Spring Cleaning, New Residents, and Planting Stock

Whew!  After a stunning weekend here in South Jersey, we've had a ton of wind and rain - and a visit from the Snow Fairy?!  Sure, it was just a tiny little bit.  Still, a little advice, Weather: go home, you're drunk!

The replacement to my Hypnotize rose arrived in lovely form (Thanks, Jackson & Perkins!) and is planted in the very same pot.  I hope it does as well as the first one did, and has a better winter!

Baby Hypnotize Rose!

My husband, Gene, and I spent a big chunk of the weekend out in the backyard.  I am proud to report that mine is no longer the messiest backyard in the neighborhood!  Woot!  We finally tackled a task that's been on my to-do list for more years than I care to admit: we cleaned out the shed.  It's not even a big shed.  More of a glorified closet, really.  Piled full of stuff up to your waist.  

Yeah, I know.

A beautiful Saturday morning, and a slight overdose of caffeine, got us out there.  We went hard.  We took everything out, threw away five bags of outdated and broken stuff, and reorganized what we kept.  

Found: 
three bags of fertilizer I forgot I had
my bocce ball set
two cans of wasp killer
a beach shovel from 2009
my bulb hole digging tool
one pair of pink swim goggles
three swim rings
the bike pump

. . .and a partridge in a pear tree!

This gave us the chance to put away a whole bunch of things that were lying around the yard.  Now it's nice in there.  Organized.  I can barely believe it's mine!

But wait, there's more!

We also got out to the hardware store and got fresh mulch and some sweet stock.  I love stock - it smells awesome!  Stock is a great plant to use as a companion flower for roses.  It's attractive, long-blooming, likes a lot of water, and doesn't compete for food with your rosebushes.  You can get it in pink, white, and purple. We also invested in a nice shepherd's hook for my new bird feeder! 

Sweet Stock is a great companion plant for roses.

And why, you may ask, did I get a bird feeder?


We have birds!  A mated pair of black-capped chickadees have finally moved into my birdhouse!  I am dorkishly excited, and have dubbed them Chuckles and Marge.  Chickadees are awesome - not only are they adorable, they're smart.  They can remember where they've stored snacks, and how yummy those snacks are, for up to 1000 places!  When the snack is gone, so is the memory of it, and new stashes of seed are remembered instead.  Pretty neat!  Happily, chickadees tend to remain once they've nested, and they eat bugs!  Oh yeah, free pest control!

          

Chuckles chilling on a windy day

  

Marge with a snack

The bird feeder is also bringing me visits from other avian couples in the neighborhood - cardinals, robins, and grackles.  I am very much enjoying the additional aerial traffic.

Last but not least, we also hung up a wind chime my honey got me for Christmas.  It adds a wonderful layer of auditory happiness to the visual and olfactory happiness.  I absolutely love the sound.  It's like fairies laughing.

What are you doing in your garden?

Warmups

Hooray, the warmer weather is finally here!  Anyone who knows me knows that can only be about my garden, because I'm a winter girl; if not for my roses and swimming, summer would have few redeeming qualities for me.  

Still, right now I'm starting to see lots of new growth out there, so bully for that!

I pruned back Knockout quite a lot.  Dang thing had gotten HUGE (as well it should, really) and was in need of a good trim.  I can actually see some of the rest of the garden!  There are a few patches of bulbs that have kicked in, and I've got daffodils nodding their happy little heads.  I planted a patch of pink-and-white Salome daffodils a few years back, which has turned into a much larger patch.  Propagation anyone?  I'm thinking I'm going to dig up most of my bulbs and pot them all anyway, replacing them with plants better suited to sharing digs (ha!) with the roses.

The hard winter has officially claimed three victims: Papageno, which I think I didn't mulch well enough; Hypnotize, which I am kind of upset about but will replace; and Harry Wheatcroft, which I'm really not upset about and won't replace.  I have Oranges & Lemons and Chihuly for the yellow/orange combo.  Everyone else is waking up nicely, and I'm delighted to see lots of new sprouts.

Commandant Beaupaire, a very happy grower which didn't bloom last summer, seems especially excited to get going.  Scentimental isn't far behind (my dependable darling!)  With the death of Papageno I may not be able to hybridize them this year; I guess it depends on how early I get a new Papageno into the dirt?  Further updates as events warrant!

