Best and Worst - Jan 2012

Those turtlenecks I purchased to wear this winter were a total waste.  Of course, the reason I haven't been able to wear them is because it's been too hot to wear turtlenecks in the 60 and 70 degree weather we've been having here.

But I'm not complaining.  I love this weather because it's the perfect weather to work out in the garden!

Mulching the garden is my main focus.  I didn't completely finish mulching this past fall, and I can certainly tell by the amount of weeds that have popped up where I didn't put down mulch.  That is a powerful argument for mulching the garden in the fall (the entire garden).

But while I've been doing that, I've noticed some wonderful things (the little joys are THE BEST):

Do you see this little bee?  Look how big her pollen sacs are!  She's been busy!

And this plant - do you know what this is?  It's a flowering quince (Chaenomeles).  Poor thing.  I planted it last year and then never saw it again.  It's behind the pavonias, and they complete covered it!  I really thought it was dead.  It was so exciting to find it when I was cleaning up the garden.  Now I can't wait for it to bloom!

Bad picture, but if you look closely, you'll see a little papyrus.  I rooted it last fall, and I am thrilled to see that it is still alive.

All these surprises are the best!

What's THE WORST?  The weeds, of course.

They are everywhere!  But I'm determined to pull them all out.  Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Wish me luck!

I'm joining Bumble Lush Kitchen Garden for her Best and Worst meme.  I'd love to see what's best and worst in your garden!

1 - Blooms

Roses can be wonderful, and they can be frustrating.  If I had to choose just one rose that was the best bloomer last year, you would probably be surprised at the winner.  I know I was.  That's because for a couple of years I was frustrated with this rose.  So much so, I almost got rid of it!  I'm so glad I didn't.  Because this year, it was covered with blooms nonstop.

The #1 rose for blooms for 2011 in my garden goes to Carefree Celebration.  It was spectacular in spring.  It was spectacular again in the fall.

Carefree Celebration

Why did I ever think about getting rid of this rose?  Well, it fades to a funny color.  One that didn't really appeal to me.

But this year, there were so many blooms, I didn't notice that.  At all.  All I noticed were blooms, blooms, and more blooms.

I hope it blooms that way again this year.  But even if it does, it may not be the winner again.  I have some more roses that are maturing, enough to possibly knock Carefree Celebration off her throne!

Carefree Celebration grows in zones 4b through 10, to around 4 to 5 ft high and wide, and is disease resistant.

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On another note, I have been awarded the Liebster Blog award from Wisteria and Roses.  Thank you, Bama Girl.  This award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers.  Liebster is German for 'favorite' and I was honored to have been named.  In accepting this award, I must pass it on to 5 blogs with less than 200 followers.  My favorite subject is roses, so I want to give this award to the following rose lovers:

Organic Garden Dreams

If Only Sweat Were Irrigation

Red Dirt Roses

Lucy's In The Garden

Garden at Nina Place

Congratulations!

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I was also nominated for the Versatile Blogger award from Nitty Gritty Dirt Man, Graphicality-UK, Gardens Eye View, and Blogging in Myrtle Glen.  I want to thank each one of them for thinking of me.  The rules to accepting this award are:

1. Add the Versatile Blogger Award.

2. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.

3. Share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.

4. Include this set of rules.

5. Forward this award to 15 fellow bloggers, and inform them with a comment on each of their blogs.

So, here's a little bit about me:

To finish my bachelor's degree, I went to night classes and worked during the day. (#1.  I'm a hard worker.)  I first decided to major in geology, but there was not a college near me that offered that degree, so I changed to computer science.  Computer science got too time consuming, and classes for a teaching degree were only offered during the day, so I changed to math.  Then I changed it to business, because that was what everyone told me was most logical.  But business classes were not fun to me, so I changed again to Speech.  (#2.  I'm very versatile!)  (#3.  Majoring in English never entered my head.)  And finally, just when I was going to change my major again (!), I was told that because of the "sunset rule" I would begin to lose credits.  I knew I had more credits than necessary to graduate, if only they were all in one field.  So, I talked to my professor and he came up with a plan for me to graduate by taking only two more (of his) classes.  (#4.  My teachers always liked me.)  I graduated with a very liberal arts degree, which is affectionately known in our family as "The Smorgasbord Degree" (#5).  My mother always said I was stubborn (#6.  I like to think of it as determination instead.), and I guess I am because I don't know many people that go to school for 20 years for a 4 year degree.  (#7.  Maybe I'm not so smart after all.)

