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
I planted these two roses as a tribute to escaped rootstock suckers on grafted roses. It's supposed to look like the red rose is the rootstock of the yellow one.
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. (overgrown roses do that) 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 clear the way to walk 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 our next-door neighbors at Hartwood Winery. (Their wines are excellent, and I have a few roses for you to see over there on the fence between our two properties.)
This is always my favorite time of year! It's the big show after a long, cold winter, and it's going to be something special. 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.)