A couple of weeks of saved eggshells went into most of the pots this week, as well.  That trick is definitely one I'm keeping.  I've also gotten my Miracle Grow going, so as of this morning everyone has lots of food to stimulate more growing!  Grow, babies, grow!

Looking forward to another year on The Striped Rose Diaries.  Coming this summer: I start exhibiting!  I (maybe) attempt hybridizing!  Even more bouquets and photos!

See you there!

Long Hard Winter

It has been an unusually hard winter across a lot of the USA, and here in South Jersey is no exception.  I spent the cold months wondering what would be left of my largely fledgling rose garden when spring rolled around, and today got some answers.

Two days ago, four of my seven new rosebushes arrived.  Unfortunately, it was awful timing; my entire family and I were in the process of dealing with a really ugly virus.  There was not much energy for getting my new babies set up!  And I only had one new pot home, and barely any potting soil to fill it.

Time to put some temporary solutions in place!  I filled a bucket with water and let the newbies soak overnight.  That bought me 24 hours - you don't want to soak longer than that - which I sorely needed.  I have to say that I am thrilled with the quality of the plants that arrived!  The specimens I received are much larger and much heartier than what I usually get!  Points for ordering last year!  More importantly, huge props to S&W Greenhouse for the gorgeous plants.  Find them here:  http://www.sw-greenhouse.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc.  Give them your money, folks, they're fab.

My daughter helped me plant New Baby #1, a Rock n' Roll!  I'm psyched to have another red-and-white stripey!  Yes, I know this makes three varieties, but I looooooove them.  Rock n' Roll has been dubbed Herschel, after the character on The Walking Dead.  Originally, that was the name of the flowerpot Herschel now lives in - the pot spent about a week in the trunk of my car, thumping and bumping around.  My husband made a comment that I must be keeping a severed head in the trunk, and being a Walking Dead fan, my daughter christened it Herschel.  Poor hubby didn't get it, but my daughter and I find it hilarious, so now the whole thing is Herschel.

Rock N' Roll (not sure whose photo, if it's yours let me know!)

Problem #1 solved!  But that leaves me three new roses, no pots, no dirt, and I'm too sick to drive.

What I do have is a big plastic bin.  And a slightly healthier husband, who did not want the money I spent on new roses going to waste.  My mighty man took to the roads and lugged me home 35 pounds of potting soil (for which he will be spoiled shamelessly later - hey, some girls want diamonds, I just wanted dirt!)  Into the plastic bin went the three amigos, and I covered them up with soil.  It's the first time I've had to heel in, so hopefully it works out well!  This weekend I will get out to HomeGoods, get myself my new pots, and put them up properly.  I've got two Dark Nights and a Purple Tiger going in!  I've traditionally had trouble with purple roses, but that was in-ground; hopefully this will go better.

Dark Night Rose - again, not my photo

Purple Tiger (will credit if it's your photo!)

This done, I surveyed my little rose queendom and grabbed my pruning shears.

I got about 80% done.  The little guys were a breeze, of course.  I think my Harry Wheatcroft may have bitten the bullet (not my biggest worry, really) but he might yet surprise me.  My Hypnotize looks like she had a rough time, too, but I'm pretty sure she'll pull through.  Everyone else came through just fine!  There was more dead wood than I was really expecting, but not so much I worried about it.

My Knockout rose got a hard pruning, and I'm not done yet.  After a growth riot last year, she'd taken over half the little plot she's in and killed off a lavender plant doing it.  Grump!  She was also growing a little too far into my neighbor's yard.  I cut her back by about a third, and will do more next week.

JFK also got cut down to size; he's usually over 8 feet tall, so now he's about 5'6.  There was quite a bit of dead cane on this guy, and I think the younger canes will breathe easier now that they are gone.  Oranges & Lemons also got a good trimming, though she has more room to herself anyway.  The only rose I have on a trellis (for a few more weeks, anyway), I did a wee bit of training before I neatened her up.

Having put a lot more thought into what I want where than I usually do, I'm planning to reorganize where a few things are.  I have a Mexican Saxifrage which draws a lot of bumblebees in the backyard, which I plan to transplant out to my front yard.  This year, it's all perennials out front and bulbs, butterfly attractants, and roses in the backyard.

