Small Rose Garden Pictures

It is possible to grow a lot of roses, even if we only have small gardens. I have a small garden consisting of 25 feet wide strips of land surrounded by trimmed Ligustrum hedges, very small patio areas, a small courtyard in a nook between my neighbours house and a small back yard divided into 2 rooms by hedges. I have crammed all my favorite roses together with perennials, wines, annuals and plenty of bulbs and gone vertically, using trees, walls and structures to create more privacy. Everywhere you look there is roses. I am not sure everyone would like such a garden, since it seems crowded and casual, with very few formal details. A rose garden is also a high maintainance garden. Most of my clients are not willing to put this much work and effort into their gardens. But I like it and I am sure I can squeeze in some more roses and I definitely need more foxgloves, delphiniums, sweet peas, clematis and ...and ...and ... It is such joy to draw the curtains in the mornings and from all my windows I can see roses. A "wall" of rose fragrance hits me when I open my doors or windows. When I come home I can smell my garden 30 yards away, since I have so many other scented plants, besides roses. (Some neighbours think that it is almost too much!). I think many are surprised to see that this is what a garden designers garden looks like. Well Garden Designer and/or Garden Coach wannabe. Many probably think that my garden is supposed to showcase my work, but most of my clients have much bigger gardens and are not willing to put this much work into their gardens, since most want low maintainance gardens. So here are some pictures showing it is possible to grow a lot of roses even in a small rose garden:

Area with repeatflowering Antique roses (Damasks, Bourbons, HPs, Chinas and Moss roses):



Patioclimber Nordina in front of A shropshire lad and William Morris, with Evelyns and Ambridge roses in front of salvia, St. Cecilias, Emily,and Wife of Bath in small bed in the background in front of bench:



Mix of Antiques (Madame Issac Pereire, Loise Odier + Austins , HPs and Some Romanticas (Meilland Roses). I still have room for a few groups of Austins and I need a few more climbers,and more Foxgloves and Delphiniums next year:



Gertrude Jeylls and climbers Constance Spry and New Dawn - New dawn has so many buds this year!:



Climbing rose Albertine, with Clematis 'Etoille Violette' other Antique Roses and Clematis on walls:



Climbing rose Madame Alfred Carriere with Rose Ellen underneath:

Kronprinsesse Mary Castle - Wonderful Poulsen Rose

May 14. 2004 Mary Elizabeth Donaldson from Tasmania, became H.R.H Crownprincess Mary Elizabeth by marrying H.R.H. Crown prince Frederik in Copenhagen, Denmark. The royal wedding was fantastic and so romantic. The danish people love the beautiful crown princess. Those of us who grow roses are just as pleased to enjoy her namesake rose; Kronprinsesse Mary Castle. It is a cream white floribunda rose, with a rosette shaped yellow center, that fades to almost pure white in the sun. It becomes a bushy little shrub rose about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It´s parents are: Clair Renaissance and Sun Hit - 2 roses that are very fragrant, healthy and popular for the abundance of fragrant flowers produced from early summer, until winter sets in. It is very easy to grow because of the good disease resistance and the fully double flowers have a very sweet fragrance.



It has become a tradition that New Poulsen Roses, named after celebrities are being babtised with wine (From Poulsens Cahor Wine Castle: Château Lecusse) by the person the rose is named after. September 1. 2005 Crownprincess Mary babtised the new rose named after her. Royal Babtism of Kronprinsesse Mary Castle The Rose is very good for cutting, since it holds the petals well. It is the rose I used in my little flower arrangement, pictured in the post I wrote yesterday. Here a little posy with the rose only:

Flowerarranging for Men?

It is one thing to have to stand the comments from my fishing buddies about all my "Girlie" pink fragrant roses growing abundantly in my garden. My neighbour, who is a blacksmith says he holds his breath walking by my garden in the summer months, because the fragrance of all the roses in my garden is so overwhelming. It´s like there is something 'suspicious' about men who have gardens with that many roses. Teenagers would probably exclaim -that is sooo Gay! To them everything that is out of the ordinary seems to be sooo gay!. I find that rather offensive on behalf of male gardeners, whether they are gay or not.

