Baby Darcy Bussell amid a bunch of pansies & clematis.

Left to right: Lady of Shallot, Irish Hope, Lions Fairytale, and Duchesse De Brabant in the back on the corner

Duchesse de Brabant

Tiny baby Munstead Wood with big blooms weighing down the tiny plant

First bloom barely open on Heritage, with White Cap to the right.

I guess White Cap heard me talking about replacing it because after growing barely any last year it put out all these long laterals off the one cane and they are covered in buds. Hopefully it continues growing this quickly so I can put that trellis installed behind it to use.

After waiting for a whole year or more after Reine de Violettes was planted, it blooms and its first exposed petals are super white. I am very confused by this as 2 years ago when I had it in a pot it bloomed lovely little pink/purple flowers. Maybe it is short on nutrients, the intrusive Kerria Japonica to its left is about to be transplanted.

My army of potted roses waiting for me to prepare their new homes. The pile of composted horse manure I had delivered to their right has made my roses very happy this spring.

Big beautiful bloom on Madame Isaac Periere in the pot ghetto.

Crepuscule in its first spring in this location, I am a little worried for this one because soon I will be good ng to war with poison ivy on both left & right of it, I am going to try everything I can before resorting to toxic sprays

Close up of Pat Austin from earlier. I was planning on planting it elsewhere but it seems so happy here, and has for two springs in a row.

That is REALLY pretty; the rocks add such dimension to the space and help reel in all that exuberant growth. So much work, but worth it. The colours are so lovely with one another and flattering to your house.

I'm amazed to see MW growing almost as a climber. I just planted it DA bareroot and though it was a bushy upright plant. I'd be thrilled if it had a more lax habit.

And TennesseeNoisette, you're so funny about your grass that looks super lush to me. Anyway, even if it did look overgrown, who would notice with those roses!

Gorgeous pics!

I've seen that "bleaching" of purple roses like 'Reine des Violettes' in some pics on HelpMeFind, but haven't encountered it here. I do know that many of these old purples seem to either need more iron or have more difficulty in getting the iron they need than other roses. I'm not sure, but perhaps that may be related to the blooms on yours looking white. So maybe look for an iron supplement to scratch into the soil. I was using Ironite for my 'Reine des Violettes' and a couple others, but then started reading some concerning remarks about that product, so I stopped buying it. Luckily, I haven't seen any chlorosis this year, so I haven't had to find something else. If your soil is alkaline, that can also inhibit iron absorption. But I'm guessing that you don't have that in Tennessee -- unless your rose happened to encounter an alkaline patch of soil, perhaps from buried limestone.

:-)

~Christopher

Wow you have a beautiful garden!! I love all the under-plantings as well as the roses.

I love your pictures of your young garden. It's great to see what wonderful progress you have made with your beautiful plants.

Lovely, Lovely, Lovely!! So natural looking. Lots of hard work went into all of this beauty.

Suebelle

Thank you so much everyone! I really appreciate the compliments, only a few years ago I had never successfully planted/grown anything, I thought the garden I always wanted was out of my reach due to lack of space, funds, time, and knowledge. Now I see none of that cam hold you back when you are really motivated.

Christopher, you are probably so right on the money about RdV, I always hear that clay soil in the southeast us is very acidic, and I have never had my soil tested ( I know I need to do this ASAP) but when I had tried a few years ago to grow hydrangeas, they were pink as all get out. I put everything known to man on them to try to turn them blue, but they were pink as pink could be, which I learned indicates alkaline soil. Also, more recently I found out that under Knoxville lies a large network of limestone caves, which is both intriguing and makes so much sense to me regarding the pH of my soil when compared to what the pH of surrounding areas soil is said to be. Conveniently I just purchased a product called Glitter Green from my local nursery that is said to be a good organic source of iron along with a few other things good for tomatoes and other plants. Hopefully this will put the Violettes back in Reine des Violettes.

I love pictures like these where you get to see the whole bush and the surrounding plants! Thanks so much for sharing them. You have done a fantastic job.

Here are a few more photos. I started to fall asleep as I was posting them last night.

A few weeks ago this was just a muddy slope with 3 roses planted on it, in-between mine and my neighbors houses. With its steep slope & small amount of intense sunlight in the middle of the day, this is a particularly bad area for growing anything but I really wanted something pretty outside my bedroom window, so I found a way to make it happen. This area only gets sun from about 12:30 till about 4:30, so I knew I needed something outrageously healthy to grow here if I wanted it to survive and flower. Left to right there is Maggie, Belinda's Dream, and Buff Beauty up near the trash bins. Maggie has gotten "self pegged" by the weight of all those buds, and the baby Darlows Enigma just out of frame to the left is assisting with that as well, the tip of Maggie's left cane keeps getting snagged on DE's multitude of thorns, and it has stretched her out and made her into a perfect accidentally pegged specimen.

Belinda's Dream

Thank you Sharon, I also love it when people post photos of the whole bush & surrounding planys when they share photos of their roses. They very much help new gardeners like myself understand how to space things, the growth habit of certain shrubs, etc. I will always try to post these because I love seeing them myself.

Jessica

Your photos are making me want Duchesse de Brabantagain.

Very nice pictures of some lovely roses, and other flowers, thanks for sharing!

I love your garden! Really appreciate the full bush shots and the way you explain how you planned everything. Your Duchesse de Brabant is gorgeous. I have that one too but it's still a baby and hasn't bloomed much yet. I also have Munstead Wood still in its nursery pot. Bolero (love it, too!), Carding Mill, RdV, Maggie, Darcey Bussell, and Young Lycidas are also on my wish list. Thanks for sharing!

I love your garden it is so beautiful!! I didn't have time to look at all the picture, it time to pick up the kids. I will most certainly enjoy the rest later :) Love your landscaping! You have vision :)

I loved the Rose tour!

I love all the old rose varieties and DAR - yours are just beautiful and very inspiring to me. The way you have them casually sitting on the porch and mixed in with other plantings makes everything seem effortless - even though I know it isn't! Keep posting more photos as the summer moves along!

Everything looks soooo beautiful and I can tell all the hard work you've put into your little piece of heaven. I bet you worked your booty off getting all those pretty rocks in their perfect spot. Everything looks beautiful and can't wait to see more pics. Judy

What a grand tour! Thank you!

I've loved Pat Austin ever since I met a backyard specimen in north Texas which was 5 x 7 feet and in full bloom on every inch of the bush. WOW!

So if you do decide to move her, give her some room and stand back!

Fantastic Tour for sure!

Beautiful! Love your roses and that bright yellow Toyota FJ!

Beautiful garden! I like your use of purple flowers with your roses

Looks great! Love the river rock idea.

Beautiful flowers and setting! I love seeing the full bushes in their contexts, and the roses look fantastic against your house setting. The purple underplantings are perfect, and they really set your roses off to best advantage. I agree that I've never seen Munstead Wood climb that well but it looks fantastic. And my word, that is one huge Belinda's Dream bloom! Just lovely.

Cynthia

Me again! I planted my Darlow's Enigma in bright shade, almost no direct sun and a real battle with tree roots and it is now 7 feet tall by 10 feet wide. For me turns out she's in the same league with Mme. Plantier and Mrs. BR Cant... just huge. I've never pruned mine back, but then I didn't plan to because those thorns are WICKED!