Oh my goodness, Marlorena! What a beautiful rose. Those petals are swirling around so perfectly and the color is exquisite. I had to look closely at the second to last photo, as it almost appeared to be a giant cut arrangement. It’s incredible. Truly one of the loveliest pictures I’ve seen in a long time. Does she ever repeat for you at all? I’m so taken by MLdB.

I cannot remember the name of the purple flowers on the right(2nd to last pic). I think it begins with an “H”, or has the name “rocket” in it. So frustrated with my brain! I have one after seeing yours, and am hoping it will reseed. Lovely. Lisa

You're right on both counts, Lisa. Hesperis matronalis, aka Dame's Rocket.

:-)

~Christopher

Thank you, Christopher! Lisa

Lisa, thanks, I'm so glad you like the photos, perhaps you'll consider getting this rose too one day, its scent is fabulous, most of the time. No it doesn't repeat for me, never has. Some books say it does but I've not seen it.

Yes Hesperis, although over here we call it 'Sweet Rocket' or 'Dame's Violet'.. but it has lots of names I think... very easy to grow, I hope yours does well for you, what fun that you decided to grow it too... I'm delighted. I hope it doesn't become a nuisance in your climate, I know it does seed about a bit.

It must not bloom in its first year. Mine hasn’t anyway. I’m counting on it to bloom this spring and then reseed some. I admired yours and wanted to grow it too.

I’m so tempted by many once blooming roses, but my space is so limited. I rarely SP a rose, and to be honest nothing ever dies on me. The gophers have been getting smarter as things get dryer, though. They dig round and round a caged rose until the soil mounds up over the cage. Then they easily climb in, so I may have just lost ‘The Faun’ overnight. That’s not really the way I want to create more space in my garden, though. I’m going to have to bring out the traps. Lisa

That is a dream of a rose, Marlorena, both in the exquisite conformation of the petals and the luscious color. Six weeks of bloom of something this beautiful is very respectable, and in a cooler climate is well worth it. I love the closely planted roses and companion plants, which to me is the quintessential English garden look, although I doubt everyone can bring it off as well as you. Please bring on more pictures if you have them.

Ingrid, thanks so much.. yes 6 weeks is pretty good...

Lisa, yes it's a biennial, although I think if it's sown early enough it might grow as an annual...

I'm sorry about your gophers, I keep reading about them, they seem to do such damage it must be quite disheartening. I have plenty of bugs to contend with, most often I don't even know what they are.

I'm not sure how well Bourbon roses do in So Cal, something to do with chill factor? so you might have to look into that. 'The Faun' is a beautiful rose, I think Ingrid has one, and I always admire hers.

Marlorena, it is beautiful rose. I love how your roses bloom with each other with splash of colours. I hope I can do my garden that way. Just cross fingers...lol.

2nd last pic..white flowers with yellow stamens in middle what type is that..I love the strings of buds hanging down.i can imagine how it looks when it blooms.

I can't wait to get DA roses. Oh goodness, all I can do is dream until march when Jeff of Cool Roses get here in person.

Jin

I'm going with a deduced guess here -- the white rose is 'Kew Gardens'.

:-)

~Christopher

I think it might depend on their genetics, Marlorena. Some do fine here, notably my Louise Odier. Although HMF says “does not do well in warm climates”, mine apparently doesn’t read HMF and bloomed from April until October. It always had at least a few blooms, and sometimes about 30. This was just LO’s first year in the ground. I’ve been very impressed. I fear that with a once blooming bourbon, I wouldn’t get near 6 weeks of bloom time from it. I worry that we will get a heatwave just at the wrong time and that will shut it down for the year. I’ll just have to enjoy yours. It does pain me to pass on MLdB, though. Yours is so beautiful, and just the sort of blooms that I adore.

