13-FEB-2017
"St. Francis Xavier" rose for Valentine's Day
Introduced in Australia in 2004 as 'St. Francis Xavier' a hybrid tea.
Dark red. Strong fragrance. 41 petals.
Average diameter 4". Large, very full (41+ petals), in small clusters bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season.
Medium, bushy. Medium, glossy, dark green foliage.
Height of 3' to 4' (90 to 120 cm).
USDA zone 6b through 9b (default). Can be used for garden, landscape, shrub or specimen. Remove spent blooms to encourage re-bloom.
Remove old canes and dead or diseased wood..
Prune lightly or not at all. Resist the urge to prune this rose too
heavily -- it doesn't like it!. [Notes from Help Me Find]
Notes from me... this rose has struggled - a group of 3 lines the steps on the other side
of our house away from the rose garden. Obviously the rose has appreciated the lovely
spring/summer rains and has bloomed better than it ever has before.
13-FEB-2017
The Belladonna Lily
Time of the year for these to flower where I live. We only added a clump a few years ago
and they are in our rose garden fitting in very well with pink roses of a similar hue.
We also have a cream coloured lily, but they haven't flowered yet this year.
Also called Amaryllis and Naked Ladies - the flowers appearing before the leaves.
31-JAN-2017
"Ekstasy"
A medium height upright growing bush rose, flowers in flushes throughout the season
Wonderful fragrance and hardly any thorns. Bred in Germany (1994) by Kordes, their roses
do well in our climate.
No new photos during the heatwave we're having right now. Some parts of our state
have temperatures reaching 47 degrees Celsius - that's 116 in Fahrenheit ! No relief until Sunday.
31-JAN-2017
"Souvenir de St. Anne's"
A sport of the rose Souvenir de la Malmaison discovered on a property belonging to Lady Ardilaun
near Dublin, then preserved for many years by Lady Moore of Rathfarnham. Fewer petals so it
lasts better in a rainy climate and grows a lot taller. Mine is planted next to the parent
Souvenir de la Malmaison and dwarfs its neighbour. Both roses are fragrant. Dating from 1950.
St. Anne's is one of the first to begin flowering in early spring and has a very long
flowering season.
31-JAN-2017
"Souvenir de la Malmaison"
This is the most famous and possibly the most beautiful of the Bourbon Roses
and was named for Empress Josephine's famous home in Paris.
Dating from 1843 and bred in France there is a climbing sport dating
from 1938, the year I was born and this version is quite popular and
grown over archways in many gardens. Unfortunately the blooms ball
in wet climates... luckily mine has flowered between heavy rainfalls that
we've been lucky to have this summer.
31-JAN-2017
The rose called "Deane Ross"
This is a locally bred rose named after a Rosarian we knew, but he died quite a
few years ago, and this rose was named as a tribute to a man who re-introduced
many of the old roses that had disappeared from the shelves of the nurseries.
I was given the rose to plant about a decade ago, and it has loved all the
extra rain we've had this season... it looks a treasure right now, the colour
and shape is a delight to see as one walks the main pathway to the gazebo.
31-JAN-2017
"Little White Pet"
This is a rose selected by Ev to grow in his garden, the nearest I could suggest for
a little dog called "Pooch" many years ago. I wonder how his rose is growing!
My plant we thought we had lost, but hey presto! there it was covered in
blooms this morning, it must have loved all the rain we've had through winter-spring
and now summer and made a resurgent of growth. It is a sport of 'Felicite et Perpetue'
and dates from 1879, discovered in the USA. A low grower for the border or large tub..
22-OCT-2016
"Apricot Twist"
A group of 3 Erysimum plants have been flowering consistently for the last 3 months,
though starting to look tattered now, this is a photo taken when they first started
coming into flower. The colour is a good contrast to a section that has mainly
cool pinks and they are part of the garden where we have replaced a hedge of
"Ferdy" replacing the hedge with a ground cover rose that still needs to cascade.
31-DEC-2016
"Susan Hampshire"
This rose has enjoyed the extra rainfall we've had this season and performed
better than she ever has before.
30-DEC-2016
Daylily
This one has a name so similar to my cousin's daughter, we planted it especially
for her, and now I have several of these growing, they are so easy to propagate from
as they often have little plant-lets attached to spent stems.
14-JAN-2017
A new addition
We picked up this new little plant during our travels, and unfortunately we don't seem
to have a label with a name... it could be a coreopsis - if anyone recognises this
tiny flower can they let me know? It is now growing along the edge of the rose
garden where we have roses of yellow and russet colours and it fits in quite well.
The blooms are so small, but there's lots of them with plenty of buds to follow.
My gardening friend has identified this little plant as Coreopsis 'Little Penny'
30-DEC-2016
"Vick's Caprice"
This rose is supposed to have some stripes, but mine rarely do and I
often wonder if it has reverted to the original which often happens
with "sports"... its a finicky plant and I often have to strip the
whole bush of balled blooms... unfortunately it has a prime spot
along the main pathway to the gazebo. This year it has behaved
and produced a lovely crop of blooms, one which is seen here on
a day that we had rain overnight. An oldie from the USA, 1891.
Sport of "Archiduchesse Elisabeth D'Autriche"
