Thursday, April 25, 2013

Finally, Some Roses!

What's cooking up in my garden?  Well, the roses are finally starting to bloom!  And in my garden, Julia Child has decided to whip up some spring, with a side dish of beauty.  I should have known I could count on Julia to be one of the first roses to bloom in my garden.  She's dependable, sunny, sweet, and smells good.

Julia Child rose

I have her squeezed in a small space between the walkway and my front door, in a spot a little too narrow for her.  She's not a large rose, growing to around 3 ft x 3 ft.  But here, she would actually be a much prettier rose bush if she had a little more room to grow.  Of course, you know us rose lovers - we will stick a rose anywhere!


I love Julia Child's bright yellow blooms.  It is the color of the room I had as a child.  You just can't be unhappy or mad in a yellow room!  (O.K., psychologists say that yellow makes one angry, but that just ticks me off!)   Anyway, who couldn't love a bright, cheerful, delightful ray of sunshine in their garden?  Julia Child rose really delivers.

Julia Child rose is a floribunda shrub rose, hardy in zones 5 through 10, and resistant to blackspot.  It has been an unusually cool spring, although not too wet here, and some of my roses are showing signs of blackspot (I don't spray).  But not my Julia Child rose.  She's as clean as a whistle (whatever that means).


One other thing about disease:  I purchased several Julia Child roses, planted them in a row, and one, and only one, came down with a fungal disease.  I absolutely thought I was going to have to take it out.  But, eventually it has become as healthy as the rest.  I believe that the soil in that spot was not as good as the rest of the soil in this area.  Having problems with a rose?  Maybe, just maybe, it's your soil!


Julia Child rose has a distinctive fragrance.  Not too rosy sweet, but with a touch of what some say reminds them of licorice.  I don't like to eat licorice, but I do love the scent of this rose.  It is, of course, named after the famous chef Julia Child.


63 comments:

  1. What a joy to be able to see all those everyday. I love Julia Child especially.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. She really is a pretty rose. I just love that sunny color!

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  2. I don't have Julia, but tend her at the K-State rose garden where she is, as you say, quite cheerful. She does get a little blackspot there but it is not a very open breezy area.

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    1. I think you have more blackspot pressure than we do here, as, unfortunately, it's not rainy very often here. And temperatures always soar high in the summer, so it only shows itself really a bit in the spring, and more often in the fall, as that is when we have a bigger chance of rain. Still, in comparison to some of my other roses, she is completely clean, whereas some others are not. She is a cheerful rose. I think I would love her even with blackspot!

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  3. Yellow roses are very cheerful (wouldn't want to tick you off by disagreeing:) Thanks for starting my day with a chuckle! Seriously though there's something special about the way yellow roses are so warm inside and fade a little at the edges of their petals. It's like they are holdig the sunshine inside their blooms. Does your rose whisper cooking tips to you?

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  4. In spite of the anti yellow campaign, I am still a fan of yellow flowers and roses too. Julia does well here, but she doesn't like to bloom as early as yours. I am still hopeful she'll be the first, but Josephs coat and a climbing rose sometimes edge her out. It is so nice to see spring is here!

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    1. You will probably get a flush of all your roses at once! What a magnificent show it will be! I'm so glad spring has truly finally arrived (even though we are still forecasted for close-to freezing temperatures in a few days!).

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  5. I saw this same rose at the nursery yesterday but I didn't know anything about it! It looks so pretty in your garden! I was shopping for a yellow English rose to plant in front of my porch so I can sit and smell the roses while my kids play. I have made my choice and I sure hope it is looks really pretty.

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    1. Oh, I would love to know which rose you chose! I suspect you'll be very happy with it - the English roses seem to always have such wonderful scents!

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  6. That's a lovely yellow rose Holley, a joy to behold!

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  7. What a gorgeous rose! I love yellow in the garden, so cheerful. You're making me long for mine to hurry up and put on their show now.

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    1. I feel like I've waited forever for mine to start blooming! I got used to those early springs!

