Spring Open Garden Dates

The roses certainly took their sweet time this spring!  After having two years of early flowering, the roses are behind their normal timetable this year.  I walked through the garden yesterday, assessing things, and I am pleased to say that it is finally time to invite visitors to come share the roses with me!

My sign at the road is a bit of a lie now ... that phone is disconnected and I'm not selling roses anymore.

 

 

Spring Open Garden dates for 2013 are:

May 26 and June 2

noon to 5pm

rain or shine

(click HERE for address and directions)

 

 

I planted these two roses as a tribute to escaped rootstock suckers on grafted roses.

 

 

Please don't come expecting to find a comfortable Sunday stroll in a manicured display garden ... many parts of the garden are an overgrown mess.  Some parts are worse than others.  The Rose Field is almost completely choked with weeds, with roses sprawling over their neighbors and/or suckering into expansive colonies.  The Rambler Fence looks like a collection of haystacks.  The Hybrid Tea Garden in the front yard looks pretty good, and so does the Van Fleet Fence.

 

The yellow rose is 'Sunshine Sally' and the red one is 'Cadenza'.

 

 

There is a delightful silver lining to the neglected, out-of-control conditions this year ... the roses themselves have never looked better and there are going to be WAY more flowers than ever before.  I stood at the edge of the Rose Field yesterday afternoon, and I marveled at how beautiful it is.  (Couldn't get close to much of it, though, because it would take a machete to get down most of the paths.)

 

 

Here are a few words of warning:  This is a country property with country conditions (tall grass, rocks, uneven footing, etc.).  Sensible shoes are a MUST ... and sun screen and bug repellant are recommended.  A tick check after you get home will probably be a good idea, though the ticks haven't been so numerous this year, thank goodness.  (Long pants, too, if you think you may want to brave the Rose Field.)

 

See the cicada?

 

 

Be sure to budget time to visit my next-door neighbors at Hartwood Winery.  (Their wines are excellent, and I have a few roses to see over there on the fence between our two properties.)

 

 

 

This is always my favorite time of year!  The whole point of creating a garden like this is to share it and to show people how wonderful these old roses can be.  I love visitors!!

 

Are you coming?

 

(If you live north of here and plan to visit, consider avoiding I-95.  The volume of weekend traffic has been absolutely intolerable ... with construction and the occasional accident to snarl things even more.  It's a little bit farther, but you will probably have a much easier trip if you take I-66 west, to the Rt. 234 Bypass south.  Exit onto Route 28 toward Route 17, then take Route 17 south to Hartwood Road.)

 

My First Rose Rustle of the Year

Over the weekend, I met up with some rose friends in Harrisonburg, Virginia ... about a two hour drive from here.  When I was about an hour from home, whizzing southbound on Route 29 in Madison County, I saw a flash of pink on the roadside embankment.  My "rosey sense" was tingling big time.

 

 

 

Since I was on the way to a fairly civilized gathering, I didn't stop ... even though I had boots and my rustling kit in the car with me.  It was a ditch, after all, and I didn't to be filthy or wet when I arrived at Dennis's house.  When I got to the party and I told Dennis what I saw, he scolded me for not stopping right then.  (I should have known.)  I promised that I would go back in a day or two, and that I would report my findings to soothe his (and my) curiosity.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday morning, I put Ruby in the Jeep, and we set out to see which rose this could be.  The shoulder of the road is fairly wide at that point, fortunately, and I could get the Jeep all the way off the road with a bit of room to spare.  Armed with pruners in my pocket, and my camera around my neck, I stepped into the ditch ... after doing a quick survey to check for poison ivy ... none found, thank goodness.

 

 

 

 

Turns out, this is a rose that I am very familiar with ... I know it as 'Shailer's Provence', and I have collected it at least four times in different locations.  In fact, this rose holds the distinction of being the very first rose I ever rustled (along with 'Dr. W. Van Fleet' on the same property) in either 2004 or 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

While light traffic flew past my Jeep parked on the shoulder of the road, I worked quickly.  I snapped these photos for documentation, pruned off two long stems that I could reach without climbing the embankment, tossed the stems into the car, and I drove away.  The whole process lasted a maximum of two or three minutes.

 

A few miles up the road, I stopped in a parking lot so I could trim the stems and put them in some water (a peanut butter jar).  I cut the stems into proper cuttings when I got home ... wrapped them in a damp paper towel, sealed in a plastic bag, and put the packet into the refrigerator.  I will plant the cuttings in little milk jug/soda bottle greenhouses later this morning.

