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| The erratic weather this summer so far may not be good for my mood but the garden's loving it!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Orbilia/MyGarden
Fee |
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| Fiona: This started my today with great feelings because: Your Garden is GREAT. Thanks. |
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| How many kinds of sweet flowers grow
In an English country garden?
We'll tell you now of some that we know
Those we miss you'll surely pardon
Daffodils, heart's ease and phlox
Meadowsweet and lady smocks
Gentian, lupin and tall hollyhocks
Roses, foxgloves, snowdrops, forget-me-nots
In an English country garden Tiz lovely Fee! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Well Fee - no need to send the Ground Force crew to your house! Just lovely, thanks for the views.  |
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| Thanks all 
Actually, ground Force would be a help....
The back garden would be longer without the World's Ugliest Shed. The thing's about 6 foot front to back! I want to get rid of it and replace it with a narrower building that's taller at the back. It will be part shed, part garden/yoga room with a narrow veranda and pergola in front so I can plant a Wisteria over it to soften the lines. The smell will be amazing too.
I also want to push the steps further back so that it's the bottom step that's in line with the retaining wall. That way I'll be able to step down behind the bathroom a lot easier. That wall's a real sun trap in the afternoon and is perfect for growing tomatoes or, maybe even fruit espaliers.
The rest is going to be a square split with paving in the shape of the cross of St. George. The intersection of the paths is going to have a fountain in the middle.
The garden landscaping's at the end of a rather long list of improvements to the house however *sighs*.
Fee
Edited by Orbilia 2008-05-28 10:23 AM
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| The garden landscaping's at the end of a rather long list of improvements to the house however *sighs*.
Hi Fee, you can console yourself with the fact that your garden is beautiful now how it is. Anything else will be a bonus. |
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| I love you Shelly :-)
Fee |
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| Thanks sweetheart, I love you too. |
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| Fee- your garden is lovely. I just love spring/summer flowers! I just dug and planted a new bed in my backyard that is 13'x 2'. Let's hope it does well!
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| I don't know where you get the energy, Jos. You being a new Mom and all :-)
Fee |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | What I can't figure out is where are you going to put the English Garden Hive....BEE Hive that is,  |
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| You'd love sitting in my garden on a warm evening Cyndi. The only chemical I use is for the blackspot on the roses so I get quite a lot of insects including big, fat, buzzing bumble bees.
I also seem to have more snails than you can imagine. Thankfully I don't seem to get much snail damage though. I suspect they prefer the moss in my rather ratty lawn and I know they like the rotting vegetation I leave in a little heap by the shed as shelter for the bugs so maybe that explains it?
I watched a red and black butterfly about an inch and a half wide on the weeds, 'erm, wild flowers in my front garden last night. It was doing this really weird, erratic flight with incredibly fast wing beats. I watched quite a while to see if there was a lady butterfly about too (thought it might have been a mating ritual) but no, it seemed to be alone. Anyone know what this was about? Alternatively, maybe buttercups are butterfly LSD?
Fee |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hey Fee,
Let's talk Roses. I have so many rose plants around my yard. I'm going to admit that I am so very lousy at taking care of certain varieties. The wild roses do fine. I just plant them and they grow along fences...perfectly. In fact, I have a Himalyan variety that is similar to our native Cherokee rose blooming now. It blooms 3 weeks after the natives...giving me a longer time to enjoy the roses. HOWEVER, its the roses that I've purchased over the years as standing bushes that give me the most grief. They seem to be so vulnerable to just about everything. They get really leggy in the summer and the main branches for the offshoots are dying off. Any ideas about this?? One of them died and came back 3 years later. It's very wierd.
Lately on Saturday mornings I've been participating in the Master Gardener's Tailgate Market with my beeswax candles and honey if I ever get any to sell. I have so much enjoyed the fresh lettuces, parsley, and last week's asparagus was totally DIVINE. I meant to bring up my roses issue with one of the lady's and if I have time Saturday, I plan on it. Meanwhile, anything you Fee would like to offer, cause I know how you Brits are with the roses. I'd love some feedback. I have a stinking feeling that the roses are hybrids and that there may not be much I can do, except to go find some old homesteads and dig up some old heirloom ones, What ya think?? |
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| Cyndi,
did I tell you my maternal grandfather was a market gardener and that he won a bronze medal for his cut roses at Chelsea one year?
Ok, without doing a soil sample and seeing the disease symptoms, it's going to be difficult to tell for sure. Can you post some photos of your patients?
