Glad I kept some roses


During the early period of my gardening, I struggled with the largish bed of white roses that had been left by the previous owner. They were all supposedly low-maintenance shrubs but they were attacked by midge (one bloom cycle per season, therefore) and died back nearly to the ground one winter. A hybrid tea in the middle was made hideous by blackspot every year, while some kind of old shrub in the back was covered in mildew.


I eventually got rid of them in favor of lilies and perennials, but I did keep a red climber and added this Abraham Darby (top), a Charlotte (another David Austin) and a Louise Odier (old, above). This is NOTHING to what a true rose freak would have and much less than many ordinary gardeners, but so far I think these are just the right amount of roses to have. Also, we have some pink ones in the alley (below). No one knows who planted them or what they are. And I have a couple roses in containers, including Blush Noisette, another nice heritage variety.


None of these roses receive any care except a digging in of rosetone (organic) once or twice a season. The alley one doesn’t even get that.

I don’t why people complain about David Austin roses; I love the two I have.

Comments

KWolfAK said…
How is the fragrance on the mystery rose? I had a bush that looked a lot like that one. It was called "Heritage" and was a David Austin rose (which I personally love as well). Here is a link to look at:

http://www.davidaustinroses.com/American/showrose.asp?showr=452

Anyhow. It is one of the most fragrant roses! Mine was next to my front door. I LOVED it!!
paul said…
I have flowers like that in my garden I think
Ben said…
Hey congratulations, you are a Blogger.com "Blog of Note" today!
Anonymous said…
congratulations for your blog!

X Com tudo Dentro - Generalidades
joco said…
What a wonderfully catchy blog title.

The fact that you have only two Austin roses may be a clue: any more and they become samish. I was admiring my Graham Thomas, soft apricot yellow, and Constance Spry (pink) today, but wouldn't want any more.

I must be nasally challenged, cause to me they smell like stale handcream.

Those old 'old roses' look lovely. Must try those one day.
Congrats on being a "Blog of Note"! Your Roses are quite lovely. That seems to be a good number of them. I finally got my first Rose planted yesterday. My daughter asked me for a Rose, so I had to break down & get one. Let's see what happens with Japanese Beetles. Are they much of a problem for you?
bGorgeous roses EAL. I wish I had more roses in my garden. Maybe some day.
Sue Swift said…
Lovely photo. And congrats on becoming a blog of note!
EAL said…
Kendra, I don't think so. This is a one-time-bloomer and most Austins rebloom at least a bit. I think it is a true old rose, not a DA one.

MMD, I don't have a jap beetle problem; it seems to be a suburban phenom here. They love grass and I have none. I have seen a couple here and there.
Anonymous said…
hxHi, My name is Porcha, and i really like your blog! and the pictures are beautiful. I just started this blog today, and it's an advice and tips blog, i wanted to get some people on their, and ask questions you know. So if you are interested in seeing my blog the url is http://porchaboo.blogspot.com/
Anonymous said…
HOW shit faced do you get! whats your drink of choice?
Rachel said…
Beautiful! I can smell them now!
William Wren said…
good philosophy
Amanda Roosa said…
Your photos are absolutely gorgeous, very clean looking blog!! Well done!
Daniel Mount said…
Hello Elizabeth, I was unable to access my blog to write today , so I decided to be a blog reader instead. Luckily the first blog I stumbled into was yours. I too have found roses problematic, and devilishly enticing. I am a professional gardener and have gotten rid of all my clients with hybrid tea roses. Drastic measures, I know, to avoid tea roses. I now live on a small farm outside Seattle and have plenty of room for those big shrub and rambling roses that most gardeners regret they plant. To see Darlow's Enigam or Blaue Veichen's rapid thorny grow with frighten most hybrid tea lovers. Our intention may sound sinister but were trying to create an impenetrable barrier along the road, like blogger did to my account today. But the diversion lead me to you blog. What a delightful clearing in the jungle the internet seems today. See you again some time.
Greig Leach said…
I am struggling to become a garender of beautiful roses and love what you have grown. I plant like an artist, and spend more time thinking about the colors and how they blend and not enough about how they will do in the garden. You can see some of my flower paintings a www.greigspaintingaday.blogspot.com Beautiful work you have created. Greig
J. P. Smith said…
I am a writer of fiction and I like plants but I have this curse...
Every plant that I try grow ends up dying off...
can you recommend a good plant to grow indoors?
Also, I am in the process of writing a story that has a character in it that tends to a garden...so would you be able to put up a link to my blog?
marianne said…
i killed all of my hybrid teas and am tickled pink with the old roses & climbers that need (and get) zero maintenence excpet for pruning out the dead stuff. and they smell better and are healthier than the frous frous- long live tough roses!

