Floribunda Rose

Floribunda Rose ‘Livin’ Easy’
Wordless Wednesday  

Dusty Red Rose

Dusty Red Rose

 

Try as I might to remember and keep the naming of the roses in the big rose garden straight they always seem to get mixed up. I thought this one might be ‘Hot Cocoa” but there isn’t enough orange in it. It also grew and flowered better than that variety. Even with the confusion we enjoyed the dusty red flowers this bush produced.

Autumn Damask Rose

Autumn Damask Rose

Rosa damascena semperflorens

(RO-zuh)

Today’s rose falls into the category of Old Garden Roses and was introduced around 1810. It is a strong growing, highly fragrant rose that blooms once a season. One of the remarkable things about Autumn Damask Rose is the high degree of disease resistance it shows in the garden. The foliage can remain clean even during a big outbreak of blackspot and Japanese Beetles seem to ignore it.

If you like Heirloom Roses I would recommend Autumn Damask Rose. There is a reason it’s been around for 200 plus years. It is known by numerous synonyms.

Floribunda Rose ‘Lion’s Rose’

Floribunda Rose ‘Lion’s Rose’

Synonyms: Champagne Moment, KORvanaber, Lion's Fairy Tale

Wordless Wednesday

Topaz Jewel Rugosa Rose

Hybrid Rugosa Rose

Rosa 'Topaz Jewel'

(RO-zuh)

Synonyms: MORyelrug, Yellow Fru Dagmar, Rustica 91

Julia Child Floribunda Rose

Julia Child Floribunda Rose

Wordless Wednesday

Spice Twice Hybrid Tea Rose

Hybrid Tea Rose ‘Spice Twice’

Synonyms: JACable

Petal Count: 17-25 petals

Breeder: Dr. Keith W. Zary, US, 1997

Parentage: ‘Spirit of Glasnost’ × ‘Kardinal 85’ (Kordes 1985)

Couple of roses for Sunday. This first rose has a great fiery orange/coral color that is hard to match. The flowers grow on a tall, strong bush that seems relatively disease resistant. I am not sure why but the flowers on the two bushes I have grown always seem to be on kind of the small side. The advertised size of the flowers is 6 inches across but mine can hardly muster 3 or 4 inches. Despite that it is always nice to see the flowers because of the way the sunlight can make them appear to glow. The fragrance is intoxicating too. If you only have room for a couple of roses I probably wouldn’t recommend ‘Spice Twice’ unless of course you are a sucker for that color (like me). ‘Tropicana’ can kind of supply the color on a much better growing rose.

Today’s bonus snapshot is an unknown red rose. Guessing I am going to say ‘Don Juan’ but am not really sure. The sides of the photo have had a vignette placed there to get rid of a really busy background and try and show just the summer richness of the rose.

The storm frenzy continues to grow around here and we are now solidly in what I call the ‘Cone of Doom’, which is the projected path of the storm. Overnight bad news came from the west coast as a big earthquake hit the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. Luckily the area is sparsely populated and there wasn’t much damage according to news reports so far. Having spent quite a bit of time in that area I always had a little nagging fear of the areas natural beauty. It is almost too majestic. The bad news is a tsunami is headed for Hawaii where my sister lives. I am never sure if I should pick up the phone and call even though it is in the middle of the night there. She lives in up country Maui at about 1,000 feet above sea level and there is a warning horn like 100 yards from her house so I figure that she is safe.

Music Maker Rose

Buck Shrub Rose ‘Music Maker’

Wordless Wednesday

Two Black and White Roses

Two Black and White Roses

The name has escaped on this first rose but I am guessing Hybrid Tea. Both of these pictures are from a “roll” of unlooked at black and white photos I took last year. These were taken with my compact Nikon Coolpix 8400 camera in the monochrome mode. Sometimes I use the smaller/slower flash cards for the compact cameras and often leave them in there for a long time or don’t process them right away. That is what leads to their lost roll status.

