Lazy Rose Mama

Oh, I'm a lazy, lazy rose mama!  I went away on vacation and my brain just didn't want to come back.  Still, here we are, and there was a lot to do!

I recently went to Winterthur, a stunning thousand-acre (yes, really!) garden in Delaware, for the Downton Abbey costume exhibit.  If you are anywhere nearby, it's just stunning.  You can't see it all in one day, but what you do see is marvelous!  I am making a trip in the spring just to see the bluebells.  Anyway, part of the trip was a tram ride, on which a lovely guide tells you lots about what you're looking at as you slowly drive from the welcome center to the Mansion.  It was surprisingly reassuring to me to hear him talking about how the hard winter had affected the gardens there; having had such a difficult summer in the garden myself, it was good to hear that the ultimate pros also were working hard to get their results.

Winterthur Grounds

A sweet swallowtail kissing the flowers

In my own, rather humbler garden, we've had a summer of struggle and some reward.  I had planted a Cinco de Mayo a few months back (having gotten in in May for $5!  What a bargain!)  I'd noticed the Cinco de Mayo rose several times previous, for its unusual-colored blooms.  Since I lean more towards the Grandifloras and Hybrid Teas, I had chosen to pass on it.  Still, for five bucks, why not, right?  I'm so glad I went for it, because I've grown to love the little blossom machine!  It grew much faster than any of my other additions this year and seems to like its container and the amount of sun it gets.

Oranges and Lemons, as always, is a champ.  It's gotten a bit less blackspot this year, though I still have it throughout the garden.  I'm still looking for the most effective remedy for that!

Love can't seem to make up its mind.  One day we're awesome, the next we're having issues.  I just had a lovely flower last on the plant for nearly a month!  It was, however, the only thing that Love was doing.  At least now it's growing!

Love

Dark Night is doing quite well.  I get regular blooms that last a good time on the bush.  I do notice that the color goes brown quickly, from the initial burgundy shade.

My Purple Tiger got a case of ants, and is still struggling to recover.  After flooding every rose in the garden last month, I'm seeing a lot of new growth there, and look forward to more.

Hypnotized!  I love my Hypnotized!  Huge, stunningly gorgeous blooms that make my heart go pitter-pat.  Though my first one died over the evil winter, the new one is growing even more vigorously and is twice as tall.  Every time I see it bloom, it makes me smile.

Stainless Steel, Dick Clark, and Wonderstripe are taking their time getting established.  I have had one small bloom from everyone but Stainless Steel.  I'm trying to figure out what SS wants.  Picky little bugger!

Gingersnap, my daughter's favorite, had a great show early on.  I'm in love with the shocking orange color!  It seems much less fond of the dog days of summer.  Now that the weather is cooling down a bit, I'm seeing lots of new growth.  Anna's Promise, Rock & Roll, and Julio Inglesias seem to share this opinion.  Julio also had a HUGE dandelion growing in the pot with him (which I didn't see hidden behind my lantana), so hopefully now that it's got, Julio will have less competition for his water supply.

Gingersnap

My George Burns is flowering nicely, so long as I keep his feet wet.  He's a thirsty boy.  He's stayed compact, and has suffered from blackspot, but he's a fighter.

George Burns

Candyland seemed for a while like it wasn't going to do a dang thing.  I got a few small, pretty blooms, but then it just sat there.  Lo and behold, when I got back from vacation it had sprouted a 3-foot-tall cane!  Thank goodness I'd already surrounded it with a trellis!  Still not much more by way of blooms, but I'm glad to see it's getting rooted.

Commandant Beaurepaire. . .wow, does he want to get huge.  I mean, huge.  I'm pretty sure those canes are hitting the 5 foot mark and going strong!  That bad boy is getting moved to the back of the garden so some of the little guys can get more sun.  I can't wait to see him next spring!

And everyone's favorite scrapper, Sedona, is one happy rose.  I neglected this coral beauty shamefully for years, but Sedona just wouldn't give up and now is really very happy in her own container.  She's giving very pretty blooms, and growing magnificently.

While there's a lot of debate over feeding the flowers this late in the season, I'm planning one more fertilizing.  There's a lot of talk of another very cold, early winter for my location; I'll be diving into some more serious winterizing (after all, last year's "Let's see what happens" was not a good idea!) and will move some of the younger, more tender plants to my (too small!) shed and basement.  Since I have an area with three sides of cover, I plan to put the rest of the pots there and cover with hay.  Here's to planning!