The Rose Field This Week, and Elsewhere in the Garden, Too.

15 years ago

Grab a second cup of coffee, settle in, and I'll tell you what's been happening in the garden for the past couple of weeks. (I didn't see a significant reason to update last week . . . mulch, mulch, and more mulch. Not too interesting.)

After the first two weeks of incredible change and progress in the Rose Field, the past two weeks have seemed pretty monotonous. Mulching the rows is taking way longer and is much harder work than I imagined it would be. The hot sunny weather has made for shortened work days, so that's the main reason that it's taking so long. Also, I've discovered that mulching the way I'm doing it is really a two-person job -- one person to lay the paper and wet it with the hose (or shout for the second person to man the hose as a breeze catches the paper), and another person to fetch the mulch from the pile and come behind and spread it on the row. We're about 2/3 finished with the current 10 rows of roses.

As we work, sometimes we find surprises in the mulch:

{{gwi:307858}}

I have been planting a few roses in the field, filling holes in the rows and progressing down the north fence with the ramblers. Fortunately, the soil is soft enough to dig big holes, so I put in 4 Geschwind ramblers that I have been holding in big pots all year. I'll leave space as I continue to plant along the fence, because I have 3 more Geschwinds coming from Palatine in November. This will be the first time that I experiment with planting bare roots directly in the ground in the fall -- I expect it will do much better than my usual method of potting them and holding them in the garage.

The roses that are in the ground in the field are very happy, and they're putting out new growth for their fall flush of bloom. Here are a couple of photos of the Chinas, which are showing the most improvement over their status from when they lived in pots.

In the heat, I've been spending quite a bit of time in the shade assessing the roses in the driveway -- dividing them into groups so I have a better idea of what I have left to plant where. What I found is that I have a whole lot more extra roses than I thought I did. I experimented a bit with winter propagation early in the year (Anyone remember the photo of the Costco chrome rack with grow lights in my basement?). I may tidy them up and see if I can have a plant sale . . . or offer them to friends in trade. I'll have to go through them to see exactly what I have, but I remember that many of them are wichuriana ramblers (Gardenia, Alberic Barbier, Francois Juranville, etc.), I know there a couple of New Dawns and Felicias, one Heidelberg . . . and a bunch of others I can't remember off the top of my head. I have to do something, because this year's crop of rooted cuttings has been very, very successful, and I'm not exactly sure how I can hold all of this stuff over the winter.

The other theme from the past couple of weeks has been the completion of two major building projects . . .

The picnic pavilion, officially dubbed the "Tiki Hut"

{{gwi:307861}}

and the barn:

{{gwi:307863}}

It's so nice to be able to say that something is actually finished. When you have an old house, there aren't too many opportunities to do that.

See you next week,

Connie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

carla17
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Connie, everything looks nice, like that Tiki Hut. Barn looks great too. You have my admiration to take on this project but when we love roses what else can we do.