But imagine the comments a man gets if he also try to learn how to arrange flowers from his garden? I have never had the courage to take lessons in flower arrangements. I am 100% sure I would be the only man attending. So far I have read a few books about flower arranging. I grow flowers better than I arrange them as cut flowers. My supply of vases have grown over the years - it seems like I always have too few vases in summertime. I take lots of roses into the house, so I can enjoy the fragrance and beauty! I don´t think I have much talent for arranging flowers. I can make huge bouquets of roses, but they are not exactly posies.

I wish I had the innocence of a boy again. I picked lots of flowers on the meadow for my mom and the girls I liked. They were almost dead, when I handed them over to them, but the flowers were always much appreciated. Amazing how such a bunch of wild flowers look so beautiful and do not need much arranging. But boys stop picking flowers. I still want to take lessons in flower arranging - whether the majority of people seems to say "That is sooo gay". Time to get over myself and grow up! Next time I post I will tell about the rose used in the bouquet in the picture. At least I know something about roses!

Munstead Wood - David Austin Rose

David Austin Roses have introduced some very beautiful red roses. Last year they introduced another red Austin Rose named Munstead Wood, Named after Gertrude Jekyll's famous home and garden in Surrey, England. Most agree that the red Austin Rose William Shakespeare 2ooo, is one of the best red Austins or English roses so far. So all rose lovers always look forward in great anticipation to another red Austin Rose. I do have a problem with the term English Roses. I prefer the term Austin roses, since many have piggybacked on David Austins Work and produces roses that look like Old Garden Roses, that repeat bloom well.

In my experience Munstead Wood is every bit as good William Shakespeare 2000. It even seems to have a better growth habit; WS 2000 sometimes produces very large canes with so many buds that the canes break under the weight of the flowers. This rose seems to carry fewer flowers at the end of each cane. The flowers are not as heavy as the Flowers on WS 2000. The buds unfold into cups, that later becomes shallow cups, with the inner petals forming a rosette, until the flowers turn into a rosette - the petals reflexing. I cannot tell the difference between the fragrance of WS 2000 and Munstead wood. Both have a wonderful warm Old Rose Fragrance with berry notes like blackberries and blackcurrant.

Calling it a red rose is perhaps misleading. It has many shades of red in various stages, crimson, burgundy, mauve with a velvet sheen. The ability to display a wide range of colors, that changes with the light and stages of the flower, is one of the most charming qualities red Austin Roses have. I predict that this rose is going to be even more popular than WS 2000.

A Bleeding Heart so Pure and White

As children we come into this world, pure and innocent. Our hearts and souls are pure and untainted, by the sinners and sins of the world. Unfortunately we do not stay that way. As we grow older and face challenges like deaths of family members, fall victims of crimes or having to deal with difficult health problems, it is natural to loose faith in others. Our hearts and souls become tainted by grief, anger, jealousy, greed or bitterness and we forget to "Love thy Neighbour" and even ourselves. I became a victim of horrible violent physical and sexual abuse, when I was a boy. I have paid a high price ever since, and I am still recovering and trying to cope. Gardening is my refuge from pain and memories that haunt me every day, and has been very therapeutic and healing.

Last Sunday I posted the Parable of the rose. If we only see the thorns and faults in our selves and others we will never grow and bloom as much as we can.

One of my favorite garden plants is White Bleeding Hearts - Dicentra Spectabilis Alba. It reminds me of innocence lost and the beauty of pure white hearts. It shot up in April and became almost a foot tall, before it got zapped by late hard frost, and fell to the ground. I was sure it was dead. But like me, it seemed to be a survivor with an unbelievable resilience. It shot again and is still blooming. It seems to tolerate a lot of shade, since I have planted it were it only gets about 1 hour of sunlight every day. In the dark shade the pure white hearts shine:



In spite of my struggle with trust in others, I never lost my faith in Christ and what he did for me and us. I strive to be a good person and be Christlike. I know that I will fail and never become perfect and have a heart as pure and white as our Saviour. But I will keep trying!

