I am literally stunned by the beauty!! I don’t have words! It’s amazing. Thanks for posting the pics!

I like blue flowers in the garden, beautiful roses and companions.

My cousin was in New Mexico on vacation last year. She enjoyed Taos and Santa Fe.

It's been so many years since I've been in New Mexico, I would like to go back sometime.

Bishop's Castle is spectacular.

noseometer. That is drop dead gorgeous!!!!!!

Noseometer, what you've accomplished is astounding and truly spectacular. Considering the challenges of your climate and garden orientation, the display of flowers and roses is awesome. The rain may have helped, but most of the credit is yours, because plant choice and design play a huge part in the beauty of your garden. Seeing even this fairly extensive exploration of your garden just makes me want to see more, at all the different seasons, even when everything is not in full bloom. Your descriptions are just as enjoyable as the photos, and give an intimate look into the how's and why's of your design, and the difficulties as well as the joys of your special and wonderful garden.

It's just so breathtaking and inspiring!!!! I love the before and after!!!

Wonderful!

Really stunning. What a transformation!

-Chris

Robw - you are funny. Have been drinking a rose apertif? Well, the spouse says "no" to Cornwall. They also don't say how much they pay. But it sure would be a dream job. Especially because I'm a rock climber also.

Krista - I might sound like an advertisement for New Mexico, but it really is beautiful here. I debated long and hard about whether to have the style of garden that I put in, or to put in only native plants, which are ruggedly beautiful. But the flowers here tend to be yellow and red, and there are not a lot of fragrant native plants, or if they are fragrant, they only bloom for a week or two at most. I wanted something more refined for my enclosed garden, and fragrance is a big deal to me. The typical garden style here is that of meandering pathways among a lot of gravel mulch and a "one of this and one of that" style of planting, with plants spaced pretty far apart. It wasn't my style, so I did it myself.

Ingrid - your words are so thoughtful. I'm honored by your compliments. I wish I could respond in kind, with the same eloquence, of thankfulness. Yes, May is the most dramatic season, a series of fireworks one after the other. But I've designed my garden to have something in bloom and color all through the year, even winter, although there are slim pickings in the winter. I've also designed it to have structure all year, even when most of the perennials are underground.

What an absolutely fantastic garden. I love everything that I am seeing. The color palette you have used is amazingly beautiful and works so well with the design of your garden. Masterly done, Nose!

Jo

Beautifully done! All your hard work shows. Gardening is nothing if not constant trial and error. I love all of your Austins!

love your garden

Noseometer, what an absolutely stunning garden. I love your colour combinations, especially as they are my favourite garden colours and I envy your artistry.

I saw the job posting to which you referred. I think you might need abseiling skills! Gardening on St. Michael’s Mount wouldn’t be for the faint of heart.

Gorgeous! Love how small your Abe is. I think I want to replace my Sharifa Asma with Marie Pavie. Where did you get yours?

Why Totoro ?!!! This is one that’s been on my must get list but I haven’t grown it

Noseometer, a fabulous garden! What beauty you have brought out from the challenges of your climate. We have our hot dry 5-10% humidity 50-70 mi/hour winds in the fall and it is my least favorite weather. So far, my garden was planted just after the last winds of last fall so I don’t yet know how the species of roses I selected will do. I have been getting most of my advice from the Rose and Antique Rose forums. I am glad that Marie Pavie is doing so well for you. I planted 3 along my patio to experience the wafting fragrance I have heard so much about. You can’t see my baby bands of MP nestled among the petunias, but here is a before and after of the patio. Redoing this hardscape was expensive, so I hear you on that, but so worth it for us since we never used the patio in the 10 years prior since it faces SW and now I use it every day. Last photo shows my view from the patio no longer blocked by an ugly lattice fence.

Lilyfinch, my Sharifa Asma does not bloom much despite being grafted on Fort. It also gets BS (not a problem for you anymore) It is in some shade though. I also did not think the fragrance was as great as others raved about it. I would rather have another Bolero than SA.

Stephanie, your covered patio is now a wonderful space to live in; it must be almost like having another room that you can use almost year-round, protected from the sun and the rain.

Totoro, I got 3 Marie Pavie from Roses Unlimited and a couple years later I got 2 more from The Antique Rose Emporium. Those from RU are the very double ones, and those from ARE are semi-double. I'm going to get rid of my Sharifa Asma also. The rebloom is very poor although the spring flush is indeed beautiful and fragrant.