Carla
sherryocala
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Progress is a wonderful thing, Connie, and it's always the tasks that SEEM simple that turn out to be more effort and time. Working alone is definitely a challenge, but you're getting it done - beautifully. I planted 3 roses on Saturday then went over to do a head count, confident I had reduced the pot ghetto significantly. It was 18! More than I've ever had - and no room left! I guess I'll be making some choices, too.
Sherry
Related Discussions
Evergrowing & non-evergrowing roses in Florida & elsewhere
Q
Comments (8)
Whoa! Death wish, huh? Wasn't lookin' for that. Jeri, except for Teas and Chinas, I think if it likes your cool, dry garden, it won't like mine - and vice versa :)) If Maggie likes Louisiana, she oughta like it here. I have fed her extra and watered her extra. Before our frigid weather last week, she had added a few leaves and looked like she wanted to do something. Elaine, how old is your Maggie? I'm sure my Maggie's feelings would be very hurt if she knew I was discussing her delicate condition at such a disadvantageous time. Nothing looks very good - except for my Teas and Chinas!! At this time she's a gawky, skinny girl. I think pretty soon she's going to come into her own though. (BTW, the yellow leaves are from the effects of the freezes, I think. One day all their leaves were green, and a couple days after the freeze, poof! yellow leaves with big BS spots!) And the green in the top right corner is not Maggie. Malcolm, so glad you like Crepuscule on her own roots here. I understand she's a little slow to build so I won't worry. What are the rest of "the few" that you recommend own-root? Denise, as you can see in the photo, mine threw up a long cane on one side, too. She's about 6' wide, 3' tall, not very deep, and decidedly one-sided. It took me until this past weekend to get SdlM BECAUSE she's a Bourbon (and I got 3!!!) Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead! Robert, that's very interesting. And I guess at the first hint of warmth they'll be sprouting? Sherry
...See More
Invention Ideas For The Garden Or Elsewhere
Q
Comments (30)
I was thinking the OP was in college. If not, maybe the male maids are too scandalous. OP, I don't know if you've ever heard of 'Silly Bands". They were popular a few years back with school age kids. They were rubber bands that were shaped like animals or food or stars or whatever. You can read about them HERE. Someone went to Japan and decided they would be fun bracelets. My point is I don't know that you truly need to invent something new Repurposing may work too. It depends on your target market and how much money they have and how much they are willing to spend. Kids are one of the easier targets. I'll throw some random ideas out there. Some of the Asian stuff is really big with kids 4th though 10th grades or so. For instance, I know a lot of kids who love anime, associated costumes, the candies/cookies and drinks like Ramune soda or Pocky. My youngest child is on a Dr. Who kick. She like to buy her friends Jelly Babies for their birthdays. Her and her friends like to go to the candy store at the mall and buy themed candy or candy you can put in fun containers. Someone posted on here a while back about the trend where people in China wear a plant sprout or something on their head. See that HERE. I haven't seen the trend here yet, but if the kids like it, they'll do it. Then you'd just need an assembly line to attach plants to barrettes. Another trend that has been around for a few years is for girls to wear mismatched socks in various themes or colors. Personally, I would buy several pairs of socks and switch them myself. I've seen stores selling mismatched socks. If all else fails, there is a cool website called 'Pinterest' that you may or may not know about. You can get a lot of ideas from there on things to make. You may not find something truly innovative, but you might find an idea of something you don't have locally like yard art or tipsy pots.
...See More
Too late to plant potted roses from garden center?
Q
Comments (21)
@vaporvac, What did you get? Our closest Lowe's or Home Depot is 50 miles away. We are very rural, but I may have to head over that way to check out the selection. Thanks for all the replies. It gives me confidence. I haven't ever planted this late except for perennials. I've got them all planted and hope that we don't have an early autumn. I love Twilight zone. It's such a lovely rose, but them so is Munstead Wood and Hot Cocoa is an unusual color. I know some of you think that it is a gangly, ugly bush, but I really like the flowers. I have always planted the graft about 4 inches deep. Learned that from reading the rose forum over the years. The only roses I ever lost over the two severe winters we had were two knockouts. @halloblondie and summersrhythm Your zones are very similar to mine so that is probably what I will do with the three I just planted. @seil Thanks for your help over the years. Whenever I have asked a question, you have always replied.
...See More
Weeks and RRD - Will You Buy Weeks Roses This Year?
Q
Comments (6)
I don't have a scientific bone in my body so I'm only speaking as a consumer and rose lover. What is interesting to me is that nurseries don't seem to be bothered by the possibility of selling infected roses. If RRD is traced back to the nursery that sold it, it could mean the end of their business and livelihood. So far, Weeks seems to be doing ok. Potentially, it could be the small businessman - nurseries like Burlington and Northland, that suffer. I don't know if Burling sells Weeks, but I know Northland does. Have there been any recent statements from Christian Bedard or Tom Carruth? I think Carruth has moved on, however. I'm not suggesting that we not buy Weeks roses. That's something each of us must decide for ourselves. I was just wondering what the consensus of opinion is since that thread posted by Roseseek last August that Bart referred to and if there were any updates. Bart, you may be right that those roses should be avoided, but what about all the Weeks roses already in our gardens, purchased since RRD was found in their fields? Does the threat become greater or lessen up as time goes by? I agree that they have been irresponsible in not initiating an open discussion about it. Lilyfinch, I'm torn by my desire for a couple of their roses and the fear of RRD. I have a lot of Weeks roses already with no problems so far. The main reason I posed the question is to learn if there is still reason to be concerned, if there has been any new communication from Weeks, what you are doing to protect your gardens from newly purchased Weeks, and most importantly, if anyone has found RRD on roses purchased since it was discovered in their fields.
...See More
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The Tiki Hut is BEAUTIFUL. I'm really looking forward to updates and lots of pictures of your spring flush next year. So much hard work deserves a beautiful reward.

