Nursery Closed for the Next Two Saturdays

I have to cancel my Saturday nursery hours for this weekend (June 12) and next weekend (June 19).  Two of my garden club friends passed away recently, and I have out-of-town funerals to attend on these days.

It seems appropriate to have a photograph of fallen rose petals to accompany today's post.

The nursery will be open regular hours again (10am - 3pm) starting on June 26.  If you want to visit in the meantime, just send me an email and we'll set up a time for you to come.  The Internet store is always available to take your orders, and there is never a charge to pick up your roses here on site.

I look forward to seeing you on the 26th.  I'm sorry for any inconvenience ... thanks for understanding.

Sincerely,

Connie

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

In the Pink

Last fall, we began the process of turning the area underneath our pecan tree into a large shade garden.  The first step, and the only one we've completed to date, was to put in a mixed beds of hydrangeas, helebores, hostas, and the like, around our Tiki Hut. 

I propagated most of the hydrangeas we planted from ones I came across in my travels through cemeteries in the last year or two.  They went into the ground last fall as leafless twigs, and they're developing nicely so far this year.  The way they are blooming now speaks volumes about our soil here on the 'farm'.

They're PINK!  The flowers on this type of hydrangea are blue in acid soil and pink in alkaline.  I have never seen a hydrangea bloom pink in the garden of any of our former houses, nor in the gardens of friends.  The flowers on the plants the cuttings came from were blue-blue-blue, and now they're pink because of the soil pH in this spot.

I tested my soil before we planted anything on this property, expecting to have to amend heavily and lime to counteract the acid soil I am accustomed to in this part of the country.  To my surprise, I haven't found a pH reading below 6.0 anywhere on this property.  The pH beside these hydrangeas is 6.2!  High enough to turn them from their usual Virginia blue to a lovely shade of pink.

There are three other types of hydrangeas planted in these beds ... they all have white flowers.

Annabelle.

'Tokyo Delight' Lace Cap.

and Tardiva, which isn't blooming right now.

Our goal with these beds is to create a lush, tropical atmosphere.  Within a couple of years, the hydrangeas will get tall, the hostas will spread out, and the helebores should multiply and form little colonies. 

It's hard to tell from these photos that the beds are 6-feet deep.  Looking at it now, I can see that I'm going to have to enlarge them.  That's okay, we have lots of space ... it's the time that's going to be hard to manage.

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Another One Bites the Dust

My Expedition died yesterday morning.  It was running fine this weekend, so we had no warning of its impending demise.  Now, it needs major engine work and a new transmission ... too much to consider doing to a 12-year-old vehicle with 170,000+ miles on it.

Picking up retired greyhounds in North Carolina.

We spent all day yesterday and today trying to decide what to replace her with.  That vehicle was my everything.  It hauled my kids, and their friends, and all their stuff wherever we needed to go.  It could carry more cargo and lumber-yard stuff than either of our two pick-up trucks.  Most importantly, I could easily put seven rescued greyhounds in there for their trip to new homes and forever families.  All of this is gone now.

I don't need a big SUV often enough to buy another one.  Our red Jeep Wrangler is my everyday transportation.  We have two pickup trucks for hauling 'stuff', so that's not really a regular requirement either.  We only run dog transports every couple of months now, so it doesn't seem wise to buy a vehicle mainly for this. 

What we NEED is something that can hold two big dogs and a car seat.  It isn't often that we have both the dogs and the grandson in the car at the same time, but we need to be able to do it when necessary.  To accomplish this, whatever we buy has to have a split back seat that folds flat and level ... very few vehicles do this (except for big SUVs). 

This is my Daniel, when I was bringing him up from NC.

We zeroed in on the Ford Flex yesterday afternoon.  The salesman at the Ford dealership was very helpful, showing us the features and functions of the vehicle ... but I just couldn't make myself like it.  "Let's see what they have at the Chrysler dealership." my husband said.

