@Lynn Nevins

I’ll give you my 2cents based on your pictures and the fact that when I started gardening in 2016 I had no idea how to keep alive anything larger than a cat. I am going off what I remember your post asked and it isn’t in any particular order but I hope it helps.

Someone with experience may be ideal for the job, but if the owner is comfortable with you just giving it a try why not. It isnt a botanical garden it seems very small and those are tough plants.

#1 I appreciate your efforts to be organic but you are in the north east with tons of humidity and disease pressure so you need to real help here to keep everything looking great.

#2 the azaleas and rodis like you already assumed just need some shaping. The one in your picture looks to be a once bloomer so shape right after blooming and no more.

#3 pull all weeds from the roots even if you have to follow the plants to the end of the world or it won’t be good enough. No mulch can stop them. Even better get some round up and a sponge and dab them (this will reduce any droplets from going on the surrounding plants). Use good skin protection and remove all clothes and shower after. (Read on roundup use and association with lymphoma).

#4 the rose in your picture not only looks like it hasn’t been taken care of in a while, it also looks like a hybrid tea of some sort. Unless the owner is highly attched to it I would remove it and plant a much more disease resistant variety rose. Roses need constant spraying in your area to keep their leaves unless you pick the correct variety. Pick a rose with strong blackspot resistance probably a Kordes would do great there. Look into “Bliss from Kordes” or ask me for other recommendations if you are looking for black spot resistant varieties you may want to research.

#5 fertilizer isn’t that big of deal. Azaleas do prefer acidic conditions and some fertilizer for acid loving plants would be nice, but NOT required unless the soil there is alkaline. You don’t seem to want to have a bunch of them so pick a nice slow release variety and go with it.

I like Oscomote smart release and I use it ON EVERYTHING. I have hundreds of plants which includes roses, azaleasa, hydrangeas macro, paniculatas, oak leafs, honeysuckles and lots of perennials. Yes you can later get better and start adding cow manure to the soil and a millions other things that could improve the garden but it doesn’t have to be done the first year.

#6 ok the mulch. Like you already mentioned in your post do not pile the mulch around the base of the plant. I would leave 2 to 3 inches around the base bare. This also helps when it is time for the fertilizer.

Lynn there are definitely many details to learn when growing plants in the ground so a good time researching will be helpful. I tried to mark on your picture the leaves of at least one vine that certainly looks like a clematis as stated before on the post. This is definitely not a weed. So take some time to identify every plant and then decide what to do with it. A clematis would be a beautiful addition and they are expensive and take time to establish so removing one thinking it is a weed would be a shame.

Ok someone brought up the sun exposure also. I agree that is critical. I have noticed people up north are definitely able to grow some of my shade plants in the sun but still it probably helps to know. Roses require a good minimum of 6 hours of direct sun so count the hours that rose bush is getting first. If it isn’t getting at least 6 or more there is no rose that will be happy there. I will replace it with more Rodis, maybe a hydrangea or anything that will prefer less sunlight. Azaleas and hydrangeas play well together for the most part. Of course read on those also since the Paniculatas in general prefer more sun than the “blue” hydrangeas.

I would divide the different areas of the garden that you are working on and decide what is their sun expose. Then see if the plants already there are compatible. Then clean up everything unwanted after proper identification. Select varieties that will be happy there based on sun exposure, hardiness and plant at the proper depth.

Jim Putnam has a great YouTube channel where he has videos on how to plant a specific variety.

Like how to plant encore azaleas (these like more sun). He has many many videos. He is in North Carolina in a warmer zone than you are but their soil is acidic which I think may be your case but that’s also something you must figure out.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hEQ8PxjMOVY

There are many varieties of secateurs you can use while gardening. I would advise having some of the regular ones that usually can handle up to 1inch. Then you need some of the larger one for thicker branches. If you are going to offer a gardening service you definitely need to invest in some tools. Use the ones that feel comfortable to your hand size. They should make clean sharp cuts and not chew on the branches. They should be cleaned regularly specially when working with roses.

Sorry for the crazy long posts but I hope you are successful.

" But I could definitely see such education being helpful for a job in a park/botanical garden. "

This type of formal or structured training is helpful for anyone attempting to run any sort of gardening business. In fact, most professional gardeners - those who hire out their services for money - have such an education under their belts before they ply their trade.

And we wonder why the industry often gets such a bad rap......it is folks who don't know what they are doing masquerading as someone who has the necessary training and experience.

Beautiful! Dont see these often.

All my favourites in one post. Top work, Mads

These are lovely.

I would use the full dose in the mature plant and half the dose on the smaller one. It is tough when there aren’t very specific instructions to m follow but by lowering the dose you will be safe and the smaller plant can still get a good boost.

