So sorry. We had some wind damage here too. It sucks.

Oh no! So sorry!

I hate that for you, so sorry!

Here, as well:

"Benny Lopez"

"Old Town Novato"

Lady Ann Kidwell is truly tragic. But this, too, shall pass.

Sorry that happened to your roses!

Sorry to hear that, Jerome. It wasn't as bad as usual here, because the wind only lasted one night. It was pretty bad, though.

Is there any possibility of planting windbreaks?

So sorry Jerome. Couldn't the wind have waited a couple of weeks or a month? So glad you took photos and shared.

My sympathies to you, Jerome, and everybody else whose spring flush got zapped.

:-( Some of the buds made it through ok right? So maybe still a few blooms soon as long as those hot winds settle down?

What a shame to lose such glorious blooms prematurely! I’m glad you were able to enjoy your flush
for at least a short spell and were able to share some beautiful pictures, While wandering around the grounds shopping
at our local monastery’s (St. Bernard Abbey) annual Bloomin’Festival a couple
of weekends ago, you had me thinking Father Joel sure needs a rose garden there!

We had less than two days of wind but it was disheartening. There will be new buds coming along, but I feel your pain, Jerome. It's like being kicked out of paradise. Even the bouquet I had inside wilted away in short order. I was out deadheading the sorry lumps on some of the roses but it got too depressing. We just have to get past it, but grieving first is a most natural thing.

Jerome and all the Devil's Wind victims, I am so sorry! It's like a blast from a furnace...or Death Valley. Hopefully the remontant rose gang will perk up and offer more post flush blooms. It certainly is an age when crazy weather and warming trends make for meteorological concerns and painfully frustrated gardening as well as potential wildfire vigilance. Carol

Here, more buds are already opening. I just need time to cut off the dry ones.

"Benny Lopez"

And if you stand at a distance, you sorta don't notice . . .

Melissa - the "Santa Anna" winds which blow sometimes in Southern Calif. are enormous masses of very hot (often over 100 degrees), totally dry air coming from the inland desert towards the coast, over 100s of square miles. They blow sand, fine dirt, and other debris, and frequently cause enormous wild fires, as any fire burning will explode in their presense. Not something you could really build protection for, unless you built an entire building all around your garden. Luckily, right now it is early in the Spring and there is still some water in the wild plants. In the Fall, the wild plants in So Cal (which have evolved to be "water wise", so they are full of resins) literally explode in fires, and that is why you see the frequent devastating fires in So Cal every Fall (and sometimes earlier, but not this early).

There was a song in a musical once which starts "a way out West, they have a name, for rain, and wind, and fire..." It always reminds me of Calif., if you add earthquakes into the mix. This is not new at all - it is normal.

Jackie

"...and they call the wind Maria!"

I'm happy you got to enjoy the beauty before the wind came. Wind break plantings have helped in my garden with the breaking canes and whipping around. I have tree pieces all over to clean up still. Hopefully you will see some pretty roses open up this weekend when it's cooler. And we are supposed to get some humidity to help with bringing out fragrance. Something to look forward to.

I'm grateful our winds aren't able to become tornadoes here. The roses suffer, but the people are safe.

Oh my goodness!!! Seeing everyone's photos is just heartbreaking. It's only early May! What happens the rest of the summer? Do the winds return or is it just now? You all have a lot of practice with heartbreak but I can't imagine it makes it easier. Though I guess you learn that nature is resilient and hope springs, and new buds appear despite everything! As Benny Lopez teaches. I admire all of you who have to contend with the desert wind!

And I vow never to complain again about our slightly warming and ever so slightly sandy winds blowing up from Africa! I'll remember these photos and count my blessings!

Sorry to hear that, Father Jerome. Of course they will bloom again, but this must be a disappointment.

Hi everyone! Your kind comments cheered me lots. Sorry to be slow in responding - it's crazybusy here this week.

Melissa - that's a good point about windbreaks. Was at a friend's garden yesterday - and she has a large plexiglass wall that guards her plants from the winds sweeping down the hillside. Not much damage there. As for our setup here - it would take more infrastructure than is worth it, so no: we're just going to have occasional (or frequent - depending on the season) wind incidents.

Cori Ann - that All American rose is lovely! Jeri, I want to visit your garden some day...bucket list.

Ingrid - we're going to get through this. I hear we're supposed to get rains this weekend: I'll believe it when I see it!

Greetings and love to all of you!

J

Jerome, is a plexiglass doo-dad necessary? Could you just plant a tall, tall hedge of cypress to help slow the wind down a bit? Italian cypress are so beautiful, and fast-growing as well (not to mention their poetic way of symbolizing the link between earth and heaven.) To really pick up the pace, you could do an auxilliary hedge of Leylandii cypress. I consider Leylandiis to be pretty junky; ungraceful in general and shallow-rooted, but they sure do grow fast and could "cover" the real cypress (and the rose garden) whilst these latter are growing...

bart, in so. CA they warn us not to put cypresses anywhere near one's home because they're very flammable. We have a smaller house on our property and there is a whole row of them planted against one side, very close together, and that's worrisome. There have already been some wildfires, so the season has already begun. Jerome, I hope the rain comes to visit both of us this weekend.

I was thinking of plant windbreaks, too, like bart, but forgot there is that risk of fire, which isn't much of an issue here. How about thicker planting of shrubs with the roses? I have 'Clementina Carbonieri' and 'Etoile de Hollande' scrambling through pittosporums, and 'Archduke Joseph' interlaced with (and overwhelming) the persimmon tree.

I apologize! This is I think the second time at least that I've piped in on a Californian's thread, suggesting cypress for some reason; I forget about those dam&&d wildfires! Ok, Paulownia tomentosa...what about that? That's supposed to grow really fast (I just put in a couple myself, in hopes that they'll provide some shade).Melissa's idea sounds good, too.

I wish I could promise to remember the wildfire thing. I try to read posts from people in different climates,to help maintain perspective, but I don't sem to be able to remember details as well as I would wish.California seems to be so hostile as a climate ; as bad as the summers are here in Italy,I don't think I realize what yall have to deal with. Frankly, I hope I never have to ! but I admire your fortitude and perserverence!

Fr. Jerome, has the abbey considered a citrus hedge? Maybe a low wall--give some local bricklayers work--with citrus trees planted behind that. The idea would be to slow down the wind, not stop it altogether, and to enjoy the delicious fruits and fragrances.