After many years running a gardening business we have decided to give that up and concentrate on one garden. As I hinted at before I have accepted the position of head gardener at 26 acre garden on Long Island’s Gold Coast. The garden is totally amazing and has been well cared for. There will be some pictures of the flowers coming soon. I plan on keeping an extensive journal some of which may end up being published here.

Even though it is only Saturday here is another black and white rose photo.

Hybrid Tea Rose

Rosa 'Tiffany'

Love Grandiflora Rose

Grandiflora Rose 'Love'

Synonyms: JACtwin, 71-5324

After seeing this rose in several gardens and becoming enchanted with its bi-colored petals, strong smell and graceful habit I decided to try a couple in the big rose garden. They have performed well and have been reliable. All 4 of the bushes came through the mild winter and bloomed throughout the season. Red roses are not my favorite but this one is extraordinary.

We are working in the office today as it a really rainy and windy New England fall day outside. We are expecting 1 to 2 inches of rain, which we need, and it is off to a good start. We still need some bulbs so I will make a last swing through some nurseries to see if anything is available locally before ordering them from a catalog.

Sooty Sweet William

Sweet William

Dianthus barbatus var. nigrescens 'Sooty'

(dy-AN-thus)

Synonyms: Dianthus nigrescens

There seems to be some debate on whether or not this flower is a biennial or perennial. My experiences have been mostly biennial and if we get 2 or 3 years out of them we are happy. Dianthus seems to thrive in the drier areas of the garden with unimproved soil. The edge of masonry work with even a little stone dust from the stonework mixed in seems to suit it best. Winter drainage is also an important part of keeping them going. It is true garden classic that has been around a long time. Lately some new cultivars have been showing up due to breeding so they may be more perennial. This type grows 8-12 inches tall and gets nice dark foliage later in the season. It is said the flowers smell like chocolate but I can’t confirm or deny that.

Since it is Sunday again here is the bonus flower snapshot.

Hybrid Tea Rose ‘Fragrant Cloud’

Rosa (ro-zuh)

This is a really beautiful hybrid tea rose. It is quite old having been introduced in 1963. I always have a lot of respect for a rose that can last that long on the market. It can be susceptible to black spot and other rose problems but you forget all about that when you have cut a few of the flowers for the house. It certainly lives up to its name then.

Calla Lily in Black and White

Calla Lily

Zantedeschia aethiopica

(zan-te-DES-kee-uh) (ee-thee-OH-pik-uh)

Synonyms: Arum Lily, Large White Aethiopica, Varkoor

This is my little attempt at an ‘art shot’. It is easy to get caught up in the macro world of flowers and to a certain extent live there. That is forgetting the brilliance and beauty that flowers can lend our lives. A single white Calla lily in a vase is a bit of an interior design cliché but it still works. This picture (and all the black and white flowers on this site) was shot with the monochrome setting on the camera. No color picture of this flower exists. My only little secret is to turn the contrast setting up to +2 on the camera menu, which seems to give a better range of black and grey tones. The micro-Nikkor 60mm/2.8 lens and the D700 camera produced this picture.

Since it is Sunday again here is a bonus snapshot. This seemed like a very lonely rose. All it’s neighbors had bloomed months ago and had turned to mushy hips by now. The color and shape of this rose was slightly distorted but beautiful in its own way.

Japanese Rose

Japanese Rose

Rosa rugosa

(RO-zuh) (roo-GO-suh)

Synonyms: Beach Rose, Saltspray Rose, Wrinkle-Leaved Rose

This is a plant that I was taught to hate at an early age but over the years I have realized that despite some bad qualities it can be a good garden citizen. I was prejudiced against it but don’t feel that way anymore after having some of my own experiences growing it (funny how that works). Yes it is invasive, prickly and sometimes rangy growing but it is also fragrant, thick growing and resistant to most diseases that plague most roses around here. The fruit are nice looking and boldly colored. They have a habit of appearing on the bush at the same time as the flowers. We haven’t had any problem with seeding (we mostly grow the hybrids) and just watching and taking corrective action when needed has controlled suckering. This pleasant specimen was growing at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan.