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  8. Kudos to you for not spraying! Do you do anything to amend the soil? How about fertilizers? I'm a total novice (or even sub-novice?) when it comes to roses!

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    1. Gosh, fertilizers could be an entire post in and of itself. Some people use Miracle Gro, some use alfalfa tablets scratched into the soil, some use compost tea, etc., In the past, I have used time-release fertilizers. I did try MIracle Gro one year, but didn't like it. This year I am using composted manure, and mulch. It suits me and my "feed the soil" philosophy better. The main thing about roses is that every climate is different, so every person will have a different disease that is more prominent in their area (here, it is blackspot). I don't spray because I'm too lazy, and blackspot is not as bad here as in some parts of the country. I just live with it.

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  9. I, too, love yellow roses. Here's why: my grandmother, who grew very few ornamental plants on her north Texas farm, had a few roses outside bedroom windows and one of them was yellow. Sentimental favorites!

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    1. I just love when a plant triggers a memory! That's one reason I love gardening - all the many memories as I walk around my garden.

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  10. What a delightful rose. I always thought yellow made a person happier, my room as a kid had yellow and green wallpaper. I like the way you have placed the urn next to your rose, it adds to the romantic atmosphere that roses create.

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    1. I love the urn, but have had a hard time finding something to put in it. Last year I had a miniature climbing rose, pink and yellow, that cascaded over the sides. It was gorgeous, but I couldn't control the water as it doesn't have a hole in the bottom. I need to find something that can take lots of water - (and drought, too, when I forget to water)!

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  11. Oh my... I'm not really a rose fan but I love this one. I love it's deep colour and scrambling loooking habit - I'm guessing the flowers are compact too. Julia Child - I'll have to remember that name :-)

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    1. Glad you like it! I think it's a great rose, and I'm glad I chose her for this spot in my garden - even if she is a bit squeezed in there!

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  12. Oh, she's just beautiful!! I'm so glad she's doing so well for you!

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    1. I cut her way back this year, trying to keep her contained in her little spot. I think she liked the harsh treatment!

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  13. I love yellow roses. They just scream happy. I used to have Golden Showers and it was very reliable here and that is rare. Roses in our area are very disease prone, so I grow very few and spec only those I have grown. I doubt Julia Child would work here.

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    1. I have heard a lot of good things about Golden Showers. Even the name sounds beautiful! I like names like that more than the newer trend of naming roses after celebrities, or funny ones like "Ketchup and Mustard". I guess I just like rose names to invoke a bit of romance!

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  14. I completely agree with you. Whoever says that yellow makes us angry must be mad. I love bright yellow - they at once bring smile and happiness. And your rose looks fantabulous. Where do you get these roses?

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    1. I get most of my roses from Chamblee's rose nursery, as they are located here in Tyler. Mail order is one way to get roses, and I can recommend Chamblee's and Antique Rose Emporium, both located in Texas. There are other rose nurseries that are wonderful, of course, but i just don't know anything personally about them.

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  15. Yay ... roses!!! This one is such a beauty.

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    1. I am thrilled to finally have my roses start blooming! It has felt like forever waiting on them this year!

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  16. Nice, I have been eyeballing this one and Graham Thomas....does she fade in sun...most yellow roses seem too...although golden showers seems to stand up to sun...

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    1. No, she doesn't fade. And she repeats quite quickly. In the autumn when the weather gets cooler, she has just a touch of pink around her petals. I love that!

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  17. Now isn't she just the sweetest prettiest rose!!! That first shot in your post is absolutely stunning! You should frame it for your house it is so awesome! And I agree with you...yellow does not make you angry...that is crazy! Beautiful roses friend...just beautiful!!!!

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    1. I have no idea where they came up with the idea of yellow making one mad. I, too, think that is crazy! It has always been one of my favorite colors, and always makes me feel cheerful.

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  18. I can even smell the roses even just by looking at them! How so beautiful.