I do pretty much what dianela does. I dont measure anything though lol. I just kinda give the smaller ones less of the same concoction the bigger ones get (whatever fertilzer/brew they are getting that day). As long as they are well watered first, they will probably be fine, even if they get a little too much. I dont use pesticides except organic so there's that.

I've asked, and he answered. But I'm sorry, it's just what we all feared, and that's all I'm permitted to say.

EDIT: My personal opinion is that Paul is justified, but I hope that time will bring him back. We need to respect his decision, while hoping he changes his mind. He doesn't need my approval, but he has it!

Diane your mini rose is the most beautiful I have ever seen. I don’t grow many but they are lovely.

I LOVE LIDLE'S for their plants in NJ, bought large Philodendron selloums, Schefflera actinophylla, Peace Lillies for indoors ($12.95) and 5 gallon Camellias for the outdoors. HD has gotten too expensive for plants here.

Are mini’s the same as tea roses? I’m just curious as I have quite a few tea roses now after dividing some. The first year I bought them I decided to plant them in the ground late in the season just to see if they would come back, and to my surprise…they did! 😊 They are the prettiest little things and can’t help wonder how big they will get…does anyone know?

It is a very lovely rose! Thank you for sharing those pictures Kim.

That is a very nice bloom roseseek! Awesome all the way round!

Thank you, and thanks, @jim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6. It's good to "see" you! It's been a while!

Gorgeous. I love everything and the fence looks spectacular. All the stone work is so romantic.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful garden with us!

Ang, it all works together so well--the roses, companions, hardscape. Your garden invites us in, and we want to stay and stay. I love the way your peonies and iris are blooming together at the same time as the roses (I've never had this happen). Highwire flyer and yellow iris--what eye popping combination that is so unique. Love it. The roses are all beautiful, but I think Silas Marner is my favorite. Thanks for showing us your very special garden. Diane

I may ask the person that bought my old house tp let me get BB. I had 5 and only one remains since they dont want roses. I was not aware if his controversial history with adolescents but I can separate the rose from the name.

Three years on and I have BB in a large pot with full sun and continual seaweed feed. He does --ok-- but I am definitely not smitten or in love. The blooms are anticlimatic and don't last long, so I will probably put him in the this fall.

Rose Paris, how gorgeous is Abraham Darby! It has quickly become one of my beloved roses, although prone to black spot so I grow salvia carradona very close to it to conceal here bare ankles.

I love my AD too! Really unique blooms, which, when at their best, are multi-colored swirls that smell wonderful! Too bad that one has also been discontinued (at least as concerns DA Europe and DA headquartiers in the UK). But sometimes you can still find it around here, under AD or its other name, "Auscot", much more so than BB at this time.

This is Ringo, opens yellow then turns cream and pink very healthy

The Knockout series were bred to be landscape roses - low growing, easy care plants for specific situations and for gardeners that are not rosarians :-) They are so popular and prevalent because they can be used in situations where traditional rose types - HD's poyanthas, OGR's, etc. - do not work well. Like commercial or institutional plantings that receive minimal attention or as a low maintenance, long flowering hedge.

Knockouts are not the only 'brand' of landscape rose - the Flower Carpet, Easy Elegance and Drift series are also landscape roses and all have the same free flowering, low growing, low maintenance attributes of the Knockouts.....those just tend to have been more widely marketed and publicized.

And it is just silly not to consider them "real" roses!! Of course they are! They may just not offer the same appeal to dedicated rose growers as the more standard types but they are very useful additions and very garden worthy for many situations.

Only in the last two years have there been alternatives to KnockOuts readily available. The typical homeowner goes to their big box store and in the rose section they find KnockOuts. So that's what they take home!

The good news is that KnockOut has paved the way for shrub roses which can be used as landscape plants. KO's automatically assume a nice bushy shape, unlike most of the Kordes offerings. And they don't require much pruning other than to control height.

And KnockOut's disease resistance in all colors, even white and yellow, is outstanding. I can't name another shrub rose which can be planted out in front of city hall or on a traffic island and thrive.

Other than the Drift series, other breeders have a way to go to equal the performance of KnockOuts IMHO.

Let me expand on my comment. Our local big box store is Lowe's. Every spring they load up on Knock Out Roses. For this reason I grow a bed of Knock Out's in front of my porch. I take decent care of them. Water, feed, dead head. They do fantastic. This way when I have company, they see what they can buy at Lowe's. I tell them what little I do and they go home taking just a little care of their Knock Out's. A couple of roses at a time. Everyone in the neighborhood takes just a little care of their Knock Out's and they look good all season long.

Part 2 of my little garden tour!

