ROSE RAMBLER 18.2.2016 …

Hello dear rose friends!  Due to the very many emails we’ve received with queries about summer pruning, there will be …

GRA’S GARBLE …

Seems I caused a bit of confusion about reference to moon-phase pruning which starts today and ends on Sunday so come on up to Clonbinane this Saturday and we’ll go through it together – stick around for a cuppa and chat with fellow rose enthusiasts too!

For those who are unable to attend this weekend, the general rule for SUMMER ROSE PRUNING is to remove ONE-THIRD of the bush WHILST RETAINING AS MUCH FOLIAGE AS POSSIBLE!  This is very important as healthy foliage cover protects stems from sun-burn and foliage is the ‘store-house’ of energy and nutrients for the entire plant.

If you’ve been trimming 1/3 off your bushes since they started flowering this season, a good tidy-up over the coming days will ensure you have lots and lots of roses through one of the loveliest flowering seasons, autumn.  Continue trimming as flowers finish and the bushes will produce lovely blooms right up to winter.

Q.  What has a neck but no head?  A.  A bottle   

If you have pics of your garden, problem foliage or a rose variety which you would like to identify, please bring with you on Saturday.  Pics like this are great to share:

Hope to see you on Saturday; meantime, because of the damp weather, continue with the organic rose management spray program at least monthly as healthy foliage ensures masses of roses … Gra

Q.  What is a complete waste of time?  A.  Telling a hair-raising story to a bald man – believe me, it’s true, I do it all the time!  (Diana)

SPEAKING OF PRUNING …

Every single person who purchases the LOWE SECATEURS just raves about how brilliant they are – you can order online at www.rosesalesonline.com.au or do what Caitlin did,  she came to the Rose Farm on Valentine’s Day and conned her husband into buying her a pair after we’d designed a plan and opened her order for winter roses!

WE’D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

WOMO… Word of Mouth Online … if you have had an experience with our business which you would like to share, please place your testimonial at womo

I know we don’t get it right all the time but we extend ourselves 100% of the time and I think new customers would feel more confident purchasing our roses online if they could read all the testimonials I have in a folder where they can’t see them!

Please, if you could put your testimonial into WOMO, we would be most grateful – thank you in advance! Click the link below to leave us your review!

ROSES FOR WINTER 2016 …

In the next few weeks, I’ll be seducing you with pics and descriptions of some of the new release roses we are listing for 2016 – we’ve seen all these roses growing in the field and they are sensational …

11.2.2016

Hello dear rose friends … with Graham safely home after a jaunt into New South Wales Southern Highlands to visit gardens and ‘chook mates’ and me settled in my ‘new’ office!  Before he was out the gate, I had the first piece of furniture shifted and it’s taken a week of cleaning everything in my path while I changed the whole house around.  Interestingly, Gra is happy with the changes – now I sit here at my computer looking out on the garden and can see when you drive in the gate … really nice!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Get your secateurs sharpened because according to the moon planting guide, the best time for pruning our roses for robust autumn flowering is on the waxing moon – the dates are February 18-20 which are ‘fertile’ dates when plant wounds heal.  If you want to test the value of working to the lunar calendar, prune a few of your bushes on the suggested dates and leave some till a bit later – I know you’ll be amazed!

Q.  What happens when ducks fly upside down?  A. They quack up.

Now is the time to organise pruning to ensure you’ve got a plethora of flowers through autumn.  Because we need to have our potted roses looking spectacular for…

The gardens will be regularly watered, the pots will be managed with our organic rose management spray program to ensure premium foliage cover which will guarantee beautiful flowers throughout this last month of summer.

Q.  What did the bee say to the flower?  A.  Hi, honey!

ROSE RAMBLER …  4.2.2016

Hello dear rose friends as time speeds up again with only 10 days to VALENTINE’S DAY … when I send a gift rose to your loved one this year, it will have love-heart chocolates in the box to make your gift even more special!  Please get your orders to us AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and definitely by next Monday, 8^th February!

Here are a few roses varieties which I highly recommend …

SOUL MATE
Masses of bright golden blooms continually throughout the season with ruffled petals and stunning glossy foliage – yellow symbolises FRIENDSHIP in roses – this glorious rose is an easy-care, nicely rounded shrub which would also be suitable to grow in a large tub …

LINKED HEARTS
Perfectly formed pale-pink buds open to exude a most delightfully sweet fragrance.  Dark healthy foliage compliments the continually free-flowering attribute of this highly recommended rose …

MR. LINCOLN
If Valentine’s Day means long-stemmed, darkest red, most highly fragrant roses, this, our Best Selling Rose again this year, is the one you should gift …

GRA’S GARBLE …

To test for fragrance in a rose, pick a semi-open bloom and keep it in your pocket or under your cap for half an hour – you will soon know whether or not it’s a fragrant variety!  (Yes, Gra does just this – I get rose petals through the washing if I forget to check his pockets and yes, he wears a cap ALWAYS but I thought it was to keep his bald head warm … there’s always something funny going on here!  Diana)

Blooms picked when the outer petals have fully reflected will exude perfume for days in a vase at evenly warm room temperatures!

Q.  How do you start a flea race?  A.  One, two, flea, GO!

ROSE MANAGEMENT FOR THE LAST MONTH OF SUMMER …

Last week I fertilized the whole garden and incorporated rock-dust in the blend – we had good rain within hours!  This will guarantee healthy foliage and masses of blooms throughout autumn when I will do another application of Complete Organic Fertilizer to ensure flowers right into winter.

In between this fertilizing, I highly recommend regular applications (fortnightly is great!) of seaweed solution with some Eco-aminogro or other liquid fertilizer added.

When watering, ensure deep, deep soaking – I cannot stress this enough as most customers who have issues with their roses under-performing, the cause is generally lack of adequate water!  Yes, roses are very ‘water-wise’ but they are such prolific blooming plants when they have good, healthy foliage cover and to maintain this, they MUST HAVE water deep into the root-zone of the plant!  You’ll see the rewards … Gra

Q.  Why are mosquitoes religious?  A.  Because they sing over you before they prey on you!

ART & ROSES – 9^TH & 10^TH APRIL

It’s that time of year again when we start to round up bus groups for the Art & Roses Tours … please insert flyer here … I couldn’t do it!!

Due to overwhelming interest in this day tour of our beautiful region we needed to find another suitable destination for our visitors to have lunch as our Expo Café has limited space.

We are very excited to announce that the FIRST FOUR BUS GROUPS who book will enjoy a gourmet barbeque luncheon with Kevin and Rhonda Butler in their shearing shed where BLAZE-AID was conceived.  Volunteers from around Australia came to assist in recovery after the 2009 Black Saturday fires and the shearing shed became their ‘meet and eat’ destination.

Come and listen to Kevin and Rhonda share their story of BLAZE-AID; how it started, how it works and how it continues to assist Australians wherever disaster strikes!  Members of the Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell will host the lunch (cost $12.00).

Click here to download the full flyer