Already another month ending and we’re busy packing up to head off to
TESSELAAR’S PLANT EXPO this weekend – tickets at www.gardeningandplantsexpo.com.auGraham is meeting our grower at Dunkeld today to collect buckets and buckets of flowers for a magnificent display of roses cut directly from the field – lots of the 2016 RELEASE varieties along with more recent release varieties of roses will be on display in vases at our site so do come along and have a sniff!Pop a teabag or sachet of coffee beans in your bag – once you smell a really glorious fragrance, the others will pale to insignificance unless you clear your olfactory glands in between sniffing and tea/coffee offer clearance between sniffs – yes, it works!

You’ll have a beaut day out – this Expo is about PLANTS where you’ll have an opportunity to speak with specialist growers like ourselves.  Graham will do a presentation at 10.00am on SATURDAY MORNING.

There will be presentations throughout the weekend with Steven Ryan as compere and you can enjoy a leisurely stroll through the sites without hustle and bustle – a drive in the Dandenong Ranges is so worthwhile at this magnificent time of year!

The food and coffee at this event is superb too so with the weather set to be autumnal splendour, jump in the car and come see us with our magnificent roses at TESSELAAR’S PLANT EXPO THIS WEEKEND – you and the kids will have a ball!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Q.  What has two hands but no fingers?  A.  A clock. 

Thank goodness we’ll be changing our clocks this weekend as its dark until after 7 am here and we love to get an early start with watering the potted roses – yes, I’ve been known to hold a torch in one hand, hose in the other impatient for daylight!

Q. What kind of shoes don’t go on your feet?  A.  Tissues! 

I’ve been busy planting lots of winter veggies and gathering cow manure for composting to make my own biodynamic preparations – I’ll tell you all about that in following Rose Ramblers as there’s lots going on here at the rose farm preparing for more than 200 people to visit during the weekend of the Art & Roses tours – hope we see you at Tesselaar’s this weekend …. Gra

ART & ROSES TOURS …

If you are wishing to book more than 12 people to receive a $10 travel subsidy for visiting this event on Saturday, 9^th or Sunday, 10^th April – please call me NOW as today is the last day for bookings!

STAYING OVER FOR A WEEKEND …

You might like to stay where you can hear the breeze in the eucalypts, see kangaroos grazing – right in the hills just above Silkies Rose Farm at…

CHOOKERY NOOK
BED & BREAKFAST
695 Spur Road, Clonbinane

Your very own sanctuary in the mountains.

Peaceful, private & pet friendly. Self-contained, modern farmhouse, sleeps 7, tastefully decorated with a “chookie” theme!

Phone: Cathy 5787 1561 or 0416 391 085

DON’T OVERLOOK THESE BEAUTIES …

We have stunning potted specimens of these roses which, when planted in your garden this autumn, will be absolutely spectacular come spring flowering – these are all very highly recommended roses and suit some of the most difficult situations when planning where to plant roses … these three roses are super healthy, very continually free flowering and afford you a most reliable rose …

ROSE RAMBLER 24.3.2016 …

Hello dear rose friends who are regular readers and sincere welcome to those who are new