General Info :
Most roses are grafts. That is, one species up top, another for the root stock. When you buy a new one, you can see this as there's usually a discontinuity in the main stem about 2-5 inches above the roots. The root stock is usually chosen for disease resistence, the top species for it's flowers and scent.
When planting, you have to ensure that this graph is above the soil surface as even a well-healed graft is a point of weakness through which disease may enter. In fact, you should make sure that you plant no deeper than one inch more than the original soil level.
The ground needs to be prepared before hand. Roses don't like to stand their feet in water so good drainage is a must. At the same time, too free draining and they're not going to get enough water in hot weather. Plenty of appropriate organic matter therefore. Many swear by well-rotted horse manure. At a minimum, you need compost in the bottom of the hole. Personally, I think bone meal is great stuff for roses and is somewhat easier to handle than manure unless you happen to have a horse in the back yard or a helpful stable lad nearby :-)
Acidic soils will give you a headache if you want roses but they are not as sensitive as other plants. Either prepare such soil according to the following link or consider using large planters.
http://www.rosemagazine.com/articles04/preparing_soil/. This link includes guidance on all soil types.
In general, roses fail due to stress of some kind. The stress reduces their ability to fight disease or to deal with nutrient or water deficits. Regular feeding with a good soluble feed throughout the growing period is, therefore, a must.
Wet weather over a prolonged period of time can make them develop rust or other fungal infections. These are often spread by aphids. Black-spot is mainly transmitted this way. There is no organic solution for blackspot so this means spraying from the beginning of the growing season with a chemical solution and thereafter at fortnightly intervals (usually - check the packet). If you like your vegetable plot to be organic, make sure you don't plant any roses too near it due to this spraying requirement.
If you remove any diseased material, make sure to burn it rather than putting it on your compost heap as the spores from any fungal infection will spread from the heap.
Once in flower, clip off the flowers that have gone over regularly as this encourages more bud development and repeat flowering. Make the cut at 45 degrees to the stem, just above a leaf node.
Some variants of root stock have a tendency to sprout stems of their own. These are known as suckers and should be removed as close to the point they are leaving the root stock as possible. This is because the root species is often more vigorous than the top species and will deprive it of nutrients if allowed to persist. Wear gloves as the root species often have myriad thorns!
Roses need yearly or even twice yearly pruning to prevent them from getting leggy and to encourage strong growth. In some species, it's also the only way to prevent them taking over your entire garden if they're happy :-)
Pruning is usually done in the Autumn (WARNING: check the labels when buying as there's as many opinions on pruning as there are roses). Bush roses should be pruned according to the rule of thirds unless the plant has completely run rampant in which case throw the rule book out and do what's necessary to bring the plant back into a manageable state. The rule of thirds is :
1. Remove one third of a stem from one third of all the stems,
2. Remove two thirds of a stem from one third of all stems, and
3. Leave one third (the shortest from last year usually) alone.
Make sure to remove any dead or diseased material as far as possible. See the link in my PPS for further pruning tips.
As for dead-heading, make the cuts diagonally above a leaf node. Use GOOD QUALITY (i.e. EXPENSIVE) SCISSOR-ACTION SECATEURS for a clean cut that doesn't splinter the stem.
Climbing forms need good support. When tying in, do not use materials that will cut into the stem (such as bare wire) and make sure that the portion of the tie around the stem is loose to permit future increase in diameter of the stem as the rose grows. Traditionalists swear by rafia ties.
Finally, make sure you stroke and talk to your roses regularly.
Fee
PS your rose-raiding antics must make you a popular neighbour, *LOL*
PPS Further Info on Rose Care
http://harknessonline.co.uk/acatalog/harkness_rosecare_main.html
Edited by Orbilia 2008-06-05 11:18 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Wow Fee. I may be able to post some pics....next week. I'm sooo busy with the bees right now. I'm getting ready to harvest the spring honey...which has to be done before the summer sour wood flow. The roses are not my top priority...ssh, don't worry, they don't know that, |
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| I should have mentioned aphid control.
1. Used washing up water (the detergent kills them)
2. Blackspot sprays often have pesticide in them as well, just look for a 'good bug' safe one (protects bees, lacewings, etc).
3. Send for a biological control, i.e. set a bug to catch one.
4. Relocate any ladybird you see to your aphid infested roses.
Also some varieties resist disease or tolerate ratty soil better than others so don't hesitate to contact the rose supplier for advice.
Fee
Edited by Orbilia 2008-06-10 6:34 AM
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My Garden