 

Two buds from my roadside rustle in an antique baby bottle on my kitchen windowsill this morning.

 

 

My original 'Shailer's Provence' on 5/20/2013 (tagged "Lansdowne Road Climber" because that's where I found it.)

 

 

***********************************

 

Please allow me to shift gears here for a second to thank each of you for your generous words of encouragement and comfort in response to Daniel's death last week.  I am truly humbled by the volume of comments and email that I have received.  Just to let you know, I'm okay.  It helps to know that we had no choice but to let Daniel go when we did ... no doubts, no wondering ... it was time, and I am very grateful to have the ability and immense responsibility to do this for him.

 

One message I received will always stick with me ...

 

"Daniel is no longer where he was, he is where you are.  He will live on in your heart and will always be a part of you."

 

Yes, he will.  Thank you!!

 

There's Never Enough Time

Yesterday, I had to let my dear Daniel go.  Everything happened so fast.

 

 

On Monday, I took him to the vet because he just wasn't right.  She found that he had a kidney infection, prescribed an antibiotic, and he should have been better within a day or two.

 

He wasn't.  I called the vet on Thursday morning, and she told me to bring him in right away.

 

 

 

As soon as she put her hands on him, the look on her face changed.  His abdomen felt normal on Monday, but Thursday it was full of a very large spleen.  Ultrasound confirmed this.  His lymphoma was something different now, extremely aggressive ... and it wasn't something that we could fix.

 

 

 

I don't remember much about how I drove home through rush hour northern Virginia traffic that afternoon.  It took forever, my mind was racing, and my heart was breaking. 

 

 

 

Friday morning, it was obvious what had to be done that day.  I called my vet, made the appointment, and spent the rest of the day spoiling Daniel with attention and treats.

 

 

Daniel left this life, cradled in my arms, as I whispered in his ear.  I promised when I adopted him that I would be with him forever ... and I was.

 

 

 

 

Godspeed, my sweet boy.

 

Forbes Nakdaniel (6/12/2001 - 5/17/2013)

 

Forgive me if I am unable to reply to what I am sure will be very kind, caring comments.  I don't know if I can do it right now.  Please accept my sincere gratitude in advance.

 

 

Random 5 Friday: The Company of Dogs

A blog that I really love to visit is A Rural Journal.  Nancy's little slice of cyberspace is a peaceful place.  Every Friday she hosts "Random 5 Friday", where I have found a number of new blogs that I have added to my morning repertoire.  I have never participated in the gathering before now ... since I'm feeling a bit random, I figure that today is a good time to start.

1.  I have always had at least one cat from the time I was nine years old until now, but I didn't get my first dog until I was 29.  His name was Murphy, and he was a huge rescued English Yellow Labrador.  (His trim-and-fit weight was 80 lbs.)  Murphy and I were inseparable.  My husband traveled a lot for his job (in the days before cell phones and easy access to other communication), I had a full-time job as a stay-at-home mom of three young daughters (3, 4, and 6 at the time), and I could always count on Murphy for company and good conversation.

Murphy was 12 when I took this photo in 1996.  That's baby Amy with him.

2.  After Murphy died in 1997, I was so heartbroken that I couldn't even think of getting another dog at the time.  About a year and a half later, I could feel a change ... and I knew that it was time to bring another dog into our family.  That was Emma.

Ancient, grainy digital photo ... taken shortly after we adopted Emma.

 

 

3.  Emma was quite content being an only dog.  Greyhound adoption will tell you that greyhounds are happier in groups (and this is generally the case), but not with Emma.  She was a very independent dog, very people oriented, and a superb Therapy Dog.  I'm not sure she ever really forgave me for bringing Daniel into the family.  After six years of being the lone dog, having a little brother must have been quite a shock for her.

 

Unlike Emma, Daniel has always really enjoyed the company of other dogs.

Look how brown he used to be!

 

 

4.  Daniel was the dog who chose me.  I wasn't looking to add another dog to the family, but I couldn't ignore how perfect he was for us.  Emma would just have to understand and deal with it.  We were a two-hound family, until Emma died in 2011.

 

This is Daniel and me in the fall of 2011.  See the connection between us?

 

 

5.  Now we have Ruby, too, adopting her in February 2012.  She is a little black bundle of happiness ... probably half Labrador and half Border Collie, picked up as a stray in Abingdon, Virginia, and turned in to Border Collie Rescue.  She is definitely not the greyhound personality that we am used to, but she fits into our family perfectly.

