I don't really have that problem because 1. my roses aren't that large and mature yet and 2. now that the rainy season is over it probably won't rain again for at least another six months. Soggy petals would be nice because it would mean rain but that's not likely to happen. I can imagine your situation would be frustrating, but I do have a machete you can borrow.

Ingrid

I look the other way. My garden is full of aphid- and mildew-stricken roses as well. I don't do anything about it, concentrating instead on end-of-spring weeding and mulching, now that we've gotten another sixteen 400kg bales of hay. The lavender, phlomis, and clary sage are in bloom now and I have my plants in pots under the pergola to pay attention to. With our hot dry summers, the repeat-flowering roses aren't going to be good for much until fall, so I don't see a reason to fuss over them. But the amount of general cleanup we have to do is staggering.
Melissa

It does not bother me that much, but then again I, like Ingrid, do not have very huge roses to begin with. Also flowering season only starts here - spring is really messed up this year, I still have a few tulips blooming in mid June!

Sounds damp.

Here the petals quickly crisp, and the garden appears to be carpeted with potato chips. It's part of gardening. It's natural. It's alive even when it's dead.

It's fine--I'd rather be in a messy garden, drippy or crispy, than in a glossy corporate office filled with the paranoid.

My garden is not a neat place so fallen petals don't bother me. I think they add to the cottage garden romance. It helps that they fall either on grass or soil, no proper paths here.

thankfully, having a garden and an allotment, I can abandon one or the other when they are looking a bit grim. Also, despite the moaning, I don't really do much about it except the head in the sand method - however, this does work brilliantly since there is always something else coming along. And right, Hoovb, who wouldn't rather be hacking through a rose jungle rather than an office. Oh yeah, all those of you with still young roses - time passes, and roses GROW. Ingrid, a chainsaw was more what I was thinking of. Here's to tatty gardens and untidy (or nonexistant) paths.

We have so many huge roses, all over our house and nearby trees, that I usually love the petal fall time of Spring - you can stand in the garden and it is almost like a soft snowfall, except warmer and prettier. Also, usually it is so warm and dry that they crisp immediately and float around the garden in large drifts of potpourri, scenting the air.

HOWEVER, this Spring it rained, and rained, and rained. The huge petal fall turned into icky mush. On the brick patio they formed a slimy coating that was very slippery and dangerous. I almost fell several times, so we finally had to get out the brooms and brushes and hose and scrub the mess off. Now I understand why someone who lives in a rainy climate would not be as delighted with the petals as I usually am!

Jackie

I just cane inside after trying to sweep up the sticky petals on the deck----There is a big Albertine on the arbor over the deck so it is a constant problem---especially is they are wet.---As they dry they stick to the wood---Of course I also track them into the house--which is another mess----but I still love my roses----

For the most part the falling petals are fun and my yard is not pristine----so the petals just blend in with the rest of the MESS-----LOL

Florence

Campanula, I too, envy the rain that is the source of your problem. Perhaps you should take your own advice to 'get over it'? I feel blessed to have a garden even when it's messy.

I know what you mean, Suzy. I have what could be considered a small standard garden, or a large courtyard and it is stuffed with roses. They need constant tending to keep the garden looking good. If I don't deadhead some of them, it looks like a mess. I am lucky that I don't have any insect problems and they are all, for the most part, quite healthy. This I am proud of because I keep an organic garden that is no-spray. Keeping a smallish garden orderly and clean is a challenge though.

Juliet

Nothing worse than wet mushy petal blobs clogging up the sidewalk. Most of mine seem to have dried up and blown away, thankfully.

Of course you are completely right, lagomorph but it can't have escaped your attention what a grade A whinger I am. any excuse for a rant! Cheers, Suzy

Suzy, day-old daylily blooms are the worst. How such lovely things can become so ugly, landing on rose leaves below and looking nasty. But they peel off easy enough after I get tired of looking at them all over SdlM. I guess along with the lovely bloom and wonderful fragrance we must accept the prickles and soggy petal blobs. This too shall pass - hopefully.

Sherry

Piles of petals are lovely, but the garden does get icky when there's a lot of rain at peak flush and after. I use hedge clippers for wholesale deadheading (it doesn't really matter where you clip) and then rake the paths.