FINALLY after three long years she is reblooming. Two luscious purply-pink blooms and buds popping up all around the plant. I've got her wrapped around an iron support. Minimal black spot (she has got to be the most resistant mauve rose that I've ever grown) with once monthly spraying. I guess that compost really payed off? I've read that she is a heavy feeder so in April I layed down a thick layer of the black stuff and supplimented with MMM and liquid fertilizer. she is huge too. The iron tuteur is the largest that that the nursery had and even with tight wrapping the canes have reached the top and are throwing out stems in all directions. I am so thrilled!

BTW, instead of mulch, here is what I have planted outside of the earthen rose well. From my garden journal of course:

Shamrock

(Trifolium repens, var atropurpureum Dark Dancer)

Atropurpureum, also called black shamrock, is a darkly beautiful clover that grows four inches tall. Each leaflet is a mysterious burgundy-black ringed in emerald green. Apart from the unusual color of the leaves is otherwise a regular three-leafed clover, but Dark Dancer is a four-leafed form. From a distance a grouping of these shamrocks looks like a black carpet with sparks of bright green. A truly magical plant, IÂd always wanted to grow patches of four leafed clovers and now I can do just that.

In areas that experience cool/moist summers Dark Dancer shamrock is truly perennial all season long and can spread as far as it is permitted. In previous years here in Maryland it dried out quickly once the temperature stayed above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This year I've kept it persistently moist and it has yet to die down.

Class: perennial groundcover

Bloom Time: pretty pale pink globes in summer

Exposure: partial to dabbled shade; will tolerate full sun if not too hot

Fragrance: none

Growing Tips: not the least bit drought tolerant; heavy drinker, keep moist at all times to avoid drying it out.

Height & Spread: 4x12 inches; watch out for spreading

Planting Time: spring

Soil: prefers clay but thrives in most soil types

Zones: 3-7

Folklore: four leaf clovers are a powerful good luck charm, attract faeries into the garden, and are the active ingredient in ointment of second sight. A four leaf clover will also break any faerie spell or enchantment.

Source: Dark Dancer is a Proven Winners Selection, available at most large plant nurseries.
Image of REINE DES VIOLETTES by Christian at Hortiplex