If you were planning your first rose garden...
rigelcaj
11 years ago
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Krista_5NY
11 years agoRelated Discussions
What is your 'vision' when you garden with roses?
Comments (45)Although roses form the primary collection and focus, my vision is of a garden filled with trees, shrubs, lawns, vines, veggies and fruits, a place of bounty where fragrance, color and texture rule through the warm months of the year and hints at those elements the rest of the year. As I shaped the garden in its beginnings, I wanted to emphasize a feeling of welcome, a place where we and our friends could play, relaxing in privacy and comfort (and have a beer or two just like Harry!), a place with trails where the dogs and cats could race and wander through borders, beds and along the perimeter. Birds needed to be safe, and bees welcomed, so many of the plants reflect their preferred habitats. I imagined a garden where neighborhood children would love to visit, munching on whatever was in season and taking bouquets home to Mom. We needed several different air paths to throw balls for the dogs to chase, and lots of hidey holes for the cats to dive into after they teased the dogs into a game of chase. Seating is very available, somewhere to sit in every room of the garden, and lush green lawn beneath the cherry tree just for lollygagging. ThereÂs room for a game of croquet. ThereÂs always a hammock to rock in and thereÂs always an orchard ladder set up near the fruit trees so that the kids can have the joy of a climb and help us thin the apples or pick the cherries, depending on the time of year. The roses are really the heart of the garden. You can smell them out on the street as you drive or walk by and they climb so high and in such profusion that they can be seen from a block away - itÂs important to me to share the bounty with the neighborhood, too, and I love visiting with our neighbors over the roses, sharing bits of history and knowledge about OGRs. It was my plan to take up watercolor when the garden matured but IÂm more focused on weeding and caring for it than I have been on learning how to paint. I surprised myself with this garden. I thought it would be more chaotic (in an artful way, of course!) with lots of hanging canes dripping with rose blooms, narrower pathways that felt as though one might be lost in a jungle of roses, nowhere near the square footage of lawn we have, more of a transformative experience as though a visitor had wandered into a strange and wonderful world far distant from the suburbs, almost as if it were an abandoned secret treasure. Alas, one canÂt also have children and dogs in such a garden, and so, at least for now, our garden is instead open to the sunshine, spacious in its layout and, I must say, VERY packed with plants in its borders and beds. When we are old, and all the children have grown up and the pets are gone on to the Rainbow Bridge, and the garden has grown old along with us, then weÂll have that beautiful chaos. Thanks for this question. It made me think about the garden in ways I hadn't formulated. Sue...See MoreHow do you plan your gardens? Or do you at all?
Comments (16)It isn't that I'm so wonderfully organized, Pam, I require some help in remembering what I want to do. Sometimes I come inside and remember that I had a wonderful thought about adding something to a certain spot, but I've already forgotten what it was. I can't remember what bloomed in April as compared with May. Sometimes when I read my notes, if there isn't a photo with them, I am not sure what they mean. Today I looked at a file with nicotiana and lilies together and a note about purple nicotiana that I don't remember at all, and it is only a month old. If there isn't a note with the plants I'm about to plant, they'll go in the wrong places when I get distracted. You all can feel free to worry about me at any time. If I kept all my plans 'in my head' they would rapidly leak out. There's just too much to remember it all. Nell...See MoreDid you dislike your shingles when they were first put on??
Comments (11)Oh, superchick, we were not happy at all when we first saw our shingles. We had chosen a Tamko Heritage shingle without seeing a sample (didn't have it in this area) so we had to order them after looking at them on the internet. The lumber yard called my DH and said they couldn't get our color in the 30 yr, but could in the XL. The day the roofers started, we drove over to the house with such anticipation! When we pulled in the driveway, we were so disappointed because all we could see was red! We spent that evening going in and out of the house, hoping we would like them more each time we saw them. I posted a message here and on the paint forum with a picture asking for exterior color advice and got this great message from funcolors: "The roof is not your typical neutral roof color selection. However, it could be fabulous with the right colors on the body and trim. A serendipitous roof color choice." After looking up the exact definition of serendipitous, which means making a fortunate discovery by accident, I began to think of new and different ways to paint our Hardiplank. We came up with a completely different color scheme than we had intended to use but I think it will be really pretty. And, in the meantime, the roof has been completely finished and we are really happy with it now. So, give this some time and let your eyes adjust to the new colors. Then be open to something different on your exterior. I hope your roof turns out to be serendipitous too! The link below shows our roof at the beginning stages and the Hardiplank is still not painted yet! Susan Here is a link that might be useful:...See MoreWere you to suggest a rose for a beginner gardener, what would it be?
Comments (20)Just to clarify, the reason everyone wanted to know where you are is that it is NOT true that you "can grow just about anything here....", even in Southern Cal. Soil (Fla is a good example of a warm climate which requires steps to deal with the soil and nematodes), diseases, and yes, climate, affect which roses will be happy. There are some gorgeous old European roses which need WAY more "chill days" during the winter than they would get in So Cal. I tried one or two here in No Cal, and they hated it. So, I decided to try and grow roses that really like it here. You got some good suggestions above, but if you can be more specific about where you are (even in So Cal, coastal conditions are way different than more inland ones, for example) you will get better suggestions for roses which will like your exact conditions. Jackie...See Morehoovb zone 9 sunset 23
11 years agoKrista_5NY
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11 years agoKrista_5NY
11 years agojerijen
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11 years agoKrista_5NY
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11 years agojerijen
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11 years agoKrista_5NY
11 years agoingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
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11 years agoKrista_5NY
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10 years agojazzmom516 (Zone 6b, MA)
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