The Faun looks to be alright. I flooded it with water today. It’s been very dry again anyway, about 13% humidity. My son came and set a gopher trap this morning. We hadn’t even gone back inside before we heard something. We got him. It was the biggest one we had ever seen, enormous! I almost wanted to take a picture, but I could hardly bare to look at it and felt it would be distasteful to post. Lisa

Lisa, yes I've seen photos of your 'Louise Odier', I should have remembered how well it grows for you. It used to black spot quite a bit for me some years ago, so I haven't tried it again since. I've no idea how I would cope with gophers, we have deer quite close, but they can't get over my fence, otherwise I'd have nothing left.

Jin, thanks, glad you like the photos. Yes Christopher is right about 'Kew Gardens' being the white rose with yellow stamens at top of photo. Are you also referring to the plant in the middle with drooping buds in a string formation ? that's a white Foxglove that wasn't quite opened at the time. I use lots of those around the place. I'm not sure whether you grow them in Florida?

Thanks Chris and Marlorena, my mind is so fog up. How do you guys can recognized flowers and leaves and names of roses. I cannot ...as for me...seen it and then it bothers me...lol

Yup, it is Kew rose but I never knew it can grow pretty tall..always seen them in pots of DA.

Foxglove is so pretty. I thought it was part of News..it threw me off thinking it is one rose. Never in zillion years would I have know it was 2 different species.

Jin

You are right besides I have never seen foxglove here at all.

But when I was reading I came upon one that does

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-foxglove-zone-9-coastal-garden-22305.html&ved=0ahUKEwjCgfjftbHYAhWG2yYKHW05A4EQFgglMAA&usg=AOvVaw0nXl2rtRVKq-uI_ghsoYaj

It looks pretty with specks in inner petals.

Thanks guys :)

Jin

I cheated a bit -- hence "deduced guess". I looked through Marlorena's HMF garden listing and matched what she had with that picture. Also, her picture bellow on HMF showing 'Kew Gardens' seems to show the same general location, with the fence post behind it.

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.272325

:-)

~Christopher

oh thanks Chris, yes that's the one.... I had forgotten I'd put it on there...

Jin, that's a nice Foxglove from Spain, I don't know that one at all, but here are some of my other ones that I grow. I like the white Foxglove mostly, I also grow a purple called 'Dalmatian' series, and my other favourites are from the Excelsior strain, they grow really tall, but I also have yet another one which I think you could grow in Florida. It's called Digiplexis Illumination 'Raspberry Improved', it's a Foxglove crossed with an Isoplexis plant from the Canary Islands.

This is it here... I quite like it.. it makes a change, although it's for a quieter

area of the garden I think..

..this is a 'Dalmatian Purple' Foxglove..

..these tall ones are the 'Excelsior' strain...

..these are 'Dalmatian Purple' and white 'Giant Spotted' foxgloves..

..thanks for showing an interest in my garden and what I'm growing here.. I appreciate that...

Marlorena, your garden looks as though an expert designed and planted it. It takes a very good eye for colors, shapes and sizes to pull that off. The 'Dalmatian Purple' foxglove is so cute.

Is “Kew Gardens” not even available in the US? This is the first time I’ve checked, but I’m surprised. I believe I’m broadening my taste in roses a bit, thanks to lovely pictures like these.

Beautiful!!! I really like growing floxgloves, as well. Jin, I really ought to give “Digitalis thapsi” a try. I think I did purchase the seed years ago, but either I never planted it or it didn’t come up. I know I haven’t grown it, but it looks like I should. It’s very pretty, likes it drier and hotter, and is shorter. That means it won’t be a flopper for me:) I have ‘Apricot’ purpurea planted out front with Felicia and Bubble Bath. They were planted last spring, so I should get blooms this coming spring. Usually I have some selfseeded ‘foxey’ in the back. I did plant a packet of ‘Snow Thimble’ one year, and like them very much. Some of their offspring still carry on, pure, unspotted white. They sure cross pollinate easily, so I pull some of the purple ones. I have trouble with the very tall ones. They only survive in the shade here, and the taller kinds twist and flop. I’m not always on top of staking them. The Digiplexis do very well here, much better than regular Digitalis and far longer bloom. They take heat quite well, while the regular floxgloves do not. I’m not sure how I managed to kill mine, one of those “mysterious deaths”. I’d like to have more sometime. I’m a big fan of plants from the Canary Islands. They absolutely thrive in my garden. (Well usually, the Digiplexis was a fluke.) A few weeks ago I planted out several foxglove seedlings from spring seeds called “Polkadot Princess”. I’m anxious to see them bloom this spring. I put them in the same bed as the Apricot purpurea but the Apricots are on one end near Felicia rose, while I placed “Polkadot Princess” near the other end with Bubble Bath rose. I have clematis and hardy geraniums “Orion” in between, as well as various annuals. I recently added 3 miniature roses, “Calpoly” to add some yellow to the peach and blue scheme. There’s a brilliant “Lovely Fairy” rose in there that’s totally throwing the whole bed off. It’s doing so well, and it’s SO thorny that I’m loath to remove it. Marlorena, I know it would have been moved long ago in your garden. Somehow I detest digging up roses. Perhaps that’s one reason your garden is so picture perfect.(Just one of many reasons.)