A Magical Golden City in the Garden

In many gardens there are large trees. Sometimes some of them will break during storms or become diseased and have to be removed. Or some of the trees have gotten too big and are shading the garden too much. Think carefully before you start the chainsaw massacre ! If you have decided that the tree must go, you can choose to use the stub in many creative ways. Cutting the tree down to 12 or 16 feet and using it as a structure for climbing roses and clematis is one of my favorite ways to make good use of the the tree. My neighbors rave about the 18 feet tall cascading arvensis 'Splendens'rose in the front yard, climbing the 16 tall cut down larch tree. It blooms with thousands of roses in june. In may/early june before the rose blooms, Clematis Montana 'Rubens' also put out a spectacular display of flowers.



If the tree is cut down to 2 feet, one can save the tiresome or expensive work by professionals to have the stub and roots either dug up, pulled up or grinded away below soil level. If one knows how to operate a chainsaw( Including all the safety measures and wearing the correct protective gear!), the stub can be carved into a "miniature city". Successive cuts are made to carve out the "houses" - and angular cuts are later made to make the "roofs" on the small houses. The "rooftops" are painted with gold paint and the result is surprising and stunning. Especially if you have a woodland garden or a shade area - people will walk the garden and the golden "rooftops" will reflect the light in many angles creating the illusion of a: magical golden city in the garden

Papa Meilland - Worlds Most Fragrant Red Hybrid Tea Rose

In the language of flowers, red hybrid teas have become the ultimate symbol of romantic love. Any man,who wants to declare his love to a woman will bring her some red hybrid teas. Since very few men grow their own roses, he has most often bought them at the florist or at the supermarket. She is going to smell them and be utterly disappointed! But - it is the thought that counts right? Now what if he had given her a dozen red Papa Meilland hybrid tea roses!. Oh man - you are going to sweep her of her feet! Her legs will tremble and she will swoon over the ultimate strong rose scent filling the room she put them in. Many times a day she will smell the flowers and have her nose and cheeks caressed by the velvet red petals. (I bet guys will do the same!).



Papa Meilland was bred by Meilland Roses in France 1963. It is one of the 3 great ultra fragrant red hybrid teas that came from crossing the 2 roses; Chrysler Imperial and Charles Mallerin. (The other 2 are: Oklahoma and Mister Lincoln). All 3 have become among the worlds most popular red hybrid teas, loved for their outstanding fragrance and deep rich velvety red color. Mister Lincoln is probably the easiest to grow, since it is more vigorous than the other 2. But the flowers of Papa Meilland are irresistible. Unlike many other red hybrid teas, this rose does not have what many consider a flaw, a tendency to turn more bluish pink as the flower fades. Papa Meilland stays a deep velvet rich red color, turning deeper burgundy red as the flower ages. And each petal is literally dripping a strong rose perfume, that is out of this world!

It is not a rose I will recommend beginners! (Grow Ingrid Bergmann instead). The rose is very susceptible to fungal diseases especially powdery mildew, and is hard to grow well. It will do best in USDA climate zone 7 or higher, since it is not very hardy, and must be winterprotected in colder climate zones. I do not find it a very good garden plant, so I choose to grow it in rows for cutting in my former vegetable garden - even though I have a few plants around my house too!



In spite of the flaws this rose has, it was inducted in the World Federation of Roses "Hall of Fame" in 1988 chosen by popular vote in the member countries of the World Federation of Rose Societies. A word of warning though before you smell this rose - all other roses´fragrance will be - well not as strong as Papa Meilland, after you have smelled this rose. If you are already addicted, or want to show that special some one, that you really mean it - go for it and grow it!

Oh so Blue - Salvia Patens - Gentian Sage

A few years ago I visited a rose garden. It was the type of rose garden I really like: All sort of roses were the star performers, but there were plenty of companions plants too. Hardy geraniums, many other perennials, annuals and bi-annuals. Among some of the roses I noticed one of the most intense blue flowers I had ever seen. She did not know the name of the plant - she had bought it at the local flower market a few years ago, and to her surprise it had selfseeded.