 

Sweet, smiling Ruby.

 

 

There you have it.  As large a part as dogs have played in my adult life, I have only had four of them.  This is because we have been blessed to have each of them in our family for a long, long time ... even though they were all adopted as adults. (Murphy was 5, Emma was 3, Daniel was 4 1/2, and Ruby was the baby at 1 1/2.)  No matter how long we have them, it's never really long enough, is it.

 

One day, I will have to tell you about the cats in my life.  That's a story for another time.

How to Root Roses from Cuttings

I have been promising to update my online rose rooting tutorial for a while now, but I haven't taken the time to do it until now.  I learned this method from my friend Diana Klassy in 2007, and I have rooted hundreds of cuttings this way since then.  It's simple to understand, and it uses materials that you may already have on hand or can easily obtain.

(This isn't only for roses.  I have rooted new plants of lilac, azalea, hydrangea, and figs using this method.  Any plant that can root from cuttings is a candidate.) 

Are you ready? 
 
Gather your supplies:  You will need a half-gallon milk or juice jug, a clear 2-liter soda bottle, good-quality potting media, rooting hormone, pruners, and a sharp utility knife. 

 

 

You will be using the bottom of the milk jug as a pot, and the top of the soda bottle to form a greenhouse.

 

 

 

Cut large drainage holes in the bottom of the milk jug, and fill it with moist potting media.

 

 

 

 

 

The best cutting for most roses is a stem with a dead flower on it, with four to six sets of leaves.

 

 

 

If possible, get the heel wood where the stem emerges from the main cane.

 

 

 

If you cannot get a heel, cut below a leaf bud.

 

 

 

Cut off the dead flower and remove all but two sets of leaves from your cutting.

 

 

 

 

With the sharp utility knife, score the end of the cutting on two or three sides ... cutting only through the outer layer.

 

 

 

 

Dip the scored cutting into rooting hormone.  Dampen the cutting if you are using powdered rooting hormone.

 

 

 

Make a hole in the potting media.  Insert the cutting and water thoroughly.  You can place more than one cutting into each container ... I don't recommend putting in more than three.

 

 

 

Cover the cutting with the soda bottle top, maneuvering the bottle a little bit so that it fits inside the rim of the milk jug pot.  Be careful not to dislodge the cutting.

 

 

 

Now comes the most difficult part of this process ... place the container with your cutting in a safe shaded location and LEAVE IT ALONE.  (You only need to check on it once a week or so.)  In the fall, I put cuttings in my north-facing basement workshop window with a fluorescent shop light for supplemental lighting.  For cuttings in spring and summer, I place my containers underneath an azalea bush in my side yard shade garden. 

 

Make certain that your cuttings receive no direct sunlight at this stage or the inside of the bottle will overheat and your cuttings will die.  You don't need to water your cutting ... as long as there is condensation inside the soda bottle, you're fine.  More cuttings die from overwatering than anything else.

 

 

 

Cuttings can produce roots in as soon as four weeks, or as many as eight, ten, or more weeks.  Since roots are visible through the translucent milk jug, there is no need to pull cuttings to check their progress.  Remove any leaves that may fall ... don't worry, the cutting can still root without leaves.  As long as the stem is green, the cutting is alive.

 

 

 

 

When the cutting is showing strong roots, and it begins to sprout new leaves, start to harden off your new rose by removing the screw top of the soda bottle.  After a week or two without the lid, remove the soda bottle and begin to gradually acclimate your rose to a sunnier environment.

 

 

 

This is an extreme example of strong new growth shooting up and out the top of the soda bottle while I was busy with other things and didn't notice that it was time to remove the bottle.

 

 

At this point, if you have only one cutting in your milk jug pot, you can leave your new rose growing there without the bottle until it has a strong root system and the root ball can hold together for transplanting.  If you have more than one cutting, carefully tip the contents of the pot out and tease the plants apart ... trying your best not to damage any of the fragile new roots ... and put each new rose into its own pot.

 

 

 

 

 

That's all there is to it!  Rooting roses is not rocket science.  If you start with quality cuttings taken at the right time from a well-watered mother plant, your chances of success increase dramatically.  

 

Some roses root very readily from cuttings, and some are down-right impossible ... sometimes the only way to find out is to give it a try.

 

 If you have any questions, you can leave them in a comment, or you can contact me directly via EMAIL.