I always think
of my dad when I see roses. When I was growing up, alongside one
section of our long curving driveway was a rose bed. My father
planted and cared for those roses. He would bring home the old blood
from the blood bank at the hospital and pour it on the ground around
them and said that's what gave them their big sharp thorns. I don't
know how true that was but they did thrive under his care. Later
after he retired and my parents moved to the beach house he had a
rose garden there too.
After he passed
away and my mother went to live with my brother, my sister and her
husband moved into the beach house and she took over the care of the
roses. Eventually, we sold the beach house and they moved to
Wharton, which is why I am here, but before she left, she dug up as
many of Dad's roses as she could and transplanted them to her new
garden.
My sister does
well with roses too and I don't think she lost a single one. With
her most recent move last summer though, from out in the country into
the town proper after her husband died, she only dug up a few of the
roses, leaving most of them for the new owners.
I've never been
able to grow roses myself though I've tried a time or two. I think
perhaps I didn't have enough sun at the city house or planted them
too deep or just bought the wrong ones for our climate. All I know
is they all died. So one of the big selling points about the country
house when we were looking was all the roses planted about the
property. Granted, they are all heritage roses, either pink or red, but
they are established and hardy and bloom.
According to my
father, roses should be cut back on Valentine's Day though my sister
usually cuts hers back on February 1st because our winters have been
so mild. If you wait till Valentine's Day, they are likely to
already be putting up new growth and buds. And mine are.
I don't think I
am going to cut them back this year, at least not yet. I probably
should. I know they were stressed from last year's drought and the
weather prognosticators are predicting another hot dry summer.
Perhaps I'll do some pruning after this first flush of blooms.
I never remember when to cut roses. I just do it randomly. No wonder my roses seem so unhappy. And yet, they do not die.
ReplyDeletethose are beautiful. there were 2 bushes here when we bought the place - doing just fine on their own w/o anyone to care for them for a year. i managed to kill them both...
ReplyDeleteThey're gorgeous Ellen.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had the knack for roses and had hundreds of bushes that she tended. When she passed someone just hacked them all down and we never got a chance to replant. Wish we had.
I would love to be able to grow them here, but will enjoy seeing yours come spring. [And I am praying you don't have the dry, drought weather you had last year.]
With my brown thumb I would never attempt to grow roses - Mike is usually a better bet. Someone gave me a miniature rosebush after my surgery. We've kept it inside for the winter & it seems to be doing well. We'll see how summer goes :)
ReplyDeleteThey're beautiful. The climate here is good for roses, but we have too much shade at our house, and I don't know how to care for roses and their many needs. I love other peoples' roses though, and yours are lovely.
ReplyDeleteMy father grew roses also. Actually, he grew everything and raised bees and made bread to boot. Do I do any of these things? Nope. But I do have such respect for people who garden. Your roses looks beautiful Ellen.
ReplyDeleteMy dad had a rose gene, too. We had a white rose arbor from a slip my parents received as a wedding gift. He tried to help me learn to grow things, but I never got it. Yours are lovely to look at. Just like roses.
ReplyDeleteThe recommended time for pruning is this time of year but I have to say that in my experience they don't seem to mind much when they get pruned, I even prune a few at the beginning of winter and they are usually the ones to put growth on first come the spring.
ReplyDeleteRose bushes need cutting in spring. I shall soon prune mine although I will be cutting out a lot of new growth. Without pruning back they will stay feeble and weak-stemmed, unable to cope with summer.
ReplyDeleteAt least that's what needs to happen here, perhaps your roses are different. Did you also prune them in the autumn? Again it is something roses in England need, two good cuts a year. I will also cut out all dead and old wood to keep them fresh and help them to regenerate themselves. My roses are fine with this treatment, they last for many decades.
It is also important to feed them after pruning in spring, and again in high summer, but not in autumn. If you feed them in autumn they put on a lost of useless sappy growth.
I'm addicted to roses. My favorite is a Cecil Brunner's climbing pink rose, tiny clusters of roses that seem to do well with all the rain and the humidity here.
ReplyDeleteI too love roses but they don't do well up here in this dry mountain air. Sigh!
ReplyDeleteHugs
SueAnn
What a sweet reminder to have of your dad. Roses without a scent is like a kiss without a squeeze, and my delight to find we'd inherited a lush, established rose bed on our last property, was fused with disappointment to find the beautiful blooms were totally without perfume! Still, it did thrive on neglect, and produced abundant flowers every year.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should cultivate some scented rose-bushes in my present garden - most of what I plant here seems to thrive - I have introduce jasmine, lavender,(note the common theme here?) and honey-suckle near our front door, so every time I enter, the fresh fragrances wrap me in a welcome hug home!
delicious shots!
ReplyDeleteLovely buds with those water droplets. I like that they make you think of your Dad. It was similar with my own Dad and his roses.
ReplyDelete