I did some research and found that the name of the plant was Salvia Patens. Or Gentian Sage - a fitting name for the gentian blue flowers. It was different from other salvias I knew - it did not have as many flowers on the flower stalks and they were much bigger. I harvested some seeds from her plants and next spring in April I sowed some in my mixed borders. In late July the 2 feet tall flower stalks began flowering, putting out the most intense blue flowers. In USDA zones 8 and higher these plants are hardy and like dahlias, produces tuberous roots. Since I live in a colder climate zone I learned that the tuberous roots could be dug up and stored frostfree like dahlia bulbs. Planted again in mid April they would flower in June. Since I also sow some seeds every year I can have these intense blue flowers 3 months every season, from both the tuberous bulbs and later again from seeds. I really appreciate them in august and September when many perennials are beginning to look a little tired.

Summer Song - David Austin Rose

If you have ever looked for a rose with an unusual color, to use in borders with warm bold colours: Red, orange and yellow - Cannas, Montebretias and Day lilies, I can think of few roses better than Pat Austin, Golden Celebration and Graham Thomas. But they all fade next to a English rose David Austin Roses introduced in 2005 named; Summer Song. The colour was described as "Burnt Orange" which I found pretty accurate when I saw the first flowers on this new rose. Very few roses have such an intense unfading orange color. The flowers have a fruity rose fragrance, with notes of bananas, pineapple and mango. It seems to become a medium tall (about 4 feet) vigorous rose and is building up to a bushy shrub-rose with medium green leaves. I planted the roses next to some Montebretias and behind some day lilies, but in a rose garden I saw it planted next to the royal purple English rose; The Prince. What a stunning colour contrast! So if you are looking for an orange rose to bring some life to what I call "dead gardens" - gardens that are more architecture than gardening and want a rose to go with plants with warm colours, Summer Song surely is going to make your heart sing and let the sunshine into your warm garden.

Honorine De Brabant

Honorine De Brabant is one of the few striped Bourbon Roses. It´s origin is unknown, but it could be a 'sport' (random mutation) of a bourbon - just like one of the most well known striped roses; Rosa Mundi S. Rosa Versicolor is a sport of Rosa Gallica 'Officinalis' commonly known as the Apothecary's Rose.

It seems like people either love or hate striped roses. I can not claim that I like striped roses very much! Some think they look like candy, but I have never understood the fascination with these striped roses. They remind me of bacon! But I must admit that they are a novelty among Old Garden Roses or Antique Roses - (I hate the overexploited term; Heirloom ). Heirloom this and that...

The reason I like this Bourbon rose, is that they have very elegant cupshaped flowers with thin delicate petals. They have a fine old rose fragrance - not as strong as one might expect from a bourbon rose, but very pleasant. It is a vigorous shrub rose and can become very large: more than 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide. But it can be pruned and trained into the desired shape. And unlike Rosa Mundi it repeat blooms. The plant I saw at Sissinghurst in England was spectacular and I saw really nice specimens many other places, before I decided to grow this rose myself. It has better disease resistance than many other bourbons, but it will get a little blackspot.

In America I have seen another shrub rose called Scentimental - While it does have a better growth habit than many Hybrid Tea roses, it did not have neither the scent that is part of the "HYPE" about this rose, nor the beautiful flowers of Honorine De Brabant or the Hybrid Perpetual 'Ferdinand Pichard'. So I do not get sentimental about this 'reproduction rose' with plastic like petals. Just because the American Rose Society wants to signal a move away from the fussy, disease ridden exhibition style Hybrid Tea roses, towards roses that are easier to grow and makes better garden plants - I do not think that making Scentimental an AARS Winner in 1997, was a good choice! I wonder who grow these gaudy roses that seems to become AARS winners? But like they say it does "Mimic the look and scent of striped roses of the 1800s". Honorine de Brabant does not "mimic" - it is the real thing! Not that I wan´t to be considered an Old Garden Rose snob - I do think many modern roses are wonderful and very good, fragrant garden plants, with far better disease resistance than many Old Garden Roses. I consider these roses a huge improvement over the many thousand gaudy colored floribundas and hybrid teas, that have given roses such a bad reputation.

The Parable of the Rose

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully.
Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud that
would soon blossom. He also saw the thorns, and he
thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant,
burdened with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this
thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was
ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul, there is a rose.
The "God-like" qualities planted in us at birth, growing amidst
the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and
see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking
nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to
water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never
realize our potential.

