Sunday Snapshot ... American Pillar

I mark the stages of rose season with the appearance of flowers on certain roses.  The first rose of the season this year was on 'Sarah Van Fleet', followed closely by 'Old Blush'.  Mid-season is marked by a riot of flowers in every part of the garden.  It's difficult to know what happened when or where to look, there are so many flowers.  One of my most eagerly-anticipated roses popped its first flower a few days ago ... yes, folks, 'American Pillar' is in full bloom, spilling dark pink flowers from high up in its cedar tree!

I hoped this would happen, years ago when I planted that tiny little 'American Pillar' at the base of the dripline of this tree.  We had a couple of years of false starts, as the long canes would get blown out of the tree by strong North winds, but I kept at it ... returning the canes to the tree and tying them in place when necessary.  Patience and tenacity paid off, and this is the result!

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

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Sunday Snapshots are posts that are devoted to a moment in time that represents a slice of life in Hartwood, or wherever else I happen to be at the time.

Friday Flowers

When the weather is hot like it has been this week, I get out early in the morning when I have work to do outside.  This morning, it was spraying fungicide.  I was intent on my task ... concentrating on each individual plant ... then I looked up and I saw the big picture.

The roses in the Miniature Garden are continuing to flower their little butts off.  Some are spent already, but others are coming along to fill in the void.  The effect is completely overwhelming and I love it!

P.S.  I sure hope the heat leaves some flowers for visitors to enjoy during Open Garden next Sunday.

Yesterday's Thrift Store Scores

By mid-morning yesterday, I had finished all the work I intended to accomplish for the day ... so, I changed my clothes and I leaned my head into the office and told my husband, "I'm going to go waste the rest of the day.  See you later this afternoon."  

I hit a couple of antique shops, but nothing was tempting.  That's how it is since I realized that I have too much stuff ... it's hard to get in the mood to bring more stuff home, no matter how wonderful it seems.  I kept at it, and I finished my afternoon at a favorite thrift shop, spent a whole $1.50, and I got really useful stuff.

The Brighton business card holder is totally my style ... embossed stainless steel, patent leather, with a silverplated monogram that spells L-O-V-E ... $1, thank you very much.  The measuring spoons will be a spare set kept in my workshop for measuring garden chemicals ... $0.50.

For lunch, I treated myself to a McDonalds chicken wrap, large unsweet iced tea, and a small Wendy's frostie (one of my guilty pleasures), and I returned home relaxed and recharged.  

Roses in the Garden, May 23.

Here are some highlights from my walk through the garden with my camera yesterday morning.

This plant of what I believe to be 'Frau Karl Druschki' came from a cutting that I took at Hollywood Cemetery.

I'm not sure that there's a prettier white rose than 'Frau Karl Druschki'

In this photo, I see "Evonna's Yellow", 'Gail Borden', 'Mme. Joseph Bonnaire', 'Maria Stern', 'Shot Silk', 'Gruss an Aachen', and more.

'Mme. Abel Chatenay is an early Hybrid Tea rose that grows superbly on its own roots.

Vignette in the Hybrid Tea garden.  'Gruss an Coburg', 'Black Ice', 'Red Radiance', and 'Ma Perkins'.

'La France' is considered to be the first Hybrid Tea rose.

Such unusual coloring!

What a beautiful rose to be burdened with such a mouthful of a name!

This flower on 'Shot Silk' is huge!

This is a seedling that was given to me by a friend.  He grew it from an open-pollinated hip from 'Belle Vichyssoise'.

A view of the combination of 'Kathleen' and 'Shailer's Provence' in the front rose border.

'Ghislaine de Feligonde' anchors the top end of the Rambler Fence.

'Banshee' is blooming like crazy in the ruin that is my Rose Field.

Pillar roses on The Arcade.  'Parade', 'Pink Pillar', and 'White Cap'.

The Miniature Garden ... which is actually huge.

'Alchymist' on the fence, with 'Birdie Blye' and 'Braveheart' in the foreground.

'Garisenda' on the fence, with 'Hi Ho'.

'Lavender Lace', 'Paul Ecke, Jr.', 'Golden Glow', 'Annie Laurie', and a lovely pale mauve rose that lost its tag.

'Alida Lovett' is an American rose that is very rare in the US.  It's easily obtained at garden centers in England, however.

This time of year, I walk through the garden multiple times per day because things happen so fast.  We have had mild temperatures, ample rainfall, and the roses are responding by producing LOADS of flowers.  I wish there was some way to attach the fragrance along with these photos!

