Right, so last time I went up to the garden my luggage contained three rhododendrons… This time the luggage was lighter, but the number of plants greater!
In case you can’t see it – which is understandable – this is a bag full of roses. Three red L.D. Braithwaite that will go in the Sunny Border, 5 New Dawn that will be planted 2 by each of the trees that carry the hammock in summer and one to be planted wherever I might think of it.
And to top it off there are also 5 Rhapsody in Blue, just because I like the outlandish blueish-purple hue of these roses.
So 13 roses to be planted, and only the site for the L.D. Braithwaites is prepared. That should keep me busy this Saturday and Sunday, I reckon!
Of course the New Dawn roses will be planted in the lawn, so I will do yet more cutting away turf at the foot of the trees that will act as trellises for them. I suspect this is a bit of a suicide mission, but never mind. Less grass, more flowers!
The Rhapsody in Blue is the joker in this game; I have no idea where to put them, but I guess I could stick them in the Ambitious Border in the area where I sowed annuals last year. Anyway, I’ll work that out once the Braithwaites and New Dawns are in the ground.
wow rhodies and now roses…you are amazing…can’t wait to see them all in bloom
At least if the garden is a complete dud this year, nobody can blame me for not having made an effort, at least…
The New Dawn and Rhapsody in Blue will be chucked in the ground more or less any which way, but the three L.D. Braithwaite were a birthday present to the Flâneur Husband from my parents, so I’ve dug out nearly a cubic meter and mixed in loads of compost to ensure that they get off to a flying start. Time will tell if it was worth the effort…
Surely there is nothing more satisfying than planting Roses. The New Dawn is a very subtle and beautiful Rose which grew over an arch in our back garden. Not very vigorous with us, I will wait with great interest to see how it handles growing against a tree where you are. Only last year I planted a red variety of New Dawn against a Birch,
People seem to have mixed experiences with New Dawn, so it will be interesting to see how it fares here. I’ve read about cases where the canes grew to 8ft in the first season, and obviously that’s the dream scenario so it can get up into the tree asap and do it’s thing.
I just caught up on several posts here Søren– you have been busy! I had to laugh at your luggage full of shrubs. It reminds me of driving around with leafy trees filling my tiny car like Dunsinane forest on wheels. Your greenhouse/apartment shows you are a true gardener. You must be so looking forward to June. Happy rose planting!
Well, it’s April; lots to be done!!!
I’ve travelled with plants loads of times, but this is the first time I’ve done air travel with actual shrubs… And May will do fine; that’s when we can start forgetting about frosty nights here, so I can get started on the vegetable garden and the annuals.
Soren I have just come in the house from working 4 hours in the garden and it hardly looks that different ! haha
I had to plant Blossom Time rose .. which was sent far too early .. I had it waiting to be planted until the ground was less frozen and now I am not sure if it will make it .. it is a pretty climber and I have it near the rose arbor/bench.
Zephiren Drouhin and Ilse Khron are coming next week but I know where they are going.
I am amazed with how many roses you are planting and the rhodos you squeezed in too ! That was a mission impossible you accomplished !
I can’t wait to see pictures of them blooming!
Joy
I know the feeling… I suspect the garden would look much tidier if I got around to mowing the lawn, but that can wait, surely.
My husband’s birthday was in February, so I deliberately held off ordering the present from my parents so it wouldn’t arrive in the midst of winter, and considering that this afternoon was warm enough for me to sit in shorts and bare chest in the courtyard I’m guessing it must be warm enough for the roses as well.
And basically I like roses, so the more the merrier. And though some of them are fussy little divas, a lot of them are just sturdy performers and I’m hoping that mine will turn out that way.
LD Braithwaite is a beautiful rose in pictures (I’ve never seen it in real life), and I think three will make quite a lovely sight. I just added a New Dawn to my garden this year. (actually two) Such a pretty bloom – I couldn’t resist! One is still in its pot, waiting for me to put an arbor together! I guess I put the cart before the horse on that one!
I’ve bought it from pictures and descriptions alone, and the reason I got three was to make it seem like a large bush that would make an impact, rather than just a small solitaire plant.
My New Dawns will be tied to the trunks of trees untill they are tall enough to ramble though the brances; saves the effort and expence of making an arbor!