And here are the 15 blogs I am awarding the Versatile Blogger Award to:

On a Hays County Hill

Quarry Garden Stained Glass

Microcosm

Southern Rural Route

Bumble Lush Kitchen Garden

Experiments With Plants

Cohocton River Rock Micro Farm

Plano Prairie Garden

Women Who Run With Delphiniums

Soil Sister of the San Joaquin
Growing and Cooking

Beautiful Boonton and A Novice Gardener

Gardening Under the Influence

Leslie's Garden and Other Delights

Children of the Corm

Congratulations!

2 - Pretty Pairs

Companion plantings can really compliment a rose, but can a rose compliment another rose?  You bet!  Here are two different combinations of roses that I found particularly pleasing this summer.  I bet you can come up with some beautiful combinations, too.

This pair of Iceberg and Showbiz are contrasting:

While this pair of Julia Child and Bright Lights coordinate perfectly:

Yes, roses paired with roses can be a beautiful thing.

Top 3 - Scent

Scent is a must-have for some people that grow roses, a non-issue for others.  If you are looking for a rose with a beautiful scent, you may want to try one of these.  Of course, scent is a funny thing, not everyone smells the same thing.  So, if you want a rose mainly for its scent, you may want to smell it before you add it to your garden.  My favorite roses for scent are:

Buff Beauty

Buff Beauty is a Hybrid Musk, grows in zones 6 through 10, and spreads horizontally.  It can grow up to 10 ft in some areas.  Before I added Buff Beauty to my garden, I always admired pictures of it.  Now that it's in my garden, I have to say it's more beautiful and charming than the pictures depict.

Ebb Tide

Ebb Tide is a floribunda and grows in zones 5 though 9.  Mine is grown as a standard (tree rose) and its scent is up high, where I can easily smell its lovely fragrance.  Its purple color is darker if the weather is cooler.  To see more of Ebb Tide, just click HERE.

Julia Child

Julia Child is a floribunda rose that grows in zones 5 through 10.  I have her placed close by my front door, and I've had visitors remark how wonderful it is to be greeted by a scented rose.


Normally, I would have named Souvenir de St. Anne's and Francis Dubreuil as one of the Top 3 for scent in my garden, but both of these roses were mentioned in my Top 5 Old Garden rose post.  And I explained in that post how their scent played such a big part in their getting to the Top 5.  So, now you can count yourself lucky - because you get a list of 5 beautifully scented roses for the price of 3.

4 - Companions

When you start growing roses, you may start by just growing roses.  Their blooms are so beautiful, they are pretty just by themselves.  But one day you may realize that they would be complimented by some companion plantings.  So, today I'm going to tell you my favorite four companion plantings for roses.  They made the cut mostly due to their long bloom time, but also their shades of purple or blue that compliments any color of rose you may have.

Salvia with Sunsprite

Salvia
I have several different types of salvia, and I love them all.  They weave themselves in between the roses, and they make a beautiful pair.

Catmint with Mutabilis

Catmint (Nepeta)
Not only is catmint a great companion to roses, it has beautiful foliage, too.

Scabiosa with Belle de Crecy

Scabiosa
This plant is still blooming in my garden!  Any plant that blooms in the spring and is still blooming the next January has to be a favorite!  Of course, mine took a little break when the high heat and drought hit us this past summer, but started back up when the roses started blooming again.  Now, that's a great companion!

Asters with Cupcake

Asters
Like salvia, there are several types of asters, and I love them all.  What a nice backdrop to any rose's portrait.

I hope you enjoyed a look at some possible companion plantings for roses.  I bet if you plant these with your roses, they may become a favorite of yours, too.