As we drove onto the lot, the first thing we saw was a row of 4-door Jeep Wranglers.  We found them to be surprisingly roomy inside ... equivalent to the space in my mom and dad's Explorer, I think.  (The Explorer's seats don't fold flat, so one of these was never an option for us.)  I was immediately comfortable driving this Jeep, it met all our needs and looked cool doing it, so we decided to buy one.

This is the one I built on the Jeep web site, and it's exactly like what we bought.

Some time tomorrow, as soon as it arrives from southwest Virginia (via an inter-dealer trade, because our local dealer didn't have exactly the one we wanted), we will be the proud owners of a brand new 2010 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, in Deep Sea Blue Pearl with every option known to mankind ... just the way I like it.

I have to thank the staff at Safford Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Fredericksburg for making the purchase of this car such a positive experience.  They don't pay me to say nice things ... I just want everyone to know that you CAN and SHOULD have pleasant experience in a car dealership.  Everyone at Safford treated us with respect, and I appreciate that.

I'm still pretty bummed about the sudden death of my Expedition.  I'll go to the mechanic's shop later this afternoon to clean all of my stuff out of it before the tow truck takes it away.  This new Jeep should help take some of the sting out of it, I hope.

I can't help myself ... in my head, I keep hearing, "One Jeep, two Jeep, red Jeep, blue Jeep".  ... sigh ...

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Flowers on Friday ... Is this the Last Hoorah?

The midsummer-like temperatures of the past few days have hastened the demise of the last of the flowers on the spring-blooming old garden roses and ramblers.  These guys don't take too kindly to searing 90+ degrees with bright sun and high humidity.  Now that I think about it, I don't take too kindly to it either. 

We had a big thunderstorm yesterday evening, with high wind and pelting rain.  Let's take a walk through the garden and see what I still have left out there to show you.  It might be a challenge.

The Rambler Fence is pretty much finished blooming.  There is a flower or two left on some of the roses that aren't too bad.  With the heat predicted today, I doubt they'll last till tomorrow.

Aviateur Bleriot, blooming in the weeds

Ghislaine de Feligonde

Poor, soggy Albertine

Dr. W. Van Fleet, on the front fence, is hanging in there ... with half a dozen or so flowers this morning.  All of the other Van Fleet bred roses on the fence are finished.

Dr. W. Van Fleet

There were only a couple of Old Garden Roses left in the Rose Field.

Apothecary's Rose, with a bee

and a soggy cluster of Charles de Mills

Since she blooms later than the rest, poor Pink Baltimore Belle/Arcata Pink Globe had a particularly short bloom period this year.  No sooner than she hit full bloom, the heat came and dried out her beautiful flowers.  (Have I mentioned lately how much I love this rose?)

Arcata Pink Globe

Minnehaha also blooms late, but she has the advantage of afternoon shade cast by the cherry tree in the Rose Field, so she's not burned to a crisp.

Minnehaha

Baron Girod de L'Ain is technically a repeat bloomer, but his repeat is paltry at best.  Spring flush is definitely when he does his best work.  Isn't the white trim on his fresh flowers heavenly?

Baron Girod de L'Ain

I'm always sad to see the spring-blooming roses finish each year.  The show of flowers they produce is something that just cannot be duplicated with the more-modern repeat-blooming roses.  If you live in a climate that can give them the winter chill they need, I can guarantee that your garden will be better for having them.

Let it be known that I saw my first Japanese Beetle of the year this morning.  (I tried to get a photo of him, but he flew away).  We'll see what kind of a Beetle season we're in for.

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog)

Morning Coffee

I get up early in the morning, long before the rest of the humans in the house are awake.  This misty morning time is my favorite time of day.  First, I feed the dogs and cats ... they wouldn't have it any other way.  On nice mornings, I grab my laptop and my coffee cup and head for the glider on the deck.