Stephanie, isn't it a joy to go out into a garden that you created? You did a nice job. The bottom photo shows a vibrant and coordinated color scheme. I like your new wall in the bottom photo. It looks like it might block some of the wind as well. Dry wind is hard on the plants. Looks like you found some things that will tolerate it in your climate though. I still wish for those delicate beauties that grow in milder climates though. No Meconopsis here! I gotta let it go. I hope you like your Marie Pavies. Something to keep in mind is that she doesn't have a typical rose fragrance. It's nice, just not sweet, more musky. A visitor to my garden sniffed it, jumped back and said "OH! THAT was unexpected!" I like it, even though it isn't the typical rose fragrance. I think she sniffed it after smelling the super-sweet smelling Dee-lish.

noseometer - I'm curious about your Savannah. It's so pretty! I just planted one this spring and comparing it to yours, your flowers are fuller and there's more growth and foliage. I'm wondering if mine will follow suit next season. How old is your 'Savannah'?

Thanks, Noseometer. I remembered there was a difference in the MPs depending on the source. I will get mine from RUL.

prairiemoon2 - Savannah seems to be very dependent on climate. In the Dallas arboretum, the flowers were much smaller, and the plant was much, much larger. BenT commented on this. This will be the fourth season for mine. I'd love to see how yours looks.

Here it is at the Dallas arboretum:

Thanks noseometer for that explanation and the photo, Mine was planted bare root this past April and these are the first blooms on it. I've since deadheaded it and already seeing new growth, so I expect I'll get another flush of blooms. Especially since we've finally gotten some heat and sun this week.

I wondered if the difference could be whatever it is grafted on or if it is own root? Or where you purchase your roses from? You think it's just the climate?

Is your Savannah the Sunbelt Collection Kordes rose, bred for warm regions, Prairiemoon? If it is, the answer could be associated with that. I know there are roses I have grown that never have the same appearance as those in colder climates it was intended/bred for.

The "Savannah" grown in both gardens is a very pretty rose.

Here is the one I bought last fall from Palatine....they list Kordes 2014 as the breeder.

Palatine Roses - Savannah Sunbelt

My priorities were healthy foliage and fragrance and so far, it seems to be doing well in that regard. I'm also very pleased with the color, which seems luminous at different times.

Noseometer: is there any chance I can get you to share more photos of your garden??? It is such a BEAUTIFULLY designed and magical space. I live in coastal Southern California, (Dry Desert Coast)... about 5-6 miles from the ocean. So I suspect many of the flowers and roses you grow will do well for me. I’m in the process of ripping out the backyard and I’m drawing SO MUCH inspiration and knowledge from you posts... I LOVE all the details you share... it’s super helpful. Your blue garden is just STUN-NING!!! My color palate for my garden is similar to yours... blues, whites and pinks. I’m actually trying figure out how to add more blues and lavenders to my garden and select good under plantings for my roses. I currently have mostly of iceberg roses, 1 Eden climber (light pink), 2 white Eden Climbers, 2 Bolero roses, and 1 Princess Anne Rose (this I just added... which is my first foray into adding a strong solace of color... magenta pink that fades into a softer pink with a violet tone). You’ve inspired me to research blue varieties of irises. I wonder how they would do here for me. I don’t really see anyone growing them around here for... but seems like they would do well. Your penstemons are also SO STRIKING... I must go in search of that. You’ve given me so many ideas. I also love the idea of planting Marie Pavie Rose by the outdoor dining area. It makes so much sense that you were a painter in college and studied landscape architecture... it shows in the overall look and feel of your garden. Thank you, Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with us... I look forward to seeing more... and learning more from you. Question: what is the name of the purpleish blue flowers growing in front of your pink rose, Princess Charlene De Monaco?

Noseometer, revisiting this thread was a lovely read this morning. Ditto what Ann said. I would also love to see your garden this year, and hear about what has worked especially well. There is certainly something to be said for a restrained color scheme. Even though I know this, I can't seem to do it. It is so much more pleasing to the eye.

I think that is nepeta, like "Walker's Low". Noseometer will pitch in I am sure.

Thanks Ann! The photo you are showing is ‘Bishop’s Castle’ with catmint (Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’) in front of it, Sheila was correct! The color of the catmint depends on the time of day. In the blazing sun, it looks much more pale.

You may be disappointed when I tell you that this season has been more of what “didn’t work” than what worked “especially well”. I had a number of things not work out and I took the opportunity to rework parts of my garden. I’m always changing things, but this year was more so than most. My work wasn’t affected by the COVID19 shutdowns, so I really didn’t have a lot of time to get all of it done that I hoped for. The first big disappointment was that I pinched a nerve in my neck and that caused a lot of pain for months. Fortunately that is better now, but that certainly put a damper on my gardening. The late frost froze all my plants in the middle of April after all the buds were showing and the roses struggled to recover. Even the irises suffered, and showed their unhappiness by growing very short stems or aborting flowers altogether. Then the thrips came out with a vengeance and ate not only the buds but the newly forming leaves. Once I decided to spray, I got a meager display. Most recently, the irrigation system failed, about a month ago, and I didn’t realize it until many of the plants were shriveling. Apparently this has been a big year for it, and the irrigation company is booked 3 weeks out so I’m still waiting. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to hand water and of course then I strained the muscles and tendons in my shoulders which of course put a damper on things also. The hellebores didn’t put out much of a show, and I realized that the redbuds had gotten so big that they were making too much shade, so this year I thinned the canopy on them quite a bit. Maybe too much. So not such a good year for the garden and not much in the way of garden photos. I’ll show you a few of the not-so-horrible shots though.

