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

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March Roses

The roses have been doing really well last month. I think they appreciated the rain that they got in March and also enjoyed the, for our climate, relatively cool temperatures. One variety after the other started to open its blooms and some reached their peak by the end of the month.

Rosa 'Chandos Beauty' was one of the most beautiful in my eyes!

I just show you some random shots of the blooms of this great Hybrid Tea rose.

It is now the third year in the garden and has reached some maturity.

The blooms are huge and...

...the fragrance is very strong.

It is also a good cut rose with long stems, if you are into something like that, and it lasts a decent time in the vase.

On the photo above you can see rosa 'Chandos Beauty' to the right and the reliable lovely rosa 'Pope John Paul II' to the left.

The flowers of  rosa 'Pope John Paul II' are always special to me.

I just can't resist the beauty of these wonderful and fragrant white roses.

Rosa 'Pierre de Ronsard' is also well loved in my garden. The heavy globular blooms are just so charming.

Here they are in the bud stage.

And this is one of my two bushes or 'Pierre de Ronsard'. It has gotten humongous and you can see on the photo how loaded the rose is with buds.

I am also very fond of rosa 'Auckland Metro,' growing in my White Garden Bed.

This rose is relatively healthy and I love the cream colored flowers.

The blooms of  rosa 'Reine des Violettes' are truly one of a kind! Their shades from crimson to violet are simply exquisite. The bush on the other hand is pretty scraggly one in my garden.

Close-up of 'Reine des Violettes'. Don't you just want to disappear in the silkiness of these petals? Loose yourself in the subtle refined colors?

Rosa 'Marie Pavie' reached the peak of her spring flush by the end of March. She is such a delightful, healthy and charming rose, always very willing to bloom.

A rose that also convinced with her good looks, her old-fashioned charm and her fragrance is 'Grandmother's Hat'.

Rosa 'Iceberg' always blooms her head off here in California. Two climbing varieties flank the sides of our garage. I keep the bushes relatively short, though.

Closer look at the 'Climbing Iceberg' blooms. They always look cheerful to me with their white petals and yellow stamens exposed as the blooms open fully. Bees love them, too.

Rosa 'Captain Christy', an old Hybrid Tea rose.

Even though I tried really hard (and often!) it was impossible for me to get a good shot of the white rosa 'Madame Alfred Carriere', because of the light conditions she is growing in. Parts of the rose are getting quite a bit of shade from my towering Queen Palms and a Pine Tree from my neighbor, but the tips of the canes are reaching into the sun.

The rose is in the ground for the third year and this spring she leaped. My photo does her beauty no justice at all, but at least you can see how profusely 'Madame Alfred Carriere' is blooming under the difficult light conditions she is living in and also considering the root competition from the palms and the Pine Tree.

The last beauty that I show you in this post is Rosa 'Belinda's Dream', a very carefree rose in my garden with lovely, big, full, pink blooms.

It is hard to believe, but from Thursday to Sunday we had rain on and off. Altogether a substantial amount came down, maybe about two inches, and that will carry the roses a long way this spring. I am so thankful for it. The downside is, that of course, it turned some of the rose blooms into a brown mushy blob, so lots of deadheading to do right now. I hope that I can whip the garden back into shape this weekend.

How are your roses doing? I guess, for the majority of my readers, who have a garden and grow roses, theirs are not blooming, yet, but they are well on the way to produce their first flush.  Do you think you are expecting a good spring flush? I certainly wish that for you, as I feel that there is hardly anything more lovely out there in the garden then a rose bush starting to bloom the first time in spring again, after the long winter rest. But of course, I am biased...

See you in the garden!

Christina

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