This garden is built much like an L shape. The prior post covered the small part of the L. This garden surrounds an area with a small, inexpensive charcoal grill and a table with chairs for eating. At one time, I dreamed of having one of those elaborate outdoor kitchen areas with a built-in grill and a fireplace. As the years have passed, though, I am happy that we didn't make those indulgences. With my husband's allergies, and the Texas heat, we don't eat outdoors very often or even cook on the grill much anymore.
But I do go down to this area every day to check on my roses, and often I will break from my gardening activities to sit here and drink a glass of water or lemonade. Even taking 10 minutes to enjoy the surrounding roses is very peaceful and relaxing to me.
In my mind, this long section of the L is broken up into two parts, on either side of the concrete planter. Let's take the left side first:
Left to right are: Lichfield Angel, Lemon Fizz, Christopher Marlowe, a single petaled pink rose that I don't know the name of, Wild Ginger and Madame Berkeley. Wild Ginger is being evaluated, as she seems to not be as disease resistant as I require. And Lemon Fizz may end up on the chopping block, too. I honestly believe there are roses that can do well in just about any garden, the trick is just finding the right ones. And what's right for me may not be right for you.
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| Lichfield Angel |
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| Lemon Fizz |
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| Christopher Marlowe |
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| Wish I knew its name! |
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| Madame Berkeley |
A lot of these roses are fairly new. When I first planted this bed, it seemed so large, and with so many roses to purchase, I unfortunately planted this area with a lot of roses purchased solely on the basis of their (inexpensive) price, rather than the type or quality. Most of those roses have now been replaced. There's a lesson in that!
In contrast, the area to the right of the concrete planter is my favorite area of this garden, because most of the roses in this area were original plantings. So, they are now quite large, and fill in the bed nicely.
They are: Carnival Glass, an unknown rose, Cinco de Mayo, Safrano, Knock Out, and Carefree Celebration. Planted in the corner behind Knock Out are Mr. Lincoln and Abraham Darby, even though they not yet tall enough to be seen.
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| Cinco de Mayo |
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| Safrano |
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| Carefree Celebration |
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| Abraham Darby |
You may notice that the colors go from light to dark. I threw in some contrasting colors every so often, so it doesn't look too planned. This bed just needs a bit of time. Time for some of the newer roses to mature. A bit more tweaking over the next few years. And then, I think I will be very, very happy with it. It has certainly been satisfying finding roses that do well here.
So, there you are! A walk around my main rose garden. I hope you enjoyed it!
I loved taking this virtual tour of your rose garden, I bet you are so pleased with it! i'm not a big fan of red roses but in general you mixed colours in a way that eyes aren't shocked at all. I love Safrano, mine is under tall weeds, I must free it this coming weekend!
ReplyDeleteI love pink and peach, but my husband loves red roses. I'm pleased that you think they are mixed well. Good luck freeing your Safrano. I just hate it when weeds try to take over!
DeleteA beautiful walk around your rose garden! I can just smell the fragrance of roses wafting on the warm spring air!
ReplyDeleteIt really is nice to get a whiff of their scent when I'm sitting down enjoying this area, or walking around looking at the roses. It's just an added bonus!
DeleteYou have some beautiful specimens, Holley! Do you know how many roses to do you actually have in the L? It's surprising how quickly they add up! Anyway, your rose garden is absolutely dreamy.
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising how quickly they add up, but I really don't know how many roses I have in this area. And, of course, that number changes every year as they grow and squeeze others out, or if I give them a failing grade.
DeleteWhat a wonderful tour of your rose garden Holley! I could always smell the wonderful scent they must have just by looking at the photos :)
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for smell-o-vision to be invented. Wouldn't that be wonderful!
DeleteHey, I think you changed the picture of your blog (the topmost page picture), right? It looks lovely. I love the rose-bed of yours -- they look so pristine and at the same filled, green and beautiful. Exactly like those cottage gardens. Wow!
ReplyDeleteYes, I changed the header. Glad you liked it. In this garden, some of the roses stay evergreen, too, so it's nice to look out and see a bush instead of sticks.
DeleteI think the black iron fence also gives a very fitting background.
ReplyDeleteI do like when roses have some kind of supporting background.
DeleteI'm with you on Wild Ginger; withholding judgement here as well. Is it possible your pink single rose is Chuckles? Large single blooms, forms lots of large orange hips, fairly disease resistant? Without scale, your's looks a lot like mine.
ReplyDeleteIt may be Chuckles. It looks like it, and it certainly has nice hips in the fall. But hmf states that Chuckles has 11 petals. This one only has five, sometimes 6. (I went out and counted.)
DeleteLooks very pretty and relaxing. I love them all and would walk every day as well to check on them.
ReplyDeleteMy morning walk is one of the favorite times of my day. The days I don't get to walk out there, I find that I feel I'm missing something.
DeleteI love it! Thanks for the wonderful tour e the passion you take care of...
ReplyDeleteThanks. Glad you enjoyed it. :)
DeleteThey are all just so beautiful!! I would love to sit with a nice cold glass of lemonaide and admire your roses....it would be so relaxing!
ReplyDeleteI really should learn how to make rose petal tea! Now that would be fun!
DeleteI read your previous post first and loved hearing about the time spent with your grandmothers. We have a hot tub on our deck and spend most nights gazing at the stars - even in the winter with snowflakes dancing around and two feet of snow to shovel through.
