I visited a garden instead of working today (hehe)

13 years ago

I had an unexpected lull at work and my boss said it was ok, so I took a long lunch break to Descanso Gardens today. I've been so busy lately that I'd even been working on the weekends, so it was a great treat to take a weekday break like that.

I hadn't been to Descanso in years and I hadn't remembered that they had a huge rose garden, complete with lots of OGRs and classes that I was interested in.

Again, if you guys are in the area, you should go. It looks so beautiful right now!

I took so many photos that my camera battery died. :) :)

Since you guys had been helping me find out more about roses and gave me so many suggestions, I just had to do a quick post and share with you,...!

I was able to eliminate a few roses I'd been interested in off my list... and added a few others that I hadn't realized I would love so much... sometimes it's just better to see something in person, huh?

I got confirmation that I love Queen of Sweden and the Alchemist (I have them on the way to me). My camera battery had died at this point, but Alchemist was in full bloom COVERED in pale peachy blooms of varying intensity on an arbored bench. SO CHARMING, you guys! I wish I could share it with you! It's so beautiful that I don't care in the slightest that it's once-blooming.

Also,... there was a Sombreuil climbing up a huge pagoda, thing. It was SO GORGEOUS. I couldn't stand it. My baby Sombreuil is about to bloom... if its even remotely as pretty and fragrant as that one at Descanso, I'll be SO HAPPY.

The other roses that I've added to my short-list are:

Lavender Lassie

- I know a lot of folks love this rose here,... but I wasn't really wowed by the photos until I saw her in person. They had her growing up a huge metal structure in partial shade. She smelled so lovely,... like my grandmother's old roses, and the pinkish color and bloom-shape was wonderful. The bush seemed very very healthy and vigorous, too.

Sally Holmes -

I'd just seen one of these climbing up a huge pergola at Huntington, and then I saw one on a huge arbor at Descanso. Both were very healthy and really covered in beautiful simple single blooms. I'm totally in love with it, even though it's totally different from the complex double blooms I normally like.

Penelope -

So lovely. Blooming almost in shade (partial to mainly shade, I guess?) A beautiful bloom,... not quite single. A pink tinge to the white blooms. Soft scent. This one reminded me of my grandmother, too.

Baronne Prevost Hybrid Perpetual

Totally in love with this rose. It looked so happy and healthy! Big long arching canes covered in double flowers.

Likewise, I really liked Marchessa Boccella.

I -did- get photos of these two, I'll share them with you guys later. :) :)

Unless you guys say "boo", I'll probably get a couple of those.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

lagomorphmom
13 years ago
Say, Aimee, which ones did you cross off your list and why?
aimeekitty
Original Author
13 years ago
I'll need to look at my photos to remember all,

but... I had been researching Wichurana Ramblers like Francois Juranville, Alida Lovett and Alberic Barbier... and I really liked photos of their blooms online, but seeing them in person, they just didn't do it for me. They looked healthy and happy (even in partial shade), but I just preferred so much more the look of Lavender Lassie and Penelope Hybrid Musks. I think in this case it's just entirely a personal preference thing.

Also Francois Juranville didn't have a scent I could detect... while Lavender Lassie and Penelope, I loved the soft old-fashioned rose scent of. (and they are rebloomers... so double points for them.)

I know lots of people love Crepuscule,... but the one I saw at Descanso, I wasn't a huge fan of, so I'm going to pass on it for a while. Just the color and shape I didn't like a whole lot. It was nice enough, you know... but with so many other choices, I preferred others.

Their Cl. Maman Cochet looked very unhappy and crisped... but I've already bought one (its on it's way to me) so I'm going to give her a chance. I love how she looks in other people's photos and lots of people love her, so I'll try her.

I had been considering some of the old noisettes,... especially since they originated in my home town... but I think I love MAC and Sombreuill (which I already have) and the two climbing Hybrid Musks I saw today so much more (and they're kinda similar) that I'm going to scratch the other noisettes off my list.

I'm almost tempted to give up on the Reine Des Violettes (which I planted in late January) and replace with Baronne Prevost. RdV is pretty but it's SO purple from what I've seen in person... almost a blackish purple. I prefer more pinky-purples I guess? and it seems to take heat less well than Baronne Prevost...? The plants at Descanso were mostly healthy and blooming very well, but there were a few crispy petals around the edges. I know we've had some extreme hot winds lately that have damaged a lot of folks' roses around this area... so it's possible that BP was just more sheltered from the wind that RdV (RdV was definitely more out in the open....)
Also, I worry about RdV wanting acid... and my soil is so alk. I think I just loved BP more for color reasons but I'll probably let RdV be and see how she does, and just also get a BP.

