04-MAR-2017
"Victoria Gold"
One of the special features of this rose is the edging and infusion of vermilion that only occurs
now and then, but was the reason I originally bought this rose to add to my collection.
Initially I saw this rose growing in the Victorian Rose Garden, Werribee as a beautiful
hedge circling a rotunda in the centre of the garden, what a performer it was there!
It also features on the big Australian race of the year, held at Flemington, also
in Victoria, Australia.
04-MAR-2017
"Shady Lady"
This rose is good value, often covered in blooms it makes a wonderful display several
times a season. I have several bushes of this rose. You do have to keep up with
dead heading of course otherwise you don't get the quick repeat.
04-MAR-2017
My Loppers
They are at present in the gazebo and this is where I took a photo of the top
section of them as they leaned against the trellis ready for use. You might
notice this photo was taken earlier in the week before the snake episode, and
they'll be staying there until we're sure our visitor has left the premises!
04-MAR-2017
Calibrachoa "Fireworks"
A mixture of colours. I'd only just replanted the pot that sits on the outdoor table
in the gazebo.. sitting down with my mug of freshly brewed coffee when out of the
rose garden a snake emerged just a few feet from mine... a very venomous variety that
exist in our area but is rarely seen. Luckily I had my mobile phone in my pocket
and could phone Dick to alert him to keep Flossie inside while a snake was passing
through. Jack Russells are known for attacking reptiles, mice and rats, but
a bite from this type of snake could kill her unless we got her to a vet promptly. We
then worked out the safest way for me to return to the house without going near
the snake which had disappeared into the nepeta that grows on the edges of the main
pathway to the gazebo. Flossie is now having a short holiday with our daughter until
we're sure the snake has moved away.
13-FEB-2017
"Mademoiselle Cécile Brünner"
This rose is included in the World Federation of Rose Societies Old Rose Hall of Fame.
The Old Rose Hall of Fame recognizes roses of historical or genealogical important
and those roses which have enjoyed continued popularity over a great many years.
Dedicated to the Cécile Brunner (1853-1927), sister of Ulrich Brunner fils, or
possibly to his daughter Cécile (b. 1879).
[Notes from Help Me Find Roses]
My notes follow.
I believed I was buying a low growing bush, but my plant is as tall as I am,
taking many years to reach this height. Continuously in flower throughout
the long rose season.
04-MAR-2017
The Belladonna Lily, cream
This is my favourite lily, rather late flowering this season, but I managed to
get this photo in the mid-day sun on today's late summer's day.
~ Amaryllis Multiflora Alba. ~
It is surrounded by roses of a similar toning.
13-FEB-2017
"Moonsprite"
Bred by Herbert C. Swim (United States, 1956).
Introduced in United States in 1956 as 'Moonsprite' a floribunda.
Cream, golden-yellow center. Strong fragrance. 80 petals. Average diameter 2.5". Medium, very full (41+ petals),
cluster-flowered, in small clusters, cupped, old-fashioned, rosette bloom form.
Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Short, bushy. Semi-glossy, leathery foliage.
Can be used for beds and borders, container rose, cut flower or garden.
[Note from Help Me Find] Note from me follows.
The blooms are quite continuous, but you have to keep up to date with dead-heading.
The bush is quite small, the flowers borne above the bush in small clusters.
13-FEB-2017
"Jardins de Bagatelle"
This particular rose has a variety of names, including "Karl Heinz Hamisch" and "Queen Silvia"
Pale pink and/or creamy-white in cool weather, fully double with a sweet scent.
Upright and quite strong grower with plenty of thorns, but doesn't like damp weather.
Bred in France in the mid 1980's.
13-FEB-2017
"Crown Princess Margareta"
English Shrub Rose
Neatly arranged rosettes with a strong fruity fragrance
Glorious, neatly formed rosettes of a lovely apricot-orange with a strong, fruity fragrance.
A well-rounded, slightly arching growth. Repeat Flowering Highly Fragrant Ideal for shade.
Notes from David Austin website. Notes from me follow.
A very large & strong shrub that sprawls, so needs space. Can be trained over a large
archway or onto a pillar while young. Not very thorny, the blooms are in clusters and quite continuous.
13-FEB-2017
"Sun King"
A lovely rose, the buds are often orange then open to this golden yellow
It has pride of place near some steps not far from the gazebo, though the
flowering can be erratic at times, well worth the wait for flowering.
Bred in France in the mid-70's.
13-FEB-2017
"Heaven Scent"
Introduced in United States in 2004 as 'Memorial Day' and introduced in Australia as 'Heaven Scent'
A Hybrid Tea rose with a strong, damask fragrance. Blooms in flushes throughout the season.
Can be used for cut flower, landscape or shrub.
Large blooms with intense fragrance, old fashioned form.
[notes from Help Me Find]
My notes - only been in my garden for a couple of years, not much to say at this stage.
13-FEB-2017
"Desert Island"
Apricot or apricot blend Floribunda. Introduced in United Kingdom by Dickson Nurseries Ltd.
in 2006 as 'Desert Island'. Light apricot, white outer petals, ages to white .
Creamy caramel. Cluster-flowered, in small clusters, open bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. [Notes from Help Me Find roses]
My notes. This one is a new addition this season, and this is one of the first flowers
too early for me to make any comments, but the bloom is rather plain so far
and a bit disappointing, I can't see any light apricot, perhaps our summer sunlight
is too strong.
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"
31-DEC-2016
Daylily
We have a row of these along one of our rose beds, and this one was flowering at
the same time as the rose called "the Dark Lady" and the colour almost matched
making a lovely sight to see. The 40 degree heat finished off the daylilies until
they bud up again, but the rose is still covered in beautiful deep crimson blooms.
You can see a half-opened bloom of TDL if you scroll down this gallery.
31-DEC-2016
"Woburn Abbey"
A floribunda/cluster flowering rose, and named from the stately home of the Dukes of Bedford.
Bred in the UK 1962 - the year we were married!
Fairly new in the garden and seems to have liked all the rain we had this season.
Our 55th Wedding Anniversary today, and its just as hot (40dC) as it was 55 years ago!
31-DEC-2016
"Crepuscule"
A wonderful old rose, we have two plants of this one growing, and these
were flowering on a tall weeping stem. Although classed as a climber
there are barely any thorns, so the rose needs a strong support otherwise
it will sprawl onto the ground. This one is famously trained onto a
fence at the Flemington Racecourse, Victoria, Australia and has been
trained to flower for the famous "Melbourne Cup" race held annually in
November. Bred in France 1904. Sweetly fragrant according to one of
my books.... one day I'll remember to test this fact!
31-DEC-2016
Two girls on the last day of 2016
A rare rose and a relatively new modern rose, both just opening.
The Dark Lady and Tipsy Imperial Concubine.
The pink rose is a finicky one to grow, and it can go years with nothing
to show, apart from gummed up blooms that get chopped off, so imagine how
I felt when I accidentally chopped off this bloom on my morning round
dead-heading! The same thing happened to The Dark Lady - both are now
safely in bud vases indoors and we can enjoy watching them gradually
ripening into full sized blooms. Tipsy resides in the back blocks of
the garden where she can hide when she needs to.