Well today is the day of the party at the estate. The owner and I agreed the garden looked stunning. Luckily nature helped us out with a drenching rain this week. I got last minute color at the nursery yesterday. Here are my carts. I had to be careful since our budget had been mostly blown by then. Everything was reduced in price because it was in full bloom and the place wanted to get rid of the older stuff. That pretty much played right into my needs. 

           

                         

Pink Rose

Pink Rose

 As fussy as we are about keeping the roses named in the big rose garden there are a few that have escaped us. This one of the unnamed varieties. Sometimes it pays off doing research to try and figure it out but since the garden is over 10 years old now and gets some new roses every year it is becoming more and more difficult to determine some of the unmarked ones. It is nice that about 90% are named and I often use that information when planning a new rose garden for someone else. Although most roses are given a break on that fact that the rose garden is on top of a high, cold, windy ridge in Westchester County. It is not the best place in the world to judge rose performance. Mainly the amount of flowers produced and the disease resistance are taken into account. This pink is a showy fellow with a high petal count, good fragrance and okay disease resistance and the color is attractive to.

Floribunda Rose ‘Honey Perfume’

Floribunda Rose ‘Honey Perfume’

 Parentage: Seedling × 'Amber Queen'

Petal Count: 25-40

Introduction: 2004

Height: 42 inches

Synonyms: JACarque

This rose went from a ‘meh’ to a ‘thank goodness I have got it’ in one year. It has been in the garden ever since I took over stewardship of it five years ago. This year ‘Honey Perfume’ has been outstanding and really living up to its name. It is one of the best smelling roses in the garden.

Rose gardening always seems need a bit of luck to be blended into getting a beautiful show. The weather, insect populations, watering and spray cycles all have to combine in a wonderfully cosmic way in order for the endeavor to be successful. Choosing the right varieties is an important first step in the process but quite often we are reduced to getting what they have and not what we want. Buying roses has become a bit of a game around these parts. You have to time your purchases just right. Several changes on the wholesale rose market have further tightened supplies. The emergence of the landscape roses like ‘Knockout’ has really affected the hybrid tea and floribunda sales.

Here is a full shot of the ‘Honey Perfume’ goodness. Both of these shots were taken with the D70s back up camera and 60mm/2.8 macro lens.

Gold Medal Grandiflora Rose

Grandiflora Rose

Rosa 'Gold Medal'

(RO-zuh)

Synonyms: AROyqueli, Golden Medal

We had an order for 18 long stem roses for somebody’s garden and after looking at several places gave up trying to procure them. Sometimes it is just better to wait until the supplies catch up with the demand. ‘Gold Medal’ was the only rose we found that was blooming but there was only one and after getting home and doing some research I am glad we didn’t buy it. You can see from the picture the foliage was loaded with disease and the flowers weren’t that great of a color. Apparently they wash out to this cream color in hot weather and don’t have much of the pink/orange blending they can have during cooler temperatures.

Introduced in 1982 by Jack Christensen it is a tall, fragrant rose that is grown on its own roots (not grafted). This makes it hardier but weaker growing in my opinion. All in all I am glad I passed on ‘Gold Medal’ and we will just have to wait to spring for some new stock.

Bleeding Heart

Bleeding Heart

Dicentra 'Candy Hearts'

(dy-SEN-truh)

This new Dicentra has really been holding up well during the heat waves and we had actually planned for it to go dormant during the summer. This plant is a hybrid of Dicentra peregrina and the old garden stalwart Dicentra eximia, which after series of seedlings gave us ‘Candy Hearts’. It seems a lot of the best traits from both parents were retained with a splash of hybrid vigor. The foliage is just beautiful too. It’ a nice mix of shape and color and is worth growing on its own. This picture is not my most famous moment with a camera and I wish I had taken a couple more shots with a little more setup. Here it is anyway and you can the foliage is nice looking and it is a bit more powdery blue in the garden.