Some don't see the rose within themselves. It takes someone
else to show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person
can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find
the rose within others. This is the truest, most innocent, and
gracious characteristic of love - to know another person,
including their faults, recognize the nobility in their soul,
and yet still help another to realize they can overcome their
faults. If we show them the rose, they will conquer the
thorns. Only then will they blossom, and most likely,
blooming thirty, sixty, a hundred-fold, as it is given to them.

Our duty in this world is to help others, by showing them
their roses and not their thorns. It is then that we
achieve the love we should feel for each other. Only then
can we bloom in our own garden.

Author Unknown

The Roses in the Picture are the Ultra fragrant Romantica Rose Frederic Mistral. Also called the Childrens Rose.

An organic Spray for Aphids on roses and other ornamental plants

Roses like many other ornamental garden plants, are attacked by insects that damage the plants. The problem with rose gardens are, that they are a mono culture. In mono cultures there are no biological diversity of plants, that create natural habitats for beneficial insects that can keep the number of harmful insects down. A mixed planting with roses, trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials, annuals and semi-annuals, have more biodiversity and attract more of the beneficial insects that can keep the number of harmful insects at bay.

It is becoming more and more unacceptable for gardeners to use chemical toxic insecticides. The environmentally long term effects of many chemical insecticides are unknown and many are also toxic to gardeners, who have to wear protection gear, when spraying these insecticides.

One organic insecticide that has almost been forgotten is extracts of Chrysanthemum cinerariefolium or Dalmatian chrysanthemums. The active component in the extracts are pyrethrum or natural-pyrethrins. They are neuro-toxic to insects and kill all insect hit by a spray containing natural-pyrethrins. Natural-pyrethrins are biodegradable and short acting since its is broken down by UV light and Oxygen. They are safe to use on vegetables and they are safe to eat after 24 hours. (Do wash them).I used to buy a few pounds of dried flowerheads of Chrysanthemum cinerariefolium and made a tea for my little pressure sprayer. I sprayed shoots that had very badly infested with aphids and leaves infected with leafhopper and rose-slugs (Sawfly). The effects are remarkable! Take a look at this tip of a rose-shoot infested with aphids:



And then take a look at the same shoot sprayed with natural-pyrethrin 7 days later:



One might say: Well aphids can just be sprayed a way with a jet of water, well true if repeated a few times that will help! But what if you have 200 or more roses? Or even just 50, it would be a waste of water and take an absurd amount of time. Also many ornamental plants would look horrible after been sprayed with jets of water! I also do not like insecticidal soaps since I have experienced follicular burns.

Aphids in large numbers suck the life out of young rose shoots and cause deformed flowers and leaves. They also increase the risk of fungal disease by the damage they do to the plant and the honeydew they excrete. Take a look at this rose shoot:



That is above the tolerance I have for aphids on roses! I either make the pyretrum tea and spray or use one of the natural extracts that can now be bought from various companies. It is also possible to grow the Chrysanthemums yourself or buy the dried flowerheads and make they tea used to spray:

For one half liter / about 16 fl OZ of water I use 3 table spoons of dried flowerheads of Chrysanthemum cinerariefolium and slowly warm the tea in a small pot, until it becomes hot but not boiling. I allow the tea to cool with the flowerheads still in. When Cooled I filter away the flowerheads and poor the tea in my little pressure sprayer.

I spray shoots and plants heavy infested with aphids. I do not nuke the entire garden or use bigger pressure sprayers with this pyrethrum tea. If I did that I would kill too many beneficial insects too. The idea is to keep a balance and target specific insects that are causing a problem. I do that by spraying areas where I see the insects I want to get rid of. I am careful not to hit fx. bees. If plants are infested with roseslugs or leafhoppers, I do use a bigger pressure sprayer, that is better at creating a fine mist and has a longer handle so I can spray the underside of the leaves too. I only spray about 3 times every year. I see plenty of beneficial insects and there are still lots of aphids left them and birds like sparrows and tits eats a lot of them too. I have nesting boxes for these garden helpers:



Natural Pyrethrum and pyrethrins tea and extract have a very pleasant smell of chrysanthemums. Some are however allergic to chrysanthemums, and the spray can cause skin irritation and irritate the eyes. I have never experienced any of that, but do be careful when spraying! Just because it is organic does not mean it is harmless. Also make sure not spray around ponds, since it will kill aquatic insects too. Natural pyrethrins is useful against many different insects on many different plants.