I also saw climbing Aloha and bush Belinda's Dream... and while they looked healthy and happy, I just didn't care for them all that much compared to some others. Actually, right near Aloha was "Amy Johnson",.. which was a similar pink climber, but I liked it better for whatever esthetic reasons.
Related Discussions
I walked into a garden junker's dream today, see what I found
Q
Comments (16)
I forgot to say.... Ms Bunny..... I do the same thing.... with DH I stash my "STUFF"..... Hide it.... I DISGUISE it..... I bury it... Box it... Bag it.... Hide it in the bushes.... in the garage... in the attic... in a suitcase.... It's crazy.... but I can't stop myself... and... besides..... THEY MARRIED US>>>>> THEY ARE ATTRACTED TO US>>>>>> They.... better just ..... accept it.... WE ARE GARDEN JUNKIES ! ! ! .............. and I do NOT believe I would even want to be cured.... Supposin that there e v e n were a cure.... tee hee !!!!! You might take the girl out of the garden.... but..... you just simply can't take the junk'n out of the girl.... ! ! ! just can't be done...!>!>!>!> ( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ God Bless ! Susiesunshine
...See More
Visit to Lowes today
Q
Comments (73)
I was actually kind of surprised how many varieties outside of knockouts our Lowe's carried, but it's more of the same....knockouts everywhere. 20 years from now, the only rose that will exist on Earth will be KO roses at this rate. It's definitely a worrysome long term outlook. I noticed this the other day with my Mother. She just wanted to get KOs for her storefront. I asked her to try other varieties and explained what would work and even showed her some pictures, but she went to a local bargain store and picked up a "Lady Diana" hybrid tea anyways.....not sure if that was any better or worse than a knockout...pretty bloom for sure, but in terms of rebloom, diease, and overall health, I'm not quite sure. At any rate, I'm hoping she changes her outlook once she sees the 20 or so Austins I planted in her yard last year...almost all of which overwintered perfectly fine. Most people don't even know what an Austin, Antique, or hell.....EVEN a HT rose is. They just know roses and the most common mainstream rose is the KO, so that's all they know. Need to be creative and expand horizons.
...See More
I Went to visit my KD today. I tried to do the Marcolo Move...
Q
Comments (28)
Commenting on the skills and tools to make frameless cabinets: Our local community college has the best furniture making/wood working program in the west, maybe more than that. They actually call it Cabinet and Furniture Technology. One of the things they offer is a certificate program in making cabinets. Framed and frameless cabinetry making are totally different classes with separate and unique building techniques. Each has some specialized tools for that type of cabinetry only. The head of the department has aggressively pursued state of the art for 20 or more years and is a kitchen cabinet maker himself. He got the European makers of the big machinery needed for frameless cabinetry to donate the pieces to the school so that there would be trained frameless cabinet makers out there, a win-win. I never took that class, but I saw the machinery being used - we're talking stuff that takes up a lot of floor space, significantly bigger than large stationary table saws. You know all those holes they put in for adjustable shelves? There's a machine that makes whole sets of those holes so they'll be perfectly spaced. You need to train on the machine to make it come out right. The guy beekeeperswife talked to has never trained in this technology and doesn't own these very expensive tools. I can see that he maybe wouldn't want to be totally up front about that. The rest of the world has gone to frameless because their native wood supplies are not what they once were. By using "furniture board" with the good stuff laminated onto the outside, less premium wood is needed. As consumers, we care more about look and function in our space, but it's good to see the bigger picture sometimes.
...See More
garden visiting - friends' lovely garden
Q
Comments (17)
Thanks re the ID of the cleome. I don't grow annuals so am not familiar with most of them. I did a Google search on 'annual flower thorny stems' and cleome did come up but I couldn't seem to find a picture of the foliage to confirm that it matched.... I had heard that they seed around a lot so I'll warn them about that. re the slope/lower garden - the topography of the property and area is complicated and confusing! The house sits lower than the street and the driveway is sort of a ramp off the street and runs close to their front porch - there is no front garden - there isn't even room for a 'necklace' of green' like we have between the driveway and front porch. The lot slopes from the front of the house to the back - but not to the extent of producing a walk-out basement. The lower garden is naturally lower than the rest and the step down was there when they bought the property. The land behind the fence appears to be higher ground. So they seem to be sitting in a bowl - but there doesn't seem to be water retention problems so I assume that the land continues to drop off somewhere beyond the lower garden. The seating patio in the corner is just steps from the stairs down from the deck. It's a nice place for morning coffee and afternoon and evening relaxing. The outdoor dining table is on the deck. The hanging baskets someone commented on in the second picture above are hanging off the deck. The compost are is - and needs to be - attractive because it is across from the end of the stair from the deck! I took that picture looking down from the deck while standing near the stairs.... The garden space is both attractive, functional and used efficiently.
...See More
zeffyrose
13 years ago
WOW---what a wonderful productive day you had-

That is fantastic that you were able to see the roses in person and in your zone--

It will surely help you make your decision

Florence
bebemarie
13 years ago
I've been to Descanso and it's a lovely garden. I remember they had an astonishing specimen of Fortune's Double Yellow that stole my heart away. It was being grown as a monster shrub.

Penelope is a wonderful rose but do have patience with her as she takes awhile to build up.

Diane
holleygarden Zone 8, East Texas
13 years ago
I need to do that! lol

Visiting rose gardens is perfect for finding beautiful roses. Glad you got to see so many pretty ones that you fell in love with!
cweathersby
13 years ago
Whoo Hoo! What a way to spend a work day! But for real though, go back in August and check your selections. Are they still beautiful? Is that what you want throughout the year instead of on a gorgeous spring day? That's how I check my selections.
lavender_lass
13 years ago
I'm glad you liked Lavender Lassie! I'm putting two in the fairy garden. I don't think they'll get as big here, but it sounds wonderful...thanks for sharing :)
le_jardin_of_roses
13 years ago
Shame on you! Well, to tell the truth, I'm really jealous that I didn't think of doing that. You go girl!!!!!

Juliet

I visited a garden instead of working today (hehe)

Comments (8)

lagomorphmom

aimeekitty
Original Author

Related Discussions

zeffyrose

bebemarie

holleygarden Zone 8, East Texas

cweathersby

lavender_lass

le_jardin_of_roses

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

I visited a garden instead of working today (hehe)

Comments (8)

lagomorphmom

aimeekittyOriginal Author

Related Discussions

zeffyrose

bebemarie

holleygarden Zone 8, East Texas

cweathersby

lavender_lass

le_jardin_of_roses

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

aimeekitty
Original Author