Last night I watched the movie, Marley on the Palladia HD channel.   It was riveting to me and feel a little affected today. It is quite a story cumulating in his 1981 death of cancer at 36 years old. He seemed like a much more complicated character then I remember of his public self. I might even buy the DVD (shocking, I know). I love watching Palladia. They have all sorts of concerts and types of music.

Since it is Sunday here is the traditional Sunday Snapshot, although this rose really deserves a post on its own.

Large Flowered Climbing Rose

Rosa ‘Don Juan’

I like roses that are sure what color they are and this one knows it  is red. A deep, rich red. The color combined with the strong scent and habit make it a truly great rose.

Japanese Ladybug

Japanese Ladybug

Harmonia axyridis

  

I was happily clicking away when this fella was spotted walking on a giant Miscanthus grass blade. It was a little funny because at first he ran down the blade away from me. I dutifully shot a picture of his butt and figured that was it but in a couple of seconds he came running back towards the camera, which is unusual when you are photographing insects. The 60mm macro was on the camera and I really wish it were the 105mm. That is a much better lens for bugs.

A little research provided the fact that this is an introduced species in the Americas originally hailing from eastern Asia. It was introduced (in the 1980's) for controlling aphids in Pecan orchards and has been hanging around ever since. It goes by several names. Here is an excellent website for ladybug identification:

Discover Life Ladybugs

I was able to identify “my” bug very easily from the key system they use. It is a beneficial insect in the garden and only becomes a pest when it tries to overwinter in the house.

Just to keep it real here is a flower picture. This miniature rose had grace and style far above its diminutive size. It looked exactly like a large rose shrunk down to a couple inches wide and tall.

Miniature Rose cv.

Rosa

Peace Hybrid Tea Rose

Hybrid Tea Rose 'Peace'

Synonyms: Béke, Fredsrosen, Gioia, Gloria Dei, Madame Antoine Meilland, 3-35-40

Introduced in the U.S.: 1945 by Conard-Pyle (Star Roses)

Size and Petal Count: 6 inch flowers with 43 petals

Fragrant? : Yes, strong

Well something happened to my ‘Peace’ rose and a few other varieties and they grew these enormous sized roses on small bushes. This flower was easily two or three times the size of a regular Peace. It really looked like some abnormal burst of energy had come out. I was a little afraid for the plant since the flowers were almost as big but it has seemed to settle back into its routine of producing normal sized flowers. The roses in general look good and have been holding out despite the heat and humidity. Yesterday was kind of a statistical oddity in the fact we got over an inch of rain and the temperatures were only in the high 60’s. Felt a bit more like September than July.

Here is a bonus snapshot for Saturday. Here is 28 of the 32 cans anyway.

 Campbell's Soup Cans

Andy Warhol, American, 1962

Synthetic polymer paint on canvas

32-20 by 16 inches (51 × 41 cm) canvases

Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan, NY

Pink Shrub Rose and Sheffield Chrysanthemum

Shrub Rose
Rosa cv.

We have been tending to this rose for the past several years and still think it is a great variety. The flowers are simply huge and very aromatic. I have a feeling it might actually be a climbing rose since it gets quite tall but it is really kind of jammed in its corner so it is difficult to say for sure.

The rose season has been pretty good here so far. Thankfully more and more of the modern types have some heat resistance bred into them. There was a great crop of roses available in the big rose garden on Friday.

Sunday means a bonus shot here on the digital flower pictures blog. This one was taken last autumn and I am posting it because some of the Sheffield mums at work are growing enormous and are going to be great this fall. This is truly a beautiful perennial that seems to be rarely grown. Much superior to the typical kind of annual mums usually planted. They were potting up some Chrysanthemums at the large annual farm last week.

Hardy Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield'

(kris-AN-the-mum)

Synonym: Dendranthema ‘Hillside Pink Sheffield’

These were shot with my compact camera a Nikon P6000. It shoots such giant pictures and has a pretty good lens.