Moving

In late July I dug up my 30 favorite roses and moved them to our new home in the country.  I now have over an acre to plant and grow my roses.  It was certainly hard to choose which roses to pick.

It was the "wrong" time of year to transplant roses.  All I did was hack them back to about 6" above the ground, dug them up and plopped them into pots.  Some got new potting soil, some just got set in the pots with whatever dirt came with them.

     

Know what?  I only lost one of the plants.  Everything else responded to daily watering and weekly doses of miracle grow.

The one I lost was my fault, because I didn't do it properly.  I was tired after digging up a bunch and I had put too much soil in the pot before adding the rose, so the root ball was left out.

Which was a bummer, 'cause it was one of my favorites. (Lucetta)

Most of them now have buds on them or have bloomed, showing just how hardy they are.

    

April in Paris was the first to bloom, with Southern Belle not far behind.  The blooms were smaller than usual, but still beautiful!

For an up to date list of the roses I brought with me, click here.

First Blooms of the Spring

We had a break in the weather, and the roses are loving the (slightly) warmer weather! 

Alychmist

This one grew a ton!  Last Spring it was barely to the bottom of the window.
This Spring....

huge!

Autumn Damask

Nuits De Young

No wrong way to love a rose

I am a firm believer that anyone can grow roses. 

This last year has been a crazy one for me, I haven't taken care of my roses at all.

A few got cut back - but at the wrong time.

Most have been left to fend for themselves.

We're building a home out in the country, with more space for my roses.

yeah!

But - I need to dig them all up and move them.

boo!

They will be dug up this summer (the "wrong" time to transplant roses)

They will winter in the pots, most likely they'll be potted for at least a year.  If they can survive all that, anyone can love a rose.

Back to today.

the rain stopped long enough for me to snap a few pictures of my garden.

Yes, there are some really sad looking roses.

Ones that obviously need a little TLC, but there are also some that are covered in buds and almost ready to bloom.

The first roses of the Spring are my favorite - I look forward to them every year.

Alchymist is the closest to blooming.

She's also sheltered against the house, on a south facing wall.

Right under my bedroom window.

She's been a part of my garden since the Spring of 2009.

She's gone nuts.

There are two or three big canes arching onto the path - since I didn't get a chance to trellis her last summer.

Paul's Himalayan Musk is also huge.  I whack this plant all through the year.  It can get huge, but doesn't seem to mind my feeble attempts to constrain its growth.  He's 4 years old.

I also love lilacs, and have two different varieties in my yard.

a deep purple with no scent

and a light lavender with minimal scent.

what do you look forward to in the Spring?

Rose of the Week - Joseph's Coat

Joseph's Coat - Cherry Red, Sherbet Orange and Golden Yellow Blooms

Climbing Floribunda, Large Flowered CLimber

Dozens of medium sized, semi-double blooms cover this rose from spring thru fall. The 4” blooms range in color from cherry pink, sherbet orange, bright red and golden yellow. Lightly fragrant, they open fully to display a mop of yellow stamens.  The colors are brighter when there's an abundance of water. 

This is an upright climbing rose with dark green, glossy leaves. It can be grown as a large shrub. It is vigorous, very disease resistant and easy to grow. Mine has handled summers of drought and neglect. I moved it every year for about 3 years and it still pumped out blooms. It is the first of my re-bloomers to bloom and the last to quit.

*STATS*
Class: Climbing Floribunda
Height x Width: 8’-12’ x 4’-6’
Introduced: 1964
Zones: 5-10
Bloom: Constant

One of my favorites!