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    1. I do wish we could have smell-o-vision. Wouldn't that be wonderful to be able to smell the roses through the computer screen?! :)

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  19. Julia Child looks lovely in your garden. I am sighing when I read this, you have already a beautiful first rose in bloom, I have to be patient for another 4 weeks. I am so looking forward to the rose season. Yellow is mentioned for hate and anger, so stupid. I think yellow is the most sunny and cheerful colour of the spectrum, we have a yellow bedroom because it makes a room with little light from outside, brighter and sunnier, and people happier.

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    1. Well, take comfort in the fact that when your roses are in full bloom this summer, mine will be dormant from our high heat. My garden always looks a mess in summer, but then the roses return to bloom again in autumn, and all is forgiven.

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  20. What beautiful roses - picture perfect!

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  21. I love yellow roses, this one in particular seems to have quite a story to tell, smelling like licorice, named after a famous chef (that I know thanks to Maryl Streep's movie), and yellow is considered a convenient colour to paint the kitchen or the dining room. I don't know anything about yellow bedroom but it seems rather appropriate too. :-)
    Alberto

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    1. I think they consider this yellow "buttery" in keeping with the chef theme. Julia Child got to pick out the rose that was to bear her name. Obviously, she liked yellow, too!

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  22. Such a pretty colour! A bit too fragile for our crazy cold climate, I think, but so delightful to admire anyway! :)

    ~Sheryl @ Flowery Prose

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    1. Oh, I do feel for you in such a cold climate. I hate our heat, too, though!

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  23. I think yellow is the friendliest color around. When the daffodils, forsthyia, and spicebush begin to bloom, I'm a much happier person. It means spring is here!

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    1. That's how I feel! Spring just wouldn't be spring without yellow!

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  24. Ooooohhhh... want one!

    Walking on Sunshine has been a healthy and pretty yellow for me.

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    1. I'll have to look up Walking on Sunshine. Love that name!

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  25. Love me some Julia Child, a rose the color of butter. Reportedly, she got to choose her namesake. Excellent choice. Fades a little but not as much as Sunny Knockout and has more petals.

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    1. I don't have any Sunny Knockouts, but I did have Sunsprite, and it faded terribly in our heat. I'm glad Julia keeps her color well.

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  26. I think yellow makes us cheerful, not angry. Also, the yellow on your 'Julia Child' looks like it has a touch of apricot, so it is extra sweet. It also looks like rich butter - wonder if that explains the name.

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    1. It does have that touch of apricot! When the weather is cooler in the autumn, it really comes out. I think that's when I like Julia's coloring even more than the "buttery" color that it is now. Julia Child, the chef, actually got to choose the rose that would bear her name. I don't know if she was thinking of butter when she chose it, or if she just liked yellow (which probably made her feel cheerful, not angry)!

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  27. I think yellow is joyful, too. I wonder how the psychologists come up with these ideas about color!

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  28. Her yellow blooms are just beautiful too. Mine are just leafing out now so I will enjoy your beauties. Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. It won't be long now, Lona! I think spring has finally decided to arrive!

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  29. I never cared much for yellow roses until I met 'Graham Thomas'. Now he's one of my favorites. And 'Julia Child' looks like a beautiful rose, too. Wish I had room for her!

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    1. I have heard great things about Graham Thomas. I wish I had room for him! :)

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  30. Love, love your roses. I have never grown them because they scare me. All the pruning and ya' gotta know when to prune and black spot, oh my! I would love to have an overhead view of your gardens. . .bet they are stunning.

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    1. Ann, you should try growing an Old Garden Rose. Most of them don't need pruning (unless they overgrow their space), and many are much more resistant to disease than the modern roses are. Remember, these are roses that people grew before chemicals, and moved with them on wagon trains. They're tough!

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  31. Great rose Holley. My roses are budding and starting to put on new growth. I bet in a few weeks we might see roses if the weather stays warm.

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    1. I hope it stays warm for you, Donna. It's supposed to get down close to freezing again here in a few days! This winter just doesn't know when to give up!

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  32. Ooh how exciting, it's rose season! My favourite yellow rose is Peace but this one looks gorgeous too.

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    1. Peace is such a pretty rose. I think it's the most photogenic of all the roses that I grow.

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