Early season with 'Hakuun' tulips blooming with the sand cherry and the roses just leafing out (before they froze).

Irises blooming with the 'Walker's Low'. The salvia 'May Night' is done and the main bed was dug up and divided this spring, so not much happening there. (Lesson: do it in the fall, NOT the spring).

The penstemon did well. TOO well. They bloomed and many of them died. Which is what penstemon do.

'Bishop's Castle' recovered enough after spraying for thrips.

What worked especially well? For the most part, the roses did better (at least before the late freeze) with a harder pruning than I had been giving them. David Austin roses especially seem to do much better with a much harder pruning. The Iceberg roses, did not do very well with light pruning, so last year I pruned them back by about half. They did so well, that they got scraggly. I pruned two of them down to about 4 inches. This was a big mistake. For a long time I thought they were dead, but I didn’t have the energy to dig them out. They made a couple of tiny growths when the rest of the Icebergs were blooming. Those growths promptly died. Then in June, after the first flush was over for the other Icebergs, one of them suddenly shot out a huge growth, and then a couple of weeks later, so did the other one. Lesson learned.

The recovering Iceberg in June.

Another “especially well” was digging up the lilies that had collapsed in the summer, and growing them in pots. Here if you plant lilies among shrubs, the shrubs take all the water and the lilies languish. If you plant them in the open ground, you have to be careful that they get enough water all through the season or they collapse just as the buds form, looking like rot at the soil line. I planted those in pots and they are making a good recovery. Too good in fact, as then the wind trashed the tall stems.

'Anastasia' once I finally wised up and moved it into the sheltered courtyard.

Spinosad works especially well on thrips. Blue cups not so much. At least not for me. They do help though. Just not enough.

I’m going to have to decide whether or not to take out all my ‘Bolero’ roses. The rosemary is getting too large and I’m not in any shape yet to prune it. But they are all using too much water. the roses need a lot more water than the rosemary, so they will probably have to go.

This vignette worked out, and I was patting myself on the back, until...and I'm sure you realized it right away...I realized that it doesn't match the rest of my garden at all. Yikes! Come winter, out comes the crape myrtle. I'll plant an Italian plum, which will have PURPLE fruit in the summer. I don't think I could bear to take out the Dittany of Crete though. It's too cute.

Marie Pavie recovered from the late freeze enough to put on a bit of a show. Not nearly as nice as last year, and her second flush which I didn't photograph was better.

What a Spring, noseometer! So sorry about the wait for irrigation repair too. Take care of yourself. Your photos are lovely.

Oenothera caespitosa was new this year and did especially well.

A gratuitous iris shot.

Or two.

or three.

More to the point, here are some roses that recovered enough to put on a bit of a show.

Boscobel

Dee-lish

Radio Times

Abraham Darby

A couple of more things that worked especially well.

I planted 'Ispahan' since it comes from Isfahan, Iran, whose climate is similar to Albuquerque's. The first growths also froze in the late cold snap, but there was some recovery. Isfahan must not have thrips, because those precious buds were severely damaged here. The plant grew from several inches tall to over 3 feet tall so far this year, so my guess may have succeeded. Next to it, a newly planted Madame Isaac Pereire has not grown at all. This fourth trial will be my last for MIP.

Desdemona was also happily successful, although grown in a pot. The flowers did well in resisting thrips and not getting crispy in 90 degree temperatures, but when temps got to 108 here, they got crispy.

Your garden is gorgeous @noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque). This tour is wonderful, especially in the midst of winter. I'm from the desert originally (Tucson Az) and have a soft spot in my heart for desert gardens. Your roses look so beautiful in this setting.

I'm always happy to see this thread come up again, and it's surprising how relevant it is to many of us. Our summers are hot and dry. Your Bishop's Castle with nepeta is one of my favorite photos on this forum, ever. Do you also grow Mary Rose? If you, Noseometer, or anyone else who grows both, would compare the two, I am all ears. I'm almost ready to add one of them to my DA order.

I absolutely LOVE your iris. Especially the last one, which looks like a miniature? Or, maybe short because of the water troubles. I love the way it looks. I'm sorry about all your set backs. Always something, right? Neck and shoulder pain prevents you from doing just about anything. I hope you will give another update during the '21 season.

Thanks for the kind words!

