Garden log: I decided to take an inventory of my roses that are currently blooming. It’s missing a few — no blooms on the moment on these:
– red rose (it’s either Shakespeare 2000 or Dark Lady, I can’t remember which one survived transplantation)
– Plum Perfect ( light purple )
– Hot Cocoa (miniature orange-red )
– Julia Child (golden yellow)
But nonetheless, this was satisfying — I just plopped them in glasses for now, but Ben is coming to stay for a week to teach with me, so I’ll put them in vases in the guest room, I think.
Left to right in the darker blue glass:
– Blaze climbing rose (unscented, but am amazingly good do-er, with lots of flowers for a long time and no care needed)
– just above it, Zephirine Drouhin (thornless climber, one of the few roses tolerant of part-shade, though it does bloom better in sun — it’s been on my front porch for years, and I love it there, hardy and trouble-free)
– The Fairy (pale pink shrub rose, masses of tiny blooms for months in spring/summer, nice for front of border)
– Darlow’s Enigma (small white climbing rose, very hardy, pairs nicely with my Jackmanii clematis on an arbor gate)
The lighter blue glass is mostly David Austin old English roses, with that classic many-petaled appearance, and a lot more scent than the others. Going clockwise:
– Crown Princess Margaretha (orange)
– Munstead Wood (dark red)
– Rose-Marie (white / palest pink)
– Eglantyne (pink — my favorite fragrance out of these, I think, though they’re all lovely)
– Princess Alexandra of Kent (pink-peach)
Also tucked in there is a John Cabot rose, but it’s just a few last buds I found, so it’s not so visible. It’s almost done blooming for the season now, but it’s a hardy Canadian climber, very thorny, and climbs beautifully over a trellis with masses of dark pink-red roses for a month or so in mid-May – mid-June.
I’d like a couple more Zephirine Drouhin’s to really cover the front porch, a few more “The Fairy” to extend the border, and maybe a cabbage rose or two?
I hope whomever buys this house after we’re gone loves roses — honestly, I think I’m going to have to ask any prospective buyers if they’re gardeners, and if they’re not interested in maintaining an established perennial garden, we are going to have to have a big dig and giveaway before they move in. They can put in grass and hire a service to maintain it and be done, I suppose…
Well, that’s at least six years away, so I’ll worry about it then.