And that, rosy-cheeked readers, is the first entry of 2014.  Thanks for reading and happy gardening!

It Got Quiet, I Know. . .But We are Back!

Whew!  My time has been eaten up by back-to-school, weddings, and oodles of Stuff To Do.  Finally, a quiet morning so I can catch up on everything!

Big, big problems with sawfly larva over the months August and especially September.  Pretty much every rose I have got some.  Not happy!  I went around hand-picking them off (mostly picking off the chewed-up leaves they were on!) and getting rid of the little buggers.  Then spraying.  Lots of spraying.  I think I went through four bottles of neem oil before things settled down!  I used the Bayer product and just kept after them.  Once those guys get going, you've got to be regular with control, because the eggs hatch.  Also, ugly little brown droppings on my roses! EW!

On the upside, we have some new friends in the garden.  I've got a second Harry Wheatcroft, which I ordered under a different name (Caribia).  I've potted the two together, and both have given me a blossom or two.  I also got an Ebb Tide, which came with two buds on it.  I got the adorable little not-quite-two-inch blooms that you get when the rose is a baby.  I pinched the first one, which, I have learned, encourages the roots of the plant to grow.

Speaking of new friends, look who moved in!  I am pretty sure this is a toad, but I'm not 100% positive. Either way, I've seen him hanging out in the garden a few times now, and the whole family kind of keeps an eye out for him.  I've also noticed a drop in the mosquito population - no coincidence, I think!

Because he's white, I've named him Walter the Toad.  My husband says he is "the one who hops".
Yeah, we're dorky like that.  I like my little buddy, though.

Chihuly had a very nice flush last month.  I got some very pretty blooms, which I mostly left on the bush, as I didn't want to cut off too many leaves.  Need that growing power!  They faded out in a way that I found surprising, going from a light orange and yellow stripe to a translucent white with salmon edges.

Papageno has given me its first bloom!  Since my husband's name is Gene, and my kids call him Papa, this one is "his" rose.  It's a really nice red and creamy white, and I'm looking forward to more of them.  Right now, a good-sized spray has budded up.  I don't have a lot of spray roses, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out!  I wasn't expecting so many blooms, as he came to me a band, but I sure am enjoying watching him grow!  It's a bit more red than my Scentimental, but not so much with the scent yet.

Along with the Papageno, my Osiria has finally rebloomed.  This particular bud really took its time.  I think I waited for a good five weeks to see it open!  Now that it's here, it is a stunner.  I'm not entirely sure why my Osiria is growing so slowly.  Maybe it needs more sun?  I will move the pot in the spring and see what kind of result that brings.  Maybe I'll swap its spot with my Commandant Beaupaire - that guy is growing like crazy!  He's going to need a trellis soon.

I've also fallen in Big Love with my Hypnotize rose.  I can see why it got so many accolades!  I get beautiful, big blooms with cream and pink stripes.  I catch myself staring!  I could wish for a stronger scent, but maybe that will come with a few more seasons under its belt - it really is still a baby.  But the flowers!  This is one of the few where I'd seriously consider having more than one bush, just to have more flowers.  I've got another bud ripening now, and I can't wait!

Scentimental had a rough couple months.  We struggle with blackspot already; then the sawfly larva I mentioned earlier got to her.  Poor baby!  I gave her lots of TLC, Neem Oil, and eventually a dousing of bug spray.  After a couple weeks of reeling, she's showing me lots of new growth, and I have hopes of one more flush before cold dormancy sets in.

This week has been very, very rainy.  We had a cold front move in here in South Jersey, so the temperature finally dropped down into the 60s (YAY!) after a few days of Indian Summer weather in the mid-80s.  I can see lots of growth as a result of all the rain.  I think the bushes will have just enough time to make good on the promise of that growth before it's too cold for them.  After that, I think they'll be all tucked in for a long winter's nap. . .what will I do?. . .

Hypnotize Does! George Burns Dances!

Whew!  Well, after a lot of quiet in the garden, Hypnotize decided to bring it with a huge, huge bloom.  I used lots and lots of patience with not clipping this one until full bloom, and it was worth it.  Take a look:

Cultivating roses, and patience.