Remember, Open Garden Day is in two weeks ... June 7, 2015, from 10am to 3pm.  I'm so excited to show you all of this in person!!

The Final Push to Finish the Front Rose Border

Today's weather has been cool (in the 70s), breezy, and perfect for working as long as it takes to finish the last little bit of the mixed rose border in our front yard.  Remove the weeds and rogue grass that had taken over the space, dig and set the edging stones, install landscape fabric, plant roses, add irrigation emitters, then mulch.  Sounds like a lot, and it was.

After I'd been at it for a little while, I remembered to take my phone out of my pocket to capture a photo to show what the area sort of looked like before I started.

I ran out of steam at about 4:00 this afternoon.  The only thing on my list that I didn't get to was the mulch and a couple of quick pieces of landscape fabric.  This is the easy part, and my husband said that he will do it for me tomorrow.  He's such a sweetheart!

I'm thrilled that this border is so close to being finished, AND that I have four more roses out of their pots and into the ground!  They're really small now, but they will grow big and strong in no time.

Because I know you're going to ask ... the new roses are:
1.  'George Cuvier', Bourbon rose, before 1849.
2.  Unregistered Yellow Seedling, a back-up copy of a rose that I grew from seed.
3.  'Fabvier', China rose, 1829
4.  "Ruth's Tiny Polyantha", found rose from the Tufton collection.
(the rose on the fence is 'Dr. W. Van Fleet'.)

All of my reclamation efforts for the past few months have been well worth it, because the roses in the areas I've worked in look so good.  The most important thing is that I am doing this for ME and, as a result, I am enjoying my garden more than I ever have before.

Would a Business Actually Do This?

I'm taking a minute away from gardening and other stuff to show you a screen shot of a spam email that I received yesterday.

I'm not sure what the advantage is to buying social media followers, but there must be one.  I told my daughter about this, and she said that there was recently a big purge of fake followers and accounts on Instagram.  

I took this as a learning experience, shook my head at the prospect of anyone falling for such a thing, then hit the 'Delete' button ... sending this to the trash, where it belongs.

Roses in the Garden, May 19

Here is a sampling of the photos that I took during my walk in the garden early this morning.

'Glenn Dale' is a totally amazing rose.  Once blooming, easy to train, and produces hundreds of flowers every spring.

More buds than flowers right now.  The main show is still to come.

Climbing American Beauty is an early one every year.

Golden Century, mini climber, behaving itself and staying on its upside down tomato cage support.

Climbing Lavender Lace turned out to be too large and unruly to confine to a tomato cage.

Alchymist buds.

Alchymist buds.

This is a found rose from California.  As far as I know, I have the only plant outside of California.

One side of my Hybrid Tea garden.  I see Mrs. Joseph Bonaire, Maria Stern, Shot Silk, Gruss an Aachen, Dairy Maid, President Vignet, and others.

Moonlight is such a photogenic rose.

Accidental combination of Moonlight and Shailer's Provence.

One corner of the Hybrid Tea garden, with Else Poulsen, Chinatown, Lundy's Lane Yellow, Zalud House Shingled Raspberry, Reveille Dijonnais, and others.

Subtle colors on a flower of Lundy's Lane Yellow.

West side of the Hybrid Tea garden, with Else Poulsen, Ivory Triumph, Jiminy Cricket, Poulsen's Pearl, Lundy's Lane Yellow, Captain Christy, and others.

Pots in the driveway even look good when they're blooming.

Perle d'Or is one of my very favorite roses.

I can't wait till that sidebud opens, to see if it's single, too, or double like Perle d'Or usually is.

This Alister Stella Gray was sent to me as a rooted cutting by a woman in DC who found it growing up to the second floor of a townhouse.

Tidewater Trail is my own foundling.

Another flower cluster on Tidewater Trail.

Charlotte Anne is a sport of Playgirl.

I love singles most of all ... Dairy Maid is a little piece of sunshine, as a friend said on FB.

Old Gold was an early attempt to breed yellow into modern roses.

There's a bit of yellow in there, in the center of the new flower and as the petals age.

These flowers have opened within the past few days.  Most of the garden still has more buds than flowers, so the show will continue for the next few weeks.  This is such an exciting time of year ... what I work for ... let the show begin!!

Don't forget, Open Garden Day is Sunday, June 7.  If you can, make plans to come meet the roses in person.