I don't grow Mary Rose, but I grow Winchester Cathedral, the sport of Mary Rose. I'm not sure how similar Winchester Cathedral is to Mary Rose or if it is identical in every way but color. My WC has had one bloom sport back to Mary Rose. Compared to Bishop's Castle, WC is about half or a third the size of BC (3-4 feet across compared to 6-8 feet across), even though both can grow long octopus canes. The canes are much thicker on BC and WC has very thin twiggy growth except for the main canes. The thorns on BC are much larger, and can vary from quite numerous to sparse on different canes. The thorns on WC are very numerous, very small, and although they vary in size, it has many tiny needle-like thorns in addition to some larger ones. The flowers of neither are very large, but BC’s a slightly larger. WC tends to have more petals, but BC can have more petals at times. The pink flower that appeared on my WC was a slightly more vibrant pink than BC. The fragrance of BC is sweet and clear rose. The fragrance of WC is more resinous. I don’t know if the fragrance of MR is the same though. They both bloom about the same amount.

I love irises also, they are so worth their “ugly period” in the summer. Yes, the last one is a dwarf bearded iris called ‘Alpine Lake’. It only gets to 4” tall, but is totally covered with flowers when it is in bloom. They bloom at the same time as the crocuses but for a much longer period of time.

I’m hoping for a better year than last year. I have so many plans for the garden!

Here are a few more of the dwarf irises that I have.

'Autumn Jester' can rebloom in the fall.

'Gemstar'

'Riveting'

Wow! Autumn Jester is bred by Chuck Chapman from southern Ontario, we regularly drive past his farm, and every summer buy some irises from him. I tried to get this particular one but it was sold out this year and the year before.

'Autumn Jester' doesn't multiply very rapidly and seems to need a more care than the others. But that color is very striking isn't it?

Yes it is! I will surely try to get it again next year! This summer I bought one called Black Lightning, also a miniature, I can't wait to see it bloom :)

Gorgeous! If I were still working on my garden I would be researching all the ones you like and do well for you. They are stunning!

Really beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

I’m so glad this thread was raised to the top of the Roses Forum again! I’m mostly over on the Antique Roses Forum, so I miss a lot of goodies here. I am SO glad I didn’t miss your garden tour, @noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque)! You have created something so magical that it’s hard to believe the images are not something I dreamed up after perusing my favorite garden books! And you did it ALL from scratch. Wow! Carol

Thank you all for you kind comments! Like Diane, I’m not having a very good rose year, but the irises did well.

After a rough start (a late freeze froze all the new growth), Abe did okay.

And Bishop’s Castle.

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) We’re having a pretty awful start to rose season up here in the PNW, too. I am daily pulling botrytis infected blooms off my spring rain drenched OGRs. Ugh. Your irises look fantastic! Honestly, every photo is jaw dropping! I have slowly been adding irises to my garden. I bought some heirloom ones from Old House Gardens last year and have also been thinking of adding a blue iris that you grow, Victoria Falls. I am so curious about its fragrance. The blooms are a gorgeous color! Perfect to pair with purple Gallicas and The Prince. 😊 The modern Hollywood Nights iris has caught my eye, too. Carol

PS Abe and Bishop look fantastic!

Noseometer - Fabulous photos of Iris and roses. And look at the size of the Iris foliage...wow! 'Bishop's Castle' is very pretty too.

Portlandmysteryrose - That sounds awful, dealing with infected roses due to rain! It's amazing really how we really need to have things in the right amounts. Too little or too much and everything goes haywire.

@portlandmysteryrose I was just whining to my spouse that I wanted to move out of this fiery furnace (I actually used worse words than that) and move to where I could actually grow things instead of coddling what is practically a weed in other climates, and couldn't we move to Oregon? Maybe the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Sorry to hear about your bad rose season. We haven't had any rain in many months and it is very very dry. Sounds like you got all of our rain and more. Victoria Falls is still one of my most favorite irises ever. The fragrance is particularly strong and sweet, almost grape-y.

@prairiemoon2 z6b MA - Thanks! Yes, some of the irises get pretty big. Some of them have leaves up to my waist (but I guess that's not really saying much).

Noseometer, you are making the best garden in such a challenging climate. Your garden has such unique beauty. Of course, it would be easier in Oregon.

noseometer Madame Isaac Pereire died in my zone 5a after I moved it to a dry spot. It had deep root and large leaves and need tons of rain to bloom. MIP doesn't do well for a friend in sandy & hot Texas.

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) I’d gladly share some spring rain! I wish I had a collection system. I’d hardly need city water this summer! Your irises are faring so much better than mine this year. There was a lot of the variety Iris germanica ’Soggy Brown Tissue’ blooming in my beds this year. Ugh! Nonetheless, we look to next year, right? I need Victoria Falls! And your Abe looks so lovely, much better than mine ever did! I finally dug up my plant and gave it to a friend who really wanted his presence in her garden. I now grow blackspot resistant Marianne instead. Carol