This was the bud two days ago.  I kept staring at it, marveling at how big it was getting and how PINK it is.  I mean, that is some serious pink.  I didn't manipulate the color in this shot one bit; it's really that bright.  I held out until woke up this morning and saw:

You had me at Hello.  *tear*

What a stunner!  The bloom is a good four inches across, maybe a little bit more.  There are two more lovely buds developing, so I clipped this beauty and she's now on my dining room table.  Love!  

Yay!  Some yellow!

I also finally started seeing some yellow in my George Burns blooms, which is making me happy.  They'd been all white and red, and I was really starting to think I'd gotten a mislabeled Rock & Roll.  Not that that's a bad thing, mind, I just have a soft spot for Georgie here.  Maybe the little guy just needed some time to mature?  Here's what I got today!

I'm quite pleased, and looking forward to seeing how this rose matures.  Right now the plant is only about eighteen inches high, but I'm getting lots of new branches, which makes my heart happy.  He's got a bunch of new buds growing, as well.  George seems very happy in his container.  He has succumbed to a smidgen of black spot, and I've been fending off the *&%$ Japanese beetles every day, but otherwise we're all good.

Still lots of bright red, but that yellow is creeping in. . .

Yeah, I've got black spot and Japanese Beetles out the wazoo, and Neem Oil is my new best friend.  Black spot has always been a problem in my garden, starting with my very first rose, and since it spreads so easily most of my roses have at least some.  My apple tree, too.  I've been keeping it under control with lots of pulling the affected leaves, and now Bayer 3-in-1 with neem oil.  There was an immediate drop in the beetle population (I found only one this week, which I promptly sprayed!).  That's a big relief, because once the little blighters make themselves at home, they secrete pheremones to let all their friends know that the neighborhood has good eats.  Then the grubs get into your lawn and destroy that, too.  Not my favorite!  I looked into natural and chemical ways to get rid of them.  If you're an eco-friendly type, you can always go over your roses, pick them off one-by-one, and drop them into a bucket of soapy water to drown.  I did quite a lot of that, but kept getting more; hence the neem oil.  Spraying is a last resort, but I'm not afraid to get a little chemical if need be!

The black spot is more resistant, but I'm keeping after it and seeing progress.  I'm also imagining myself with Dr. Who on a pirate ship, spraying pirates in the hand with neem oil, but that's just because I'm a great big geek.

It's OK, spray a little Neem Oil on it. . .

The Scentimental is really suffering the black spot right now, so I'm keeping after it, keeping her airy and as dry as I can, and hoping for the best.  I think she'll recover just fine, in time.  The Oranges & Lemons had a really bad case a couple years back, and got so leggy that the Rockettes tried to recruit her, but is feeling much better now.

I added a butterfly bush to the garden this week, which is settling in nicely.  I got it for a song, since it is late in the season and the plant was looking less than stellar.  I also picked up a pretty 25-gallon pot on sale.  Add one to the other, and Bob's your uncle!  I trimmed the butterfly bush a little and it looks nice now.  I had butterflies within about 3 minutes.  Yay sales!  I've been enjoying the heck out of the end-of-season sales, and snapped up two big containers for a fraction of the original cost.  I got a lovely gift card to Homegoods for my birthday last month, and used that to get a banged-up, dark grey pot that I ballpark at around 30 gallons.  I've decided to repaint it with chalkboard paint, so my kids can draw on it.  The Hypnotize is getting big and strong enough that I think I'll move it up to this pot, so it'll have more room.  One of the little bands will get Hypnotize's pot, in turn.  Maybe Chihuly?

 I am thinking that for next year I'll get rid of just about everything in the containers but that and the roses; I really want to focus on them at this point.  Also, getting rid of all the small pots will give me more room for more roses. . .hee!  

Not that I'm obsessed or anything. 

July 30, 2013

Holy cow, it's wet around here!  The Philadelphia area had record rainfall on the 28th of July; Philly recorded - I kid you not - over 8 inches of rain in one night!  I live about fifteen miles outside of town, and we got a good 4 1/2 inches here.  There was a bit of flooding, though not as bad as some other nearby areas.