Back to Roses - My Top 5

I was reminded (thanks, David) that this is a rose blog.  I haven't been talking about roses much, because they are dormant right now!  So, please forgive me.  For the next few days, I'll talk roses!!!

If you are new to roses, you may not know that there are different classes of roses.  I won't go into all the different types, but one class is the Antiques, or old garden roses.  I grow all types of roses, but I love the Antique roses because they usually require less pruning, have a history (I love a good story), and most are quite fragrant.

Way back in September (September 20th, to be exact), Chris of The Redneck Rosarian asked for a list of our favorite top 5 old garden roses.  My answer was (in no particular order):

Mrs. Dudley Cross

Mrs. Dudley Cross
An old garden Tea, she's a lovely lady, starting out yellow and blushing to pink.  The way her petals change colors makes her quite charming.  Want more information?  I've done a post on her HERE.

Lady Hillingdon

Lady Hillingdon
Another old garden Tea, she's quite the radiant beauty.  Her blooms are quite big, almost floppy, with a golden color that really stands out in the garden.  She'll grow up to 6 ft, in zones 5b through 10.

Perle d'Or

Perle d'Or
A china/polyantha with tiny little blooms, she makes me smile each time I see those ribbon-like petals.  Considered thornless, or almost so.  Zones 6 through 9.  Will grow to 6 ft tall, or can be kept small as a container rose.  She's also designated an Earthkind rose.

Souvenir de St. Anne's

Souvenir de St. Anne's
A Bourbon, this was one of my very first roses.  Her scent wafts through the air, and I am charmed by her loose form and clear pink color.  You can read more about her in my garden HERE.

Francis Dubreuil

Francis Dubreuil 
Either an old garden Tea or possibly a Hybrid Tea named Barcelona (there is some dispute), Francis is a sentimental favorite of mine, and a favorite, too, for its scent.  One whiff and I was hooked.  Read more about this rose HERE.

It was fun to look through past pictures of the roses now that they're dormant.  I can't wait to see their faces this spring!

Have You Started Yet?

These pictures are from previous springs, because I don't have any spring blooms to share - yet.  But I know spring is just around the corner.  So I've begun exercising.  Have you?  We gardeners have to be very fit to keep up with all that's required of us in the garden.  I've already started weeding, and I'm a little sore!  No wonder - no one type of exercise can do everything that gardening can.  Just compare:

Tai Chi - If you grow roses, you know the exact moves of Tai Chi.  Slow, methodical, very balanced.  If not, you may fall into some of those thorns!  (Ask me how I know.)  And I'm sure we've all been in some flexible positions taking pictures of a bloom at just the right angle.

Walking - I can walk five miles just looking for the lost tools I placed somewhere, but have no clue where!  Not to mention all the walking around looking for the perfect spot to plant that unplanned plant purchase.

Running - Most people don't think about running when they're gardening, but I do.  Chasing after an driverless wheelbarrow as it's bounding down the hill.  Chasing after the dog that has just pulled up a newly planted tree.  I see plant, he sees stick.  Running in from the rain, after lightening starts to hit close by.  Yes, running is very much a part of gardening.

Calisthenics - Sometimes I find myself flat on the ground (don't ask), and it takes about 50 sit ups to get enough momentum to propel myself up!  Jumping jacks come in handy when stepping in a fire ant hill.  One-arm push ups come in handy when you're under a bush trying to get those weeds that are just beyond reach.

Strength Training - Who do you think carts around all those concrete blocks back and forth, never quite deciding where they should go?

Brain Games - Can you remember all the names of your plants?  I can't either, but after looking them up continuously, I can name quite a few.  Plus, I'm learning latin!

No wonder it's so important to get ready for spring by warming up your muscles with some "regular" exercise.  Because nothing compares to the exercise you get in the garden.  The next time someone asks you what type of exercise you do, don't tell them you garden.  They will roll their eyes if they're not a gardener.  Instead, list all these exercises and tell them you do them all - every day - from spring to fall.