Ingrid
carolfm
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Love the Tiki Hut! How on earth do you manage to accomplish so much in such a short period of time?? It's looking good, Connie. Better to take your time and do it right the first time. Love the frog and the barn too :-)

Carol
zeffyrose
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
the Tiki Hut looks great and my son would absolutely love that barn---It looks great--

I'm really enjoying all your progress.
Florence
duchesse_nalabama
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I hope that you are going to have some horses in your barn because they produce you know what that is good for the you know who!

Your tiki hut is going to be beautiful covered with roses next year. Way to go, Connie!
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wonderful pictures and wonderful "Tiki hut". You have quite a wonderful home. The little garden toad is cool, too. Thank you for the update and the pictures!
hartwood
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm very pleased that you all are enjoying all the happenings here on the 'farm'. One day I hope to put photo essays on my web site with a progression from before-to-after for various aspects of the place. This is yet another item on my horribly-long To Do list. For now, my husband (the computer guy) has put up links to some newspaper articles about our house and barn. The link to the site is on My Page.

The credit for the Tiki Hut goes to my handyman/contractor. I gave him a picture with some scribbling on it, and he did the rest. The inspiration came from my visit to Heritage Rosarium this spring -- Nick's garden pavillion is absolutely incredible. We were struggling with our design for a structure in this space, and I used his as inspiration. (Thanks, Nick) The ironic part about this is that it's sited where it is because it gets absolutely no sun at all. It's nestled under the branches of a huge pecan tree, where it's always much cooler than the rest of the yard. This spot can barely grown anything besides shade-loving weeds, so roses are completely out of the question. The sunshine you see in my photo is the really low-angle evening sun coming in under the tree branches.

We're practically having a plague of toads here right now. They're loving the cool dampness of my mulch pile, and I find one in about every second wheelbarrow load I haul. The little guy you see above was only about the size of the end of my thumb. We found a much larger one while we were working on Thursday morning.

The barn has been finished structurally since spring. We had to wait until now for the weather to cool and the rough-cut poplar siding to dry before I could bring in the painters. It's really great to see the old girl standing tall again. She was in rough shape.

I inventoried the driveway roses yesterday morning, and tallied up the extras -- there are a whole lot more than I thought there would be. *sigh*

More later,
Connie
pandy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Connie, that all looks fantastic. I love the tiki hut. As to toads well I went to the dump the other day with my pickup truck full of cuttings. When the city worker came over to tell me which bay to pull into a toad jumped out of the back of the truck straight at him. Hmm..toad vs 6' tall young man. Toad won.

Mari
jbcarr
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Good progress. I too put down the newspaper & mulch, and it really does a number on the weeds. I was thinking I needed to start a thread on the benefits of getting the roses in the ground. Like you, I had a pot collection (much smaller), and mine had been through 2 hard winters with a loss of about 10%. Most of my roses were bare twigs, and made you wonder what the Earthkind designation was for. After being put in the ground, the difference is amazing- growth, flushes, etc. The barn is awesome!
rlukacevic
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It is really good to know about getting the roses out of the pots and into the ground. I've got a pot ghetto developing and need to get some of them into the ground...perhaps I'll start this afternoon.

Robert

The Rose Field This Week, and Elsewhere in the Garden, Too.

Comments (11)

carla17

sherryocala

Related Discussions

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

carolfm

zeffyrose

duchesse_nalabama

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

hartwood
Original Author

pandy

jbcarr

rlukacevic

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

The Rose Field This Week, and Elsewhere in the Garden, Too.

Comments (11)

Related Discussions

hartwoodOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

hartwood
Original Author