Varieties covered in Part 2: Scentuous, Twilight Zone,Constance, Madame Isaac Perriere, Golden Opportunity, The Impressionist, Chandos Beauty, Beatrice Juliet, Henri Delbard, Evelyn, Masora, Lavender Crush, Thierry Marx, All 4 Cherry Blossoms, Blue Moon Stone, Red Eden, Edith, Cathedral Bells, Lady Emma Hamilton,Abraham Darby

Varieities covered in Part 1:

Pope John Paul II, Double Delight, Life of the Party,Tahitian Sunset,Neil Diamond,Miss All American Beauty (Maria Callas), Bolero, Veterans Honor , Neptune, Parfum Royale , Just Joey, Moonlight in Paris,Firefighter, California Dreamin’, Memorial Day,Peach Swirl,Julia Child, Rose Sachet , The Little Mermaid, Augusta Luise,Eisvogel, Well Being, Chippendale,Pop Art, Chartreuse de Parme,Minerva, Eden, Sugar Moon

Thanks everyone for watching the videos and the sweet words. I’m very lucky to have friends that enjoy roses the same way I do!

Rosylady

Your words resonated with me. Even though we live in a more favorable climate , we still stay just as busy taking care of our plants to make them look nice.

Erasmus

I am indeed happy to move away from not only blackspot and RRD, but mosquitos, too!

Karen,

I love talking about roses, and these videos are a great outlet. I had considered just setting the roses to a music background, but I like to talk too much.

Melissa

I’ve been honing up on my video editing skills, I am using an app called InShOt which seems much more intuitive than my old app. I do enjoy learning something new, even if it is frustrating at times.

mmmm,

I like seeing the full plant in people’s garden myself! I’m glad you do that in your pics as well.

Kitty

Black Baccara seems super popular here, I wonder if it has better burn resistance than other black reds

Berrypie

It is indeed Elon’s garden too, I left enough grass so we can play fetch in both directions!

Sophia:

Consider Tangerine Skies. It has been discussed here.

I have one. The hype is not hype.

It looks pretty good to me. I bought over 30 roses this year and except from the own roots from the Antique rose emporium or grafted palatine Heirlooms are the best. They do come without foliage which is fine and they grow back quickly. Your plant looks healthy and I am sure it would do great given the chance. If it isn’t up to your standards I am sure they can refund you but there is nothing wrong with it. I hope you give it a chance.

In the decade I have been buying own root one gallon plants I have never received a single plant that looks like the picture you posted from the Reddit. Only grafted plants that are at least a couple of years old have canes that thick for me.

Again I am not the most experienced person here as I have only grown roses im large numbers for a decade, but the plant your received from heirloom does seem to be the usual I receive when I order from them.

Wow that Madame Anisette is breathtaking!

Aw, thanks folks. MA is a showstopper, for sure. I've heard though, that she likes a lot of water. We get quite a bit of rain November -May, so maybe that's why she's happy in my garden.

I have some other impressive bloomers, too, Bolero is another great white that's fragrant, healthy and full of blooms all summer. Bolero is also a small bush and easily stays compact!

I’ve lived in Spain since 2005 (in Andalucia and now Catalonia) and very rarely come across any antique roses. My theory is that they were largely abandoned after the introduction of the Hybrid Tea, since thats mostly all I see on sale in garden centres and planted in gardens. Until recently, variety wasn’t even identified, just labelled ’red rose’ with a smattering of ‘pink, white, orange’ etc. roses.

The situation is improving because in the last couple of years its possible to stumble across named varieties, mostly from Meilland, Kordes and Poulson and even the odd David Austin. La Sevillana is the public landscape rose of choice and can be seen everywhere. The Spanish seem very traditional in their rose choices, tradition meaning HTs and landscape roses nowadays. Perhaps variety is better in Madrid and other places.

Damask roses were clearly grown in the past, since a very old specimen I recently came across growing next to an old ruined farmhouse was identified as a damask by Melissa and Marlorena, possibly Kazanlik. Other than that, I have spied one gallica (in an hotel owned by expats) one Mutabilis (another very old farmhouse) and a few rosa rugosas near the coast.

I’ve never come across any antique rose groups/enthusiasts, but there must be some out there somewhere and I would love to find them. After extensive trawlling of Spanish search engines I did find two specialist suppliers and will try and support them in future, rather than buying from Loubert in France..

https://elnougarden.com/collections/rosales-de-coleccion-rosales-antiguos?page=1

https://gardencenterejea.com/606-rosas-antiguas-y-de-coleccion

I have over 40 in addition to Hybrid Musks, so I'm happy to share the love! : )) I still don't have all I want, though. Do we ever?