White Nights

Very fragrant roses, that are good for cutting have always been high on my priority list. Especially a good white rose! In many Danish gardens I noticed a low climber, with gorgeous creamy white hybrid tea rose shaped flowers. They had a very powerful fragrance and were very great for cutting lasting 5 days in vase, scenting the rooms with it's delicate perfume. I found out the rose's name was White Nights or s. 'Amorique', s. 'Chateau Angelus'. Confusing that the same rose have all these names for marketing purposes in different parts of the world. I do not find that Poulsen Roses have been very good at promoting their roses. Especially not since they picture this rose as light yellow on their website.

Most grew it as low stiff upright climber against walls and fences and it seemed to be able to reach a height of about 7 feet. Perfect - since most of the flowers were in nose-height! Over the years it has become one of my favorite roses. The first year it looked like a small pathetic hybrid tea rose. The second year it was 3 feet tall - I began to doubt that it would ever become a climber, maybe it did not do well in my garden? The third year it shot 3 huge basals - that reached 7 feet and I began to be pleased with it --- especially the wonderful scent and how great the creamy white roses were for cutting. The fourth year and this year, it is a spectacular rose!
Like most large flowered climbers, it has a stiff upright growth habit and only needs a little support. I estimate that this single plant produces at least 400 nice cut roses each year, even though the stems are not very long and the flowers sometimes comes in clusters - sometimes a single stem makes a bouquet.



The buds are light yellow and the flowers have lower petal count, than most hybrid tea roses. As the flowers develop, they are sometimes creamy white and sometimes have pink hues on the inner petals.



Fully open they fade to a pure white. I highly recommend this rose. It is one of my favorite roses, though very modern in appearance, with the reddish new growth and glossy leaves.

Blue French Anemones

Blue, along with purple, is one of my favorite colors to use as accent colors in many plant combinations. The eye is often drawn towards these colors and they can create dramatic effects in plant combinations. In spring I like to see blue colors among the bright fresh spring green color most plants have. Last fall I planted 20 small tuberous roots of Anemone Coronaria 'Mr Fokker'. I was not sure they were hardy enough here since I read it was hardy in USDA zone 6-9. Since I live in something that can be compared to USDA zone 5B-6 I was hoping for the best. There has got to be something positive about global warming! This winter I read that they were hybrids from De Caen in France in the 1700s, thus the name French Anemones. Anemones comes from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind. Anemones are often referred to as windflowers. Perhaps because they were thought to be opened by the warm winds of spring, or because they easily loose the petals in the wind? The Greek Wind Flower takes its name from a story out of Greek Mythology. Adonis was wounded by Aphrodite's jealous ex-lover while out hunting. When Aphrodite found him, she sprinkled nectar on his wounds. As she carried his lifeless body out of the woods, Anemones sprang up where drops of the nectar and his blood dripped to the ground. It is said then, that the wind which blow blossoms open, will soon afterwards blow the petals away. So it is called the Wind Flower, for that which brings its life forth, ends it. The blue French anemones has far exceeded my expectations!



They are so pretty and have bloomed for 6 weeks - far longer than our smaller native white and blue anemones (A. Quinquefolia). Each tuberous root has produced more flower stalks, about 1 feet tall. I planted them in front of some geranium Sanguineum 'Tiny Monster' that will cover the wilting foliage later this summer. In the fall I will give them a layer of compost and hope they come back next spring!

