildew, this bush is very floriferous.



I am excited about the first bloom of this recent acquisition. This is rosa 'Princess Alexandra of Kent', one of the newer varieties bred by David Austin. The first bloom was huge, very full, and had an exquisite color. It is not clearly to see in the photo but is was a warm pink shade with some yellow hints at the base. Can't wait to see the next flowers.



Rosa 'White Meidiland' is really coming into her own. This rose is growing in an unsuitable area for roses, because it is so shady and the rose still manages to do well, blooms very prolifically...



...and produces nice big sprays of magnificent blooms.



My last contender for today is rosa 'Mary Rose', which you can call almost a classic by now. It is bred by David Austin and blooms very early in the season and repeats very well. It has a white sport called 'Winchester Cathedral', which I would love to grow in my garden as well.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this post about some of the roses that have been blooming in my Southern California garden in the last two months.

As I am writing this, I am with my husband on vacation in the Cotswolds, one of the most beautiful areas of England again and the next posts will be about some of the fabulous gardens, pretty little towns and picturesque villages that we have seen here. So I would love for you to come back soon and visit with me this wonderful part of the world. It is truly a gardener's paradise.

If you want to get a glimpse of the Cotswolds see my posts from our vacation last year in the same area here:

Hidcote Manor Garden I
The beautiful village of Blockley in the Cotswolds, England I
The beautiful village of Blockley in the Cotswolds, England II
An English Afternoon Tea in Bradford on Avon, England


Warm regards,

Christina



I am linking up to
Cedar Hill Farmhouse - The Scoop // Between Naps On The Porch - Metamorphosis Monday // Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home - Amaze Me Monday //  A Stroll Thru Life - Inspire Me Tuesday // Sweet Sensations - Celebrate Your Story // Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays // A Southern Daydreamer - Outdoor Wednesday // A Delightsome Life - Home And Garden Thursday // 21 Rosemary Lane - Share Your Style //  Peonies and Orange Blossoms - Thursday Favorite Things // French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday // Rattlebridge Farm - Foodie Friday and Everything Else // Shabby Art Boutique - Create, Bake, Grow & Gather // How Sweet The Sound - "Anything Goes" Pink Saturday // My Soulful Home - Sunday at Home //  Angie The Freckled Rose - Dishing It & Digging It // Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home - Amaze Me Monday  // Everyday Living - A Gardens Galore //





30 comments:

  1. All your roses are glorious, Christina! My own sorry specimens don't deserve classification in the same genus. Enjoy your trip!

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  2. I remember 'Bewitched' well from the olden days when I worked at the garden center in Escondido.It was very popular then and we always carried it in bare root season.
    It's always interesting to hear which roses are disease ridden in your garden ; my Our Lady of Guadalupe gets nothing here (typically mildew is uncommon) but Pierre Ronsard aka Eden is a mess with both rust and blackspot-as usual. I tolerate it though-such a beautiful rose ! Oh and that White Meidiland is a looker !

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    1. ks, glad you find my "rose disease reports" helpful! Rosa 'Pierre de Ronsard' gets rust badly in my garden too in some years in other it is reasonable healthy, but as you said, the rose is just too pretty to even think about of getting rid off it!

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  3. Enjoy your holiday! Groetjes Hetty

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  4. Liebe Christina, Du hast wirklich tolle Rosen in Deinem Garten. Ich habe heuer einige Rosen ausgetauscht, da einige Rosen für unser Klima zu krankheitsanfällig waren.

    LG kathrin

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  5. Real life gets in the way sometimes but it's nice to get a little update and to see those gorgeous blooms!

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  6. Son todas preciosas, una de la que más me gusta Pierre de Ronsard. Besitos.

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  7. Your roses are exquisite! Enjoy your vacation. I've never been to the Cotswolds so I look forward to living vicariously through you!

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    1. Margie, thanks for your nice words about my roses! Hang in there, I am working on the first post about the Cotswolds. Here is so much too see though, that I don't have much time to post in my vacation either ;-)!

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  8. Hi Christina!
    Beautiful roses in your garden. It will take a while before they bloom in my garden. The white rose will be my favourite. Hope you enjoy your vacation.
    Have a lovely time in Cotswolds. /Marika

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    1. Marika, I am so glad you like my roses! I wonder how 'White Meidiland' will do in your climate health-wise. Here this rose is truly amazing in terms of its disease resistance and its beauty as well.

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  9. I am glad you are back. I always enjoy seeing your beautiful garden - and the roses, oh my.

    Barbara
    fairmeadowplace.blogspot.com

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  10. Blogging is losing popularity--everyone on Facebook now, it seems. I like blogs better. Your roses look great!

    Cotswalds again, oh, you lucky!

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  11. So many lovely roses! Enjoy your vacation - looking forward to the photos! xx Karen

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  12. Your roses always make me smile...Gorgeous!

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  13. Stunning! I can almost smell their glorious scent from the pictures! Beautiful shots.

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  14. Dear Christina,
    I am happy to hear from your garden again! Your roses look beautiful. I too love Mary Rose and I am thinking about buying Princess Alexandra of Kent. I ordered rose Yolande d'Aragon last year and planted it in my garden and I must say I too have problems with it as its blooms were super small and in general the plant is not looking good. Maybe it just takes some time. I really hope so as its a really beautiful rose. When I bought it last year, it had very big lovely blooms. My other portland rose, Mme Boll, I have since years now and it is is doing wonderful. It is such a reliable rose. Do you grow Mme Boll?
    Best wishes,
    Lisa

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  15. Enjoy your time in England as much as I have enjoyed the gorgeous roses you shared. A rose has always been my favorite bloom. I have a few but nothing to compare to your beauties. Your header is breathtaking.

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  16. Your roses are beautiful and enjoy your time abroad. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, and I hope your week is going great.

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  17. So jealous of your beautiful roses! We've had so much rain lately mine are not looking near as beautiful as yours!

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  18. Good morning Christina,
    What a lovely roses you have in your garden Christina. I love the historical ones. They do so much better as the modern ones are doing overhere. I think your roses will do much better in the soil. I read a story on a blog about powder mildew. This woman is spraying her roses with a mixture of milk and water. If it helps, I have no idea. I did not try it.
    Have a wonderful Holiday christina
    Warm regards.

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  19. You make me want to plant 100 different varieties. Wow, your flowers are pure perfection. Years ago I had about 5 rose bushes, and I never could figure out why black spot hit some but not others...they didn't survive a transplant, but maybe this year I will give myself a present of some new ones.

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  20. Christina, what stunning roses...I am so impressed. Each photo could be framed. I have a new link party that opens tomorrow at 8 am central time called Gardens Galore. I would be thrilled if you would link this and any Garden posts! Hope to see you! Pam @ www.everydayliving.me

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  21. Thanks so much, Christina for linking to Gardens Galore! I reiterate that these photos are frame worthy...just stunning beauty'

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  22. They are all beautiful and I bet they smell fabulous

    Mollyx

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  23. Christina, all of your roses are so beautiful and your garden must smell amazing!
    Thank you for sharing at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week. I'm delighted to be featuring this post at tonight's party and I pinned it too.

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