I can honestly say that looking at your pictures of the roses with perennials so artfully combined, gives me great inspiration. They make me want to get to work right now! I long to create something like what you have. You’re truly a master artist, painting/planting on the canvas/soil of your garden. There are no glossy magazine photos I’d rather see. Truly amazing work, Marlorena. Lisa

I wish I knew this about Canary Islands..my brother and his family went there this year. I think...I think seeds are permitted to States but I can be wrong then they went to Praque.

I hate this auto correct..I put Kews above and it changes to news...how about that.

Ingrid, I agree with you totally. Morlorena designed her roses like a pro..a designer.

I am trying to go for that look...with colours and I know it will take me years.

Sheila grow her new rose garden also with her style and touches and I can see it grow with stages...it is so cool.

I am big with colours. If you ask me what is my favourite colour..I can't tell you my answer is Rainbow.

Lisa, I think you can get Kews garden here in states Bec I have seen Marta Steward ' Gardener planting at 1.

Yup, they do sell it here. I am looking at the book.

Think it is a young plant Bec I don't see any yellow stamens...

I can't get that..only till zone 8.

Jin

PS: Lisa go for it. Get into colours, it is growing on you maybe just maybe a light orange might be in one of those batches...just maybe.maybe orange peach like Lady Emma Hamiton. :)

Ingrid, Lisa, Jin, thanks so much, I'm most flattered... some of my approach is quite haphazard..

Delighted you have some foxgloves Lisa, suitable for your climate. The Digiplexis is borderline hardy here, I expect a really bad winter would kill it off.

I've heard that 'Kew Gardens' isn't suitable for warm climates, it's not available in Australia for instance, so I suppose that's why it's got a zone 8 max on it.

Lisa grow those foxgloves. I always known it grows up North but never here and with Marlorena questions made me look up. I have not thought of any companions plants yet but I did book mark on DA recommended site link....or something like that and few others. They suggests a lot on companions plants that I went goo- goo Gaga...lol.

Chris it was clever of you ...it is funny and I swear I would have never known that for a zillion years. Thank you by the way.

Too many roses of DA..I getting so addicted to them and old roses.

Morlorena thanks for the pics...you really made my day..making me into a little detective..zooming in and out .

I was hoping you all will like Spain foxglove it is pretty, isn't it ?

Thanks again.

Jin

Yes, Zone 8 would be too much of a stretch for me. Perhaps there’s something similar to “Ames” Kew Gardens rose, that remains small and is suitable for my zone. ( Jin, that’s what MY autocorrect turns Kew Gardens into. It’s so strange!) Marlorena, your garden really is inspirational. That’s exactly the look I’d like to obtain, but always fall VERY short of. Jin, I like peach and apricot but nothing will ever make me like pure, screaming orange. I don’t know why, but I just can’t stand it! Sorry, orange lovers. I enjoy seeing it in others gardens, but not in mine. Liking single roses and crimson, purply roses is enough of a change from my pink double preference:)

I should find somewhere to purchase the seed for Spanish foxgloves ASAP, if I’m going to try them. This is the time of year to start seeds for me. Of course, if we would just get some rain it would help germination tremendously.