Alchymiste

Alchymiste is one of my favorite once-blooming climbing roses. It was Bred in Germany (1956) by W. Kordes & Sons and it can be said to have stood the test of time, since many still plant it. In USDA zones 4-5 it may only become a large shrub or a low climber, but in in USDA zones 6 or higher it has the potential to become a very tall climber. It is some what susceptible to blackspot, but it rarely becomes noticeable until after the rose have flowered. It has quite stiff canes that is a bit difficult to train and the new young basal shoots, that can reach up to 12-15 feet must be secured, while still flexible. A bareroot plant will become quite big in 3-4 years and will put on a spectacular display of the amazing old fashioned flowers, that turns into quartered rosette shaped flowers. They have a strong fresh Old Rose fragrance, with hints of fruit notes. The flowers may look like Old Garden Roses, but the color is very hard to describe since they can have all shades during various stages of their development. Yellow, abricot, golden yellow and almost fading to white with pink too. The ability to display a wide range of changing colors is probably what have give this golden rose it´s name!





A 4 year old Alchymiste planted at the base of the trunks of a cut down old apple tree, with canes twisted around the trunks; the laterals blooming more and more each year:



Alchymiste can also be planted to cover arbors or pergolas, or be trained horizontally along a fence. The latter option probably recommended in colder areas (USDA zone 6 or less). Since it looks a bit similar to Gloire De Dijon, but is more coldhardy and definitely more easy to grow well, it makes a great substitute for that rose in colder areas.

Alchymiste only blooms about 4 weeks in early summer it looks great to let a lateblooming Clematis like: Jackmani Superba or Clematis "Etoille Violette" ( both are hard prune/type 3 pruning Clematis) climb the rose and flower in the summertime-early fall with beautiful blue-purple flowers.

Wonderful lupins - Cottagegarden plants for free

One of my favorite plants to use in Cottage gardens and New Country Gardens are Lupins. Or more excactly the perennial Lupinus Polyphyllus or Russel hybrids. Even without the spiky blooms , the palmated foliage and plants look like a small group of miniature palm trees. They are shortlived herbaceous perennial plants, with a lifespan of about 4 years. As other members of the legume family, they have small nodulated feeder roots caused by Bradyrhizobium soil bacterias on the roots, that makes the plants able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia, fertilizing the soil for other plants. It is very hard to divide the tap roots and get more plants, but they selfseed willingly. Only problem is that the seedlings may not turn out the same color as their parents. Color is very important in plant combinations when designing mixed borders. It is possible to grow some really pretty Lupins from seeds or buy these as young plants from nurseries. Some of these varieties are:

Lupinus polyphyllus 'La Chatelaine' -Blush pink and White
Lupinus polyphyllus 'Fraülein'- pure White
Lupinus polyphyllus 'Kronleuchter' - Light yellow
Lupinus polyphyllus 'Mein Schloss' Red
Lupinus polyphyllus 'Kastellan' - Blue/purple
Lupinus regalis 'Chandelier' - Light yellow

The blue/purple lupins seems to be more hardy. The seedlings of these will eventually dominate groups of lupins growing wild. Since these are my favorite colours, and I want to make sure to get this colour, I each year seek out places with those wild lupins. This way I can get these plants for free! I look for good seedlings and dig these up, before they have gotten tap roots.





I bring a little water sprayer, and make sure the roots are moist, and place the seedlings in large ziplock bags. I also make sure to bring a little soil, from the place where they grew, to get some of the Bradyrhizobium soil bacterias. At home I pot the Lupin seedlings (in small pots, using potting soil and a little soil from the place I dug up the lupin seedling). I plant 3 seedlings in each pot, to get a dense plant that will produce more flower spires.



During the summer or early fall, I plant them where I want them and they will flower next year, growing about 2-3 feet tall the first year and 3-4 feet tall the second-fourth year.





After they have flowered in may-june, I cut the plants back and they will repeat flower a bit in late august-september. It is important to cut them back since it ensures a longer lifespan of the plants, if they are not allowed to selfseed. If we as gardeners choose to grow these plants, it is important not to allow these plants to become invasive, by allowing the plants to selfseed. In some countries, they are considered invasive, unwanted plants. But I think they are wonderful and beautiful garden plants, and both I, bees and butterflies, seems to be drawn to their spicy fragrance. I also like lupins as cut flowers, even if they only have a short vaselife of 3 days.