nice blog of note...tho mine is supposed to be about doing art every day, it has lots of flower shots of late (many of said roses)http://mkonvalinka.blogspot.com
Anonymous said…
Beautiful, beautiful roses. I have some hybrid teas and floribundas. They do require some care but only Queen Elizabeth needs spraying for the powdery mildew some years. Perhaps it is her location. I also have Ulrich Brunner. It grows by the fence where the neighbor's Cecile Brunner spills through.
monica said…
Must say,a very beautiful blog.Truly deserving the 'Blog of note' title.Your pictures have inspired me to plant more of such roses in my garden,though I'm not sure whether they'll be as pretty as yours.
Anonymous said…
Beautiful roses. I never used to be a gardner, but admire the flowers anytime. My Grandfather was an avid gardner, almost spends the entire day in the gardens. He does not have automated systems to water the plans so he uses the oze pipes(long tubes that connect the source of water from a tap) and even creates water trails that leads to the plans. Its a nice feeling to watch the water as it glides through the small alleys and cliffs created by my grand father ;).. And to mention the different butterflies and insects that you meet along in that journey. I wish i would want to go back in time and experience those moments again :) Thanks for the photos that gave me back glimses of those moments.
pondlife said…
What a delightful blog. Blogger had you as Blog of Note so I clicked and fell upon one labelled Pond... well I would, wouldn't I.

But tell me something about roses. I inherited here in France a house with a couple of old rose bushes. I was told to prune them back and did so with Rose manuel in hand and they responded okay... Last year I didn't prune at end of season, and this year I have a mass of red blooms on each and they are more than okay... I would send you a photograph if it weren't pouring with rain.

best wishes
Richard said…
I've just moved house and I've found a rose in my new garden, it's beautiful and will be kept. Unfortunately it's in the middle of a wild bush and a stand of buddliea so getting to it's like hacking through rainforest. Never had any problems with David Austin roses before and if you're ever in the English West Midlands his gardens near Cosford are really worth a visit. You'll probably meet the man himself as he's very often walking around.
EAL said…
Pondlife,

Roses will actually withstand an amazing amount of neglect.
Brooxi said…
Congratulations on being recognized as a blogger of note this week! What BEAUTIFUL photographs!
Kathleen... said…
Beautiful photos; what are the complaints against the David Austin roses? I love them, if anything, for their romantic names. I have an Abraham Darby (delightfully grand) and a Jude's Obscure (the scent is intoxicating...lol). Wouldn't trade them for anything!
sduck said…
I was delighted to discover your main interests were wine gardening and art, even in that order, as mine follow a similar suit...I LOVE gardening and I'm forever praising my specimens for growing so well with so little help. I love roses and I love wine...and I did a Fine Art degree for what it's worth, very excited to find you here, keep it up!
sduck said…
ps, please check out my blog! plenty of drunken ramblings on to be bored to tears with...
http://landandsky.blogspot.com/ :)
Lori said…
One of these days, when I'm not living in a dorm room about 8 months out of the year, I look forward to being able to grow some rose bushes. :9
I was surprised (in a good way) to see you on Blogs of Note today. Congratulations! I remember your blog from "way back when". It's been a little too long since I last visited here.
EAL said…
OMG! Karen from 1-2-3 Go Garden, the first other garden blog I knew about and the first one on my blogroll. Welcome back. I have not been to yours in a while either, though I think my visit might be a bit more recent. I'll put it on my reader.

I am certain the blog of note designation is because of the name. Ya think?
Nancy K said…
I doubt if that "rose in the alley" would be a David Austin -looks more like one of the Heiloom roses that are always entered in the Rose Festivals and never identified for sure. I live in a house built in 1907 and had a rose in my back yard that looked just like that -but several well known Rosarians could never identify it -and couldn't get a cutting off it without blackspot or mildew while the one growing never had either. It finally just died out of old age.
Anonymous said…
Wow! I love the rose in the first picture.

I purchased another rose bush today... Tournament of roses, I think it was called!

Congrats on your blog!!
hoko poko said…
your roses look alive. good
Aiyana said…
Congrats on the Blogs of Note list! I'm surprised I haven't run into your blog before now, as you have a lot of blogs I read on your blogroll. If you ever want to check out cacti and succulents, stop by!
Aiyana
joco said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
joco said…
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Greg said…
I believe it's David Austin roses we have in the garden at work (they pre-date me, but seem to match catalog descriptions). They sure are lovely. I hope to welcome a few myself, one day.
joco said…
This comment has been removed by the author.

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