Jen, about importing seeds into the US. I have a seed permit from the USDA. It doesn’t cost anything to obtain, just paperwork to do, and I did have to go to one of their branch offices to turn it in with the proper identification. This was about 4-5 years ago. Now I am able to renew it online whenever it expires. I think that’s every 2 or 3 years. They issue me however many green stickers I requested, and when I’m getting seeds from someone out of the country who isn’t licensed to send seeds into the US, I send them one of my stickers. Certain seeds and certain countries are forbidden.Then once that person receives the sticker I mailed them, they stick it on the outside of the envelope. It goes to a USDA inspection station near me. They inspect the seeds and then forward them on to me. I’ve only needed to use my stickers a few times, but I keep my permit up to date in case I come across seeds I can’t get any other way. It’s called something like, “Permit to import small lots of seed into the US”. I felt really excited and “official” when I finally received mine. :) Lisa

Lisa that is great. I never knew. Well, I did look on line but the one I paste above that particular one I can't find with specks on the inner petals. I really like that pattern..maybe I am not looking at right places and don't know much about foxgloves .

Maybe nurseries sells that, I don't know but worst criteria, I can ask my friends who family resides in Spain. So, this will take time. I will let you and if I get it, I will send you some seeds or whoever wants it.

This situation is funny, I can't even find what Marlorena put the ones from Canary Islands. Maybe tomorrow I will check more into it.

I must be tired or exhausted putting long hours. I calling my friend in Brazil to see if she is heading there anytime soon or her aunt from Spain send seeds. I let you know.

Jin

Think I will call her morrow. Just realized it is after 1 am there. She is 3 hours ahead of Floridians...lol

I find that whenever I discover a new plant fascination, simply googling its Latin name will bring up nurseries selling it. It's also how I've discovered some really interesting nurseries I'd have never found otherwise.

Digitalis thapsi -- US sources

https://www.highcountrygardens.com/perennial-plants/digitalis-foxglove/digitalis-thapsi-spanish-foxglove

https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/DISP.html

http://www.dianeseeds.com/digitalis-thapsi-spanish-peaks.html

http://www.vanberkumnursery.com/plant/digitalis-thapsi-spanish-peaks/

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Perennials/D_files/D_Images/digitalis_thapsii_spanish_peaks.htm

http://colesvillenursery.com/plant/digitalis-thapsi-spanish-peaks

https://www.hardyplants.com/seeds/DT56-A9.html

:-)

~Christopher

Lovely Daisy, I remember it well. Cornwall is the best place for foxgloves, primroses and other hedgerow natives. I miss it very much for that. Love the pure white one, I have a few of those, going by the name of 'Albino'.. unsurprisingly. Looks like a large garden you had there too.

Chris , thank you again. I will get those foxgloves and try it. I saw a white ones also from " Lazyssfarm" that Chris put up called "Miss Manners" looks almost what Daisy put up first picture

Daisy, your roses and garden is also very beautiful. I love your garden and view. Thanks for the support.

Marlorena, I am in love with your foxgloves from Canary islands. I wish I can get . It is very nice rich colour.

I just hope I can grow seeds. I tried so many times but I always failed Bec my brother send me seeds from his garden like zinnias etc...it won't grow for me. I hope I get a green thumb.

Jin

Chris you are genius again. Google Latin at all pops up. All colours that I have never seen and they all got to high zones. I type isoplexis foxgloves and it pops up..got more other colours...wow. all for zone 10

Thank you so much both Daisy, Chris, Lisa and Morlorena. And cannot thank all of you enough.

Jin

Daisy, that’s so lovely! What a beautiful blending of colors. Jin, what I sometimes do if I’m not sure how something will do here, or I’m not successful with the seeds,(or if I’m just being lazy) is I order one plant of something that self sows. Then if I like it and it’s happy here, I let it seed itself. It’s much easier than starting seeds yourself. I even dig them up and transplant them to wherever I want them in the garden. Lisa

Marlorena, how often does your rose, mdm LDB , it says occasionally . Another says once bloomer, I wonder how often that might be in hot places, will that change, I wonder ?

Jin