growLively

A morning bouquet of roses...

A lovely bouquet of roses for you this morning...just plucked from the garden. The scent is divine. 'Abraham Darby', 'Tamora' and 'Perle d' Or'.

August Garden Lovelies...

Yes, you can actually have some beauty in the August garden, despite the scorching heat! Here are a few of my August garden lovelies...

A fragrant pale cream daylily I've forgotten the cultivar name for and a weeping dwarf crapemyrtle entwined with sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) 

Echinacea 'Sunset' flanked with Angelonia 'Serena Purple', 'Tamora' Rose and Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue'

 

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and dwarf Philippine lily

 

April blooms...

Here are a few shots of some April bloomers from the garden. Rose 'Pat Austin'...barely a drop of blackspot in sight, which is quite the achievement this spring! I have to say, I think this is probably my favorite rose. Well, I say that today, but it's so hard to choose just one. Iris 'Orange Glaze' next to Rose 'Mme. Franziska Krueger'. this iris also has a lovely fragrance.

A nice purple combo of 'Carpet Purple' petunia, Salvia farinacea, Mexican feather grass and dusty miller with Rose 'Perle d' Or' in the background. Bronze fennel flanked by 'Butterfly Blue' Scabiosa and petunia.

  

Can't forget Hairyette Potter...planted with Mexican Feather grass

 

My Penchant for Peach...

As I was explaining to my friend Julie yesterday, I have a penchant for peach...roses that is. We both seem to have a preferance for planting our gardens with hues of blues, purples etc. I call it my "bruise" garden color combo. BUT...orange and blue is such a nice complementary color scheme. So I allow the warmer color to sneak in from time to time, mostly in the form of persnickity English hybrid roses. She didn't seem totally convinced, but I seriously...how can you resist this?

Rose 'Pat Austin'

Rose Petals...

 

The first two blooms this Spring from my 'Pat Austin'...loverly. 

Bye Bye Bulbs...

So the transition from spring to summer begins...it's sad but also exciting for me. I'm such a bulb fanatic and my spring garden is always so pretty that I hate to see the season fade. The Dutch Iris were stunning and my bearded Iris bloomed gangbusters this year. The tulips and daffodils put on a great show. I believe there is one last lone white tulip still holding on to its petals, but I'm sure after last night's heavy rainstorm, it has expired. I wish I'd had time to get photos up of all the lovelies, but just didn't get to it quickly enough. Sigh. Ah well....ON TO THE ROSES!!!

For those of you who've read my blog in season's past, you may know I'm obsessed with peach colored roses. Now most varieties that fall into that color category are not always the best types for growing in my area (lots of English Austin hybrids, etc.). The Texas climate, with its heavy clay soil, scortching sun, but lots of spring and fall humitidy, doesn't really suit these daintier specimens. But what does any professional horticulturist do? Well, we break the rules of course! Now there are a few better suited antiques that fall into my favored color range, so I have a fairly decent mix of the dainties and the hardies at this point. They've all started popping into bloom in the last two weeks. The garden has smelled just lovely...here are a few photos. Addendum: you can scroll over the photos to see the variety names, but per request I'll provide ID 1. 'Abraham Darby' 2. 'Abraham Darby' 3. 'Perle d' Or' 4. 'Mutabilis' 5. 'Mme. Fraziska Krueger' 6. 'Pegasus' 7. 'Pegasus' 8. 'Tamora' 9. 'Pat Austin' 10. 'Ebb Tide'

Nice Buds....

So a few more things have started to bloom. The first is my 'Ramona' Clematis. I had to plant a 'Ramona' in honor of my Chihuahua, Ramona, of course. Next is Rose 'Ebb Tide'. The photo doesn't do the color justice. It is the deepest purple rose I've seen, highly fragrant, and produces masses of buds. I got it as a test plant before it was released. Weeks roses released it in 2006, so it is new to the market. Another shot of 'Tamora' in bloom. Such a great fragrance. Rose 'Abraham Darby' just started blooming as well. Rose 'Cracklin' Fire' is a cute little miniature. It has that great orangey color I love. It's has a wee problem with blackspot in the spring- as you can see in the photo.  But it usually grows out of it with no treatment once it warms up.

Now, as a horticulturist in Texas, I'm fully aware of the roses I'm "supposed" to be growing. Who do I think I am growing all these wimpy English hybrids???  Professionally I've done a lot of testing of rose varieties and contributed data to the Texas A&M EarthKind program. Of course I have antiques in my garden. I'm sure that within the next year or so 'Mutabilis' will be overtaking my front yard, and I'll be happy for it. But, I just have this weakness, stress WEAKNESS, for those big, fat, juicy David Austin beauties. And seriously, they are doing great for me. I maintain an organic garden and haven't touched a rose in my garden with a single treatment in 3 years. Occasionally, during times of high humidity and cool temperatures, foliage fungal diseases will crop up. I generally allow plants to outgrow their problems naturally.