ReplyDeleteThe tour of your rose garden was enjoyed, one plant I don't have many of. I did plant carpet roses along the front walkway and they stay low (@12 inches) like a carpet. They also die right back and start all over each spring.
I'm a tea granny so like to sit in the garden during the afternoon with a cup of tea.
Judith
I love carpet roses, too. I truly do enjoy the easy-care roses, and don't have a lot of divas in my garden. Being a Southerner, I don't think I could live without iced tea - sweet, of course!
DeleteYour rose garden looks fabulous! I especially like the spicy colors to the right of the planter. What a fabulous place to sit and sip lemonade. I am just planting most of my roses this year. I tried to research which ones would be disease-resistant and hardy, but of course it's always an experiment because every garden has different conditions. If my roses look half as good one day I'd be thrilled!
ReplyDeleteI hope your roses do well. If you researched them out, then you are ahead of the game. Don't rush them - give them time. They really do take a few years to settle in and give a good show.
DeleteI like your Dianthus edging below the roses. The are very complimentary. I have used Knock Outs with Carefree Celebration too. They bloom together here too. My clients love Knock Outs. They are so trouble free and bloom like crazy. Love your rose displays. I so wish the teas would be disease free here, clients always want them.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of Knock Outs, because they really are a tough rose that blooms like crazy (and my husband loves red). I've also found they will forgive any pruning job! ;) As large as my garden is, I'm all about easy. Having one in this bed is interesting, because when my roses get blackspot (usually only in autumn), it's easy to compare disease resistance. I'm surprised to hear that your clients want teas. For some reason, I would have thought your area would be too cold for them.
DeleteGorgeous! It looks like you are in the middle of nowhere..so peaceful, with the surrounding trees. All your roses look beautiful. But Saffrano caught my eye... it looks almost beige in the picture. I know what you mean about planting some things because they are inexpensive. I've done that too :) Its always best to wait for what you really want.
ReplyDeleteSafrano has a pink reverse on the petals, so it does have an off-white color that blends well with other colors. I think it goes beautifully with the reds in this bed.
DeleteEverytime I see Cinco De Mayo I kick myself for not getting it..
ReplyDeleteYou can always add it! :)
DeleteI did enjoy the tour. Does the fence keep something out, or something in? I'm sure you've said before and I forgot.
ReplyDeleteI research ever so carefully and then buy what is available. I've even listed what came in at a store that I didn't recognize and went home to research each one before going back to choose. I've also bought something because it was pretty, lol.
You made a good point about the outdoor kitchen. There are many garden features that I pass up because they look great but do not fit needs.
The fence keeps the deer out, but this area is on a slope, so it is actually there so we don't fall off! If money were free, I would have all those features that I see in the magazines, but it's probably good to have a bit of restraint. It makes one prioritize exactly what is truly needed, and what would just be wasted.
DeleteThanks for the tour! It's so great to get a better view of the garden like this. I loved your red/orange/soft peach coloured roses, great colours together. I have also started sorting out my rose bed, although on a much smaller scale than you. Two really old roses were dug up and thrown in the compost bin last December, two young ones were dug up in January and placed in containers instead, as they did not get enough light were they were growing, hopefully they will thrive in the containers. That gave me some free space in the bed, wonder what I shall put there.... :-)
ReplyDeleteThe garden is always changing! I find that I either dig up or move several roses every year. I often wonder if I'll ever stop - I doubt it!
DeleteI've loved the tour around your rose garden, so many beautiful blooms all bought together in a complimentary way. Your new blog header is just lovely too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Paula! :)
DeleteWhat a wonderful rose tour and it is only May! I just loved the walk around all of your lush and gorgeous roses!!! You must be spending a lot of time cutting roses; I imagine bud vases in every room of your home filled with lush blooms! I always like to have them in the house so I can really look at them in quiet moments - though those are few and far between!
ReplyDeleteI need to cut more roses for the house. I find I'm stingy with them - I want them out in the garden, and hate to cut them! But you are right - having them inside would be so joyful.
DeleteI'm the same way -- I love them in the garden. But probably our gardens could spare a few. :)
DeleteAll so gorgeous and healthy!!! With so much colour - you certainly can never be in a sad mood! Thanks for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm only sad when I can't go outside - like when it's raining, or wintertime. ;) But seriously, they do cheer me up quite a bit. I guess that's why we garden.
DeleteHolley!
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure to walk with you around your garden. I love rose Abraham Darby and it grew some years but after very hard winter it died. So pity!
Your roses grow in nice climate and you have not these problem:))
I'm sorry to hear about your Abraham Darby. It is such a pretty rose. You are right, I don't usually have to worry about my roses being killed by cold.
DeleteThanks, Dewberry! :)
ReplyDeleteA lovely collection of roses. I like lemon fizz, but think it mightneeda more dignified name.
ReplyDeleteIt has been prone to blackspot in my garden (except when it's too hot for blackspot). I do love the form, though, but I doubt I'll have it around many more years - unless it changes its way. The names of roses seems to be leaning toward food choices these day. Not sure what that says about the American consumer!
DeleteJust stunning Holley...I love Cinco and Carefree...the colors are wonderful with the Knockout!
ReplyDeleteIt's not always easy to find something that works with Knock Outs, but I think these do, especially Carefree Celebration as they always bloom together.
Delete