Sigh. If only I could become a farmer-florist. Even have some anemone corms pre-sprouting in the basement in hopes of making gorgeous bridal bouquets, and plenty of Floret seeds just itching for me to start germinating. It looks like I have made a rather poor decision in regards to placement of one of my beds...there has been a lot of standing water there all fall and now through winter. I think I just didn't notice until I took the sod out. Does anyone know, can I put a raised bed on TOP OF that site, and it still work ok? I only have a set amount of space with which to build beds, and unlimited amounts of things that I wish to grow.

Rachel, you really have some beauties coming.

I have been so torn between The Ancient mariner and Bishop's Castle.

I decided to go with BC but it was a tuff decision.

I look forward to seeing all of your pictures.

I have really debated with Bishop's castle myself. I know he is a favorite of some here in the forum. I am looking forward to seeing yours as well!

I just placed my order for Bishop's castle with David Austin. I had an existing order and they let me use my coupon for the whole thing

My new rose ended up costing $7.48. I was excited and also my shipping went down

I was surprised they let me use that on a previous order maybe because it had not been paid for yet

Score ! So coming from DA, 3 Desdamona and 1 Bishop Castle.

Coming from Burlington, Little White Pet, The Fawn and Crimson glory.

Last rose that I will purchase for new planting area is a standard Arctic Blue rose

Isnt the anticipation fun ?

Oooh! I’m excited for your Arctic Blue!! She was one I was debating as well! She looks like she could be just absolutely gorgeous!

oooh, I think Honeymooon is lovely! I saw her at a local nursery last summer, and she was absolutely covered in romantic creamy white and blush blooms in her pulp-pot! Excellent choice!

Kate thanks for pointing out Honeymoon! I get a little frustrated with Colonial White (Sombreuil) which is a little stingy and a lot leggy. Manages to stay in my garden because I am a coward and he is very very thorny...

Barbara

Fantastic rose choices Rachel !! I love roses unlimited.. have to also get an order started . I saw one on there named “ringlet “ that caught my attention. It’s a single climber that looks so adorable.

Kate , I think you will love honeymoon, mine has just been pretty much growing but the blooms have been lovely so far!

Rachel,

You got a load of roses! Nice ones, too!

I was going to ask you why you didn't get two or more Quietnesses, but truly, you won't need but one. It grows so quickly & vigorously and propagates very easily, so if you need more, you have a mother bush from which to make all the new bushes you want.

Just remember that although Quietness is classed by the 'powers that be' as a shrub, it is really a grandiflora and requires the usual deadheading and spring pruning like a hybrid tea. Don't let it get to grow willy-nilly like a Knock Out shrub or it will be a wild, unmanageable 'Cousin It' (remember Cousin It from the Adams Family sit-com?), with lots of smallish, weak stemmed flowers. Quietness makes long rather vertical laterals, excellent for long stem cutting, after a gangly juvenile period, first year mostly. Then it straightens up. It's form when well pruned is very elegant, a nice sized rose bush, not narrowly columnar like Queen Elizabeth or Memorial Day, but not spreading at all, either. Nice 45-30° angular growth from a vertical line.

Moses

Rachel,

About your poor draining bed. You are fortunate you have discovered the drainage problem in advance. An expert is needed to recommend a solution that will work. If the area in question gets full sun, the necessary work needed is well worth it.

I do not think just creating a raised bed will work. As soon as the roses' roots reach down to the water table they will begin to rot, or grow no further down, possibly stunting their top growth. The new soil level of the bed would probably have to be at least 2' higher than the present ground level. That's a lot of soil, and probably with a retaining wall around it, too....$$$. And then, it may become a visual monstrosity, diverting the eye from the lay of the land.. Then, the roses planted in a high raised bed would have to be shorties, 2' and under, or you would need a ladder to climb upon to see the flowers, unless looking up at only nodding blooms are on the bed list.

A french drain surrounding the bed, diverting the water away to lower ground would most likely be the cheapest and most permanent solution. French drains do work.

Moses

Moses, I'm relieved to hear Quietness is not going to reach out and grab anyone. I replaced Erinnerung an Brod with Quietness because, as pretty as she was, she was a grabber, and I had her in the wrong place - at a corner, wrapped around an obelisk. We're so used to ducking and holding back Erinnerung's canes so we can pass, it'll be a pleasure to know we're not going to get hit in the face with a thorny cane.

Dublinbay, you will love Kordes' Moonlight and Honeymoon. I've grown to appreciate all the Arborose short climbers that I have. They may not climb over an arbor in my climate, but they're just right trailing along a picket fence. Yellow roses are not my thing, but Moonlight wins me over with soft yellow and pink on the petal edges. It lives up to the Kordes photos. And, Honeymoon looks exactly like the Kordes photos. Both are own root and took off quickly and grew long, climbing canes their first year.

Flowers,

Quietness is not thorny. It does have thorns, but on a scale of 1 to 10, it would be a 3.5 to 4. I hope it exceeds your expectations.

Moses

Moses,

I cannot thank you enough for your excellent advice! Thank you for knowledge about Quietness, and proper pruning. I have a feeling I will be ordering another one of her next year, if she is productive as she seems! I am just struggling with trying to figure out where all of these will go! The spot I do have in mind for Quietness will actually be in my front bed, by our large decorative lamp post, which I think will be quite pretty. I am placing my order for Lady Ashe along with Heirloom from Northland Rosarium today, and have a lovely spot of 6ft-high fence reserved for her.

That is an excellent idea regarding the French drain. We are lucky to have excellent neighbors as well, so I will see if they have any ideas, as they have mentioned drainage previously. I began the discussion of additional French drains to DH, and he agreed to "look into it." I suppose that if it proves to be too expensive, I could perhaps convert that bed into my cutting garden instead, since it will be filled with a lot of annuals or wetness-tolerant perennials. Since the annuals don't form deep roots, a shorter raised bed might still work, and I could just flip-flop bed placement. So many decisions! Spring is really approaching quite rapidly, for those of us who are doing a lot of garden remodeling, when you think about it!

Rachel,

A relatively healthy person can dig a French drain, no talent needed. It's just a long hole, a foot wide, two feet deep, and as long as needed. You do need the knowledge about the specifics of your particular situation supplied by an expert, but the manual labor part, anyone can supply that.

Moses

There are even machines one can rent for the day. I've done it both ways and the machine is a lot easier! : )

Rachel,

Vaporvac is right, there are trenching machines, available by rental, that a reasonably competent home owner can operate. Unless you want to build up your muscles, that's the way to go. Save your back!

The only problem with a trenching machine is that if you have rocky soil below the layer of topsoil, problems arise. Get the shovel! I did a French Drain some years ago, a large one, where a trenching machine would have been a liability since just below the lawn the substrate was nothing but small boulders, most of them cantaloupe sized.

What I meant by having a professional/experienced person advise you on a French Drain, is that person can tell you where it should go, how deep to go, what materials are needed, etc. You also have to be aware of: water lines, gas lines, electric lines, sewer lines/septic systems, etc.

There's a solution to every problem, and often the solution is much easier to implement than the problem itself looks like at first!

Moses