I picked this glider up at a thrift store years ago, and I love it.  It's huge!  The cushions are a futon mattress from Ikea, and three people can sit on it comfortably.  Yes, before you ask, I have been known to nap out here.  Once the grandson gets a little older, I'll reattach the gliding mechanism ... right now, it would be too much of a temptation for him, and I don't want to have to deal with the injuries that could result.  For now, it's stationary.

The view from our deck across the yard and fields in the morning is beautiful.  I'll try to share it with you this morning.  Let's start on the right, and work our way around.

This is what you see if you look toward the front yard.  These geometric rose beds are a great addition to the landscape.  Before we built them, this spot was taken up by weeds and a huge diseased bush.  Bye bye, bush ... hello roses.

The picket-fenced area is the dogs' backyard.  Across the field, is an ancient white mulberry tree that's loaded with fruit right now.  The birds love it.

We're in the process reassembling a hand-me-down wooden swingset for our grandson.  That's Hartwood Winery in the background, where you see the white van and red pick-up truck.

You saw this view toward the barn and Rose Field earlier in the year.  With the trees fully leafed out, the barn is practically invisible and I can't see the Rose Field at all.

Our pavillion (which we call the Tiki Hut) is in the shade garden, as seen off the left side of the deck.  This is the perfect place for evening dinners with friends!  (I'll show you the Tiki Hut and the huge pecan tree above it in more detail some other time.)

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Daddy's Little Girl

Today is my Dad's 75th birthday!  I've known him all my life, so I feel qualified to say that he's the best father in the whole world.

You'd think, with raising me looming in his future, that he should have looked scared to death.  Not MY dad.

I dug for photos of Daddy showing things that I most remember, but there were only a precious few with me here.  He always seemed to be behind the camera taking pictures of his family ... a lot like I have been.

Germany, late 1970's

Italy, 1969.   

Some of you wanted stories of military life ... here's one.  My dad bought this Fiat 500 when we moved to Italy in 1969, to have as a second car and to use when we went to Pisa or Livorno, or to any other city.  The Italian streets were much too narrow for our larger American car that we brought with us (a 1964 Plymouth Valliant).  All five of us would load up into this tiny Fiat, with me in the middle of the back seat so I could stretch my legs between the front seats.  My brother and sister and I were completely shoulder to shoulder in there.  I still can't believe we fit ... or that we had any room for the things we brought home with us.

Helping my sister with her garden.

What Daddy loves most is being with his family.  We moved all over the world when I was growing up, and we kids rarely saw our grandparents ... they were in California.  My parents, my brother, and my sister and I all live within 45 minutes of each other now.  My kids grew up knowing their grandparents, and my parents know my children (and now my grandson).  I am very grateful for this.

Here we all are about 10 years ago.  I love this photo.  (I wish it was higher resolution ... ancient digital image, ya know.)

One of my favorite recent photos, taken at our youngest daughter's high school graduation in 2005.

Here he is reading stories to our grandson.

My two favorite guys, taken at my sister's wedding in the mid 90's.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

(he probably won't see this because he has dial-up and it takes a year and a half for this page to load for him.)

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Through the Eyes of Others

I had a visit from a fellow Fredericksburg blogger on Friday afternoon.  Kathie Abercrombie (a local realtor and a very nice person) discovered my roses online and wanted to feature them on her blog.

 

This is "Old Gray Cemetery Noisette".  It has nothing at all to do with the subject of this post, but I couldn't possibly put something here without also posting pretty pictures.

 Kathie spent about an hour and a half here, and we walked the gardens and chatted the whole time.  She asked questions about the roses and the property, and I answered her the best I could. 

Duchesse de Brabant in Hollywood Cemetery.

The article that Kathie wrote about my roses and nursery is WONDERFUL!!  I am always amazed at the way a real writer can take a rambling conversation and turn it into a cohesive article.  Reading it made me blush.

"Frommer Plot Rose", also in Hollywood Cemetery.

Thank you, Kathie!!  I look forward to visiting with you again.

In case you didn't see it linked twice in the text of this post, CLICK HERE to read Kathie's article.

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)