The net result in the garden is lots and lots of new buds.  I had been feeding and fertilizing anyway, so with all the additional rain, the garden is doing the happy dance!  This morning I cut some Oranges and Lemons blooms, some Mardi Gras blooms, and one divinely scented Mr. Lincoln.  I mixed in one JFK, some white dianthus, and my last Shasta daisy for contrast, and have a sweet little posy on my dining room table.

I finally caught a Swallowtail in flight!

I expect lots of pretty next week, too; the JFK has a few nice, fat buds that should be ready by then.  The Mardi Gras, my big producer right now, is budded up all over!  Hypnotize has one bud that should be opening in a few more days, and one on the way.  My George Burns (which I am starting to suspect is actually a mis-marked Rock & Roll - there is NO yellow!) has one nice bloom, but it's a center flower and too short of stem to cut.  There are plenty of buds growing around it, though, so after I remove it I think I'll get some real beauties - whoever they really are.

George?  Rock?  Not sure. . .

My Papageno and Harry Wheatcroft arrived looking quite happy.  I put them together in a pot to get some more growing time on them.  Being 1st-year bands, I'm not expecting any bloom this year; just letting the little guys grow.

Osiria has been markedly quiet.  I suspect that she's been investing in her root system, so I've been making sure to give her lots of water.  I just this week noticed a few new shoots growing, so there's hope for one more bloom this season - maybe two if I get lucky!  Scentimental has also been quiet, and suffering from a bout of black spot.  She seems to be starting a recovery, and lots of shoots are popping out.

Dis is Mah Roes

I turned 40 yesterday, and spent the morning reflecting and giving lots of love to the garden.  The connection felt very spiritual and loving of the Earth; it was wonderful.  I shot a bunch of photos and was blessed by visits from butterflies, dragonflies, and a hummingbird.  Marveling at the beauty of nature is a lovely way to start your morning - and your 4th decade!

Hummingbird Breakfast

July 21, 2013

Holy garden shears, it's hot out there!

Yes, I know everyone's hot on the East Coast!  We had a real gully-washer of a thunderstorm last night and the heat has eased a bit, though it's super-humid.  Water out of my garden hose is shower-hot.  Yuck!

We left for a short vacation and went to St. Michaels, Maryland.  It appears to be lily and hydrangea heaven there!  The gardens along the Chesapeake Bay were a delight to see, and there were several that had me in outright envy.  Everywhere I went, I saw Tiger Swallowtail butterflies, which I'm sure helps with proliferating all those huge blooms!

They didn't seem to mind a bit if I walked right up to them and took pictures, so I really took advantage.    The place we were staying had lots of butterfly bush, and sometimes I saw as many as half a dozen feeding on them together.  

I also noticed a LOT of deer.  My family and I made counting them a game one evening, on a slow drive to Tilghman Island.  We lost count around 50 in a 15 mile drive.  I saw more bucks than I've ever seen in one place before, as well - anywhere from 2 to 6 points!  I wish I'd gotten better photos of them.  Being in a townhouse development, deer aren't a big problem for me.  My Mom, more in the country, has a huge deer problem.  She sprays, but with all the rain we've been having, it hasn't done her as much good as it might otherwise.

Before I left, I de-budded most of my roses.  I had seen a tip on Garden Web that suggested this is a good idea for avoiding Japanese Beetles (GRRRR!  BOOOO!  HISS!)  I just came in from the garden, where I found four of the little buggers, all of whom are now six feet under.  Fortunately, they only managed to ruin one bud, since I'd taken them off.  My George Burns responded by popping out half a dozen new buds, and I'm looking forward to seeing them open in a couple days.  Pictures to come!  I had let the first bloom stay a few days before we left:

Pretty, eh?

My Oranges and Lemons had set up a bunch of blooms before I headed out, which I let stay.  I cut a few today.  They faded out to an interesting melon and cream coloration in the hot sun.  I snipped a spray of six or so, added a few more single blooms, one Mardi Gras, three pink knockouts, and a couple of JFK buds.  They're on my table now and looking pretty.

I also added some of my favorite crushed eggshell to as many of my roses as I could, before I ran out.  I'll let you know if I see a resulting boost in blooms.

If you've got good ways to keep the deer away from Mom's roses, please share them here.  Until next time!