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Friday, October 25, 2013

Some pretty things

Fragrant Cloud
 This year the roses are putting on a nice display. I've had enough to pick flowers for inside (I usually just enjoy them outside) and some to make pot pourri too.



I looked in my big book where I keep records of what is planted where and so forth and guess what? I don't know what this rose is called, I didn't write it down and I can't find the tag...yet. It's quite lovely regardless.


 This one is called Knock Out and I believe it is quite a popular landscaping rose. It is low maintenance and colourful and quite a prolific bloomer. Not much of a perfume though (and perhaps a little too bright for my liking).


A lot of my roses are chosen for their name. This one is called Hope or at least it was when I got it quite some time ago. It was a rose released to raise funds to benefit people affected by HIV/AIDS or so it says on the tag. I'm not sure what name this rose is being sold as now but unfortunately I haven't been able to find any links to it as "Hope".


This one is the Chameleon rose. It starts off with yellow buds and as it opens and ages, it turn to the bright pink colour in the background and fades finally to white. It can be quite spectacular actually (for a short time) because it tends to have a flush of flowers all at once. I've had this particular plant since 1996 and it never disappoints even with a move from our suburban garden to here in 1999 (and a 4 month stint in a pot in between).

What I didn't show you though is the black spot that is on quite a number of my roses this year. It is a bit surprising given that we have had no rain for a while and below average falls the whole year. The conditions are dry and humidity which encourages fungal growth is low. Regardless of whether the black spot should be there or not, it is and it is bad enough for me to consider treating it. Perhaps it is that the soil needs a little something to help the plants be more healthy and hence resistant to disease. So when I get a few moments I'll add a bit of compost to the beds (the ornamentals often miss out on this because it is precious stuff and there's never enough) give them a good water and a foliar spray for the worst affected.

Now I think I have tired my brain enough that I can go back to sleep. Insomnia is not sweet.
Tracy

4 comments:

Lisa said...

Too bad about the blackspot. That yellow-to-pink rose is amazing - I've never seen anything like it!

Wishing you a good night's sleep tonight.

Val said...

Ah yes, insomnia and I are old friends. I hope you've caught up on sleep a bit by now.

That second rose IS pretty. The coloring is really appealing.

I miss my roses. From 2004-2007, I kept a garden in a corner of my parents' yard, and since moving in 2007, I haven't had a place that had any kind of outdoor space, so I've been in real gardening withdrawl for years now. My pink New Dawn rose grew faster and bigger than anything else in my garden, but oh, the thorns! I'd get it again, though. Roses are worth it. :)

Sleep well.

Anonymous said...

i love roses and you have some gorgeous ones there Tracy,i just seen 2 on our bushes yesterday,love it when the garden is full of colour.
Hope you sleep well tonight tracy.xx

Joolz said...

Beautiful roses! I never treat black spot - I think ours get it because they are watered by sprinkler system with bore water. They still bloom regardless - I am a useless, lazy gardener, really!

I've been doing a million little jobs today - I made a really good kitchen spray, therefore I tried it out on our toilets, vanities and ensuite shower screens. Its fantastic (will blog it), colour changed my black leather wallet(remember doing shoes years ago?) - just redid with black, I got my accounts up to date, packed away a whole heap of crystal glasses etc that my Mum has given me, tidied my bottom junk drawer - got very ruthless and tossed a lot out! Four loads of washing hung out, brought in and folded, blog post about to be up, still deciding whether to make a loaf of bread or put off until tomorrow....


Cheers - Joolz