This Evening In My Rose Garden

I like to sit in my garden, after another one of these wonderful hot summer days, that are rare here in Denmark. Seeing the sun set and the light change and the effects it has on the colors, of the flowers blooming. Sitting on a old hardwood chair with a carved rose, next too Gertrude Jekyll, whose roses emit a strong sweet scent that carry on air. What a tribute to the woman and the legacy she left behind to us gardeners, to have one the worlds top 10 fragrant roses named after her:



Looking up under the apple tree, the last rays of the sun, hits some alba roses (Celestial and Maidens Blush), that are dwarfed by a huge 18 feet tall specimen of Rosa Arvensis Ayrshire Splendens, cascading it branches down from a 16 tall larch pole. It has just begun to bloom and in a few days the hundreds, maybe even thousands of flowers, with their strong myrrh scent, will begin to drop their petals, like it is snowing in June:



Before I go inside I take some pictures of chives in my mixed borders. I like these since they truly are miniature alliums, and they take on different hues in the evening light:



I also notice that the Austin Rose 'Sweet Juliet' has some blooms, I smell their sweet fragrance:



I come to think of a (misunderstood) quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:

What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet

The best part of the garden season is ahead of me. I am so filled with joy and life!

Prevent fungal diseases on roses

I have many roses in my garden and some of them are prone to getting the 3 most common fungal diseases: Blackspot, Powdery Mildew and rust. Gardeners can do a few things to prevent fungal diseases on roses. If you do not have much time for gardening, then the most important thing you can do is to practice good garden hygiene. Look out for leaves affected by fungal diseases, and simply remove them! This way you can prevent a lot of fungal spores to spread and infect other leaves and rosebushes. Take a quick walk in your garden and inspect your roses and remove leaves infected with fungal diseases:

Blackspot: Leaves have black, brown or purple spots and in later stages turn yellow and drop :



Powdery mildew: Leaves have areas that look like white dust, or like they are powdered with flour:



Rust: Leaves or canes have small orange spots. In later stages they turn black and leaves turn yellow:



Removing leaves infected with fungal diseases in early stages is the best way to prevent them from spreading. Other things gardeners can do to prevent fungal diseases on roses are:

1) Choose roses that are known for having good disease resistance! Obviously isn't it? Look for varieties that are known to have good disease resistance in your area. Ask the local rose society or garden center.

2) Plant roses where they get at least 6 hours of sunlight every day. Preferably morning sun, since it dries the leaves faster (even dew makes fungal spores germinate).

3) Plant roses in soil with good drainage. If you have heavy clay soil it may benefit from amendment with coarse sand and gravel and lots of compost. Sandy soil that drains too fast, also benefit from amendment with plenty of organic matter before planting. It also helps to add clay granules, to make the soil better at retaining water.

4) Correct pruning ensures good air circulation through the rose bush. There is a reason for the advice about pruning, so the bud eyes turn outwards away from the center.

5) Keep your rosebushes well- fed and watered! Rosebushes that need water are more prone to fungal diseases especially mildew. If you have sandy soil, you need to water more often than if you have heavy/clay soil. A correct amount of fertilizer is also important - it is however possible to use too much!

6) Water your rosebushes in the morning, so the leaves can dry during the day. This is especially important if you choose to shower your rose bushes all over. Some fungal spores may actually be washed away (especially Powdery Mildew) . In general:Try to water at the base of the roses and avoid splashing water on the soil, that will hit the leaves. It is better to give each rosebush a good soaking every 5-10 days than to water a little bit here and there. The roots of the roses will be forced to go deeper, making the plant less vulnerable to drought.

7) If you choose to spray: Use a systemic fungicide preventively, when the rosebush has leafed out. And then every 14 days. (In some areas with high disease pressure many spray more often perhaps once every 7 days). In my area I spray roses I know are prone to getting fungal diseases preventively. Other roses I only spray if I see fungal diseases on them. Spraying does not replace good garden hygiene and common sense. Many choose not to spray, and grow their roses organically. By following the above advices 1-6, the roses will not get affected much by fungal diseases. Some have a greater tolerance for a few spots and some defoliation of their rosebushes. Like Peter Beales say: "What is a few spots among friends"?