"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Snapshot Saturday, June 13th...a study of roses

Living in the Pacific Northwest we have to take care with our roses to avoid common plant diseases, especially black spot and powdery mildew. A few years ago we had trouble with deer eating the roses. It is a constant battle to keep the roses fed and watered yet the results are worth the effort. Here are a few of my favorites:

Pure Poetry. This rose has long stems perfect for bud vases or soda bottles
Pure Poetry. Buds are yellow, open to reveal a light pink color. Very thorny. This has long been one of my favorite roses.
Voodoo. A new rose to us this year. Spectacular orange color. Seems to be susceptible to powdery mildew.
Pope John Paul II. Gorgeous and fragrant white. Developed for the late Pope who exclaimed, "The perfect rose."
Pope John Paul II. An artsy close-up.
4th of July. A climber.
4th of July. A floribunda aptly named for the explosion of color.
4th of July on its trellis. The plant was getting really leggy and ugly so we pruned it way back this spring. The plant appreciated getting rid of all the deadwood and has rewarded us with spectacular color this year.
4th of July. Fireworks!
Eyeconic. A miniature floribunda with interesting color reveal. I have two of these small plants in pots on the deck. I took this photo last year. Our bushes currently are not blooming, but I love it when they are.
Scentimental. Another red and white floribunda. This one makes a terrible cut flower and the plant isn't that attractive but the scent of this rose is so outstanding it is a keeper.
 
Peace. A popular hybrid tea. We pruned the bush way back this year, which you are not supposed to do with this variety, but it still gave us this beauty anyway.
Gourmet Popcorn. A miniature rose. This is my favorite for ease of care, hardiness, and disease resistance. It blooms in cycles and give a profusion of white, buttery color covering the whole bush at a time just like in the photo. My bush just finished a blooming cycle so this photo is compliments of the Tacoma Rose Society. 
Love. Grandiflora. We just planted this rose this spring and it is getting ready for its first big bloom. White buds open to reveal a reverse of red/dark pink center. It's hard to see the two sides of the petals in this photo.

Abbaye de Cluny. Hybrid tea. We just, and I mean just, planted this rose and already we have a bloom. We don't know if it will be a winner but so far so good.

Midas Touch. A tall hybrid tea. Ours just went through a spectacular blooming cycle so I grabbed this photo from Star Roses Webpage to show you what it looks like.  The yellow color is so vibrant and it doesn't fade. We replaced four bushes in one bed this year but kept this one.
Snapshot Saturday is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads..

9 comments:

  1. Such amazing variety! To think that there are people who spend their lives developing new genetic strains of flowers ...

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  2. Wow, you have so many beautiful roses! Just gorgeous pics. They are all lovely, but I really like the first two pics of the blush-colored roses. What a bounty of beauty in your yard!

    Hope you are enjoying the weekend -

    Sue

    2015 Big Book Summer Challenge

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    1. Yes, Pure Poetry is one of my favorites, all except its thorns. It is an especially thorny bush. The cut flowers last a week or more in a vase, which is a wonderful bonus. I love collecting old soda bottles (glass). I think they look so sweet with a bud in them.

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  3. So beautiful!

    My mom loved to grow (or shall I say, loved to try to grow) roses here along the Texas Gulf Coast. We have lots of trouble with too much rain here, too, and all the plant diseases that accompany that.

    http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2015/06/sunday-salon-what-i-read-and-what-i.html

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    1. Is there a perfect place to grow roses? I would think Texas would be better than around here, but then they are so picky about their leaves staying dry.

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  4. Oh my gosh you have the most incredible green thumb!!! Your roses are beyond enviable! Not that I have ANY knowledge but I certainly didn't know about the Pope John Paul II rose! And yes it is near perfect! Wow! I'm looking to get a start off of my late aunt's rose bushes. Any tips for a successful transplant?

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    1. I have never cultivated a rose from a clipping. I think you'd better for to your local rose society and ask for some help. There are rose societies everywhere, so I am sure you can find one near you.
      What I do know about roses is they are pretty picky, yet amazingly hardy. Ever see an OLD bush that is near an abandoned house happily blooming still? That is evidence of their hardiness.
      They need at least six hours, preferably more, of sunlight and they need plenty of food. They are heavy feeders. I use an organize rose food. They also have to be pruned every year, which is task we usually take on in mid-February around here in Western Washington. This year I did some research with the Seattle Rose Society to select a few new plants that were known to be good ones in our region...Pope John Paul II was one that list and so I was delighted to find it at my local nursery. We dig up and discard plants prone to disease after letting them settle in for a season or two. If they look bad, under perform or get black spot..out they go! Ha!

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  5. You have such gorgeous roses- the only one I'm sure I knew was Peace. They're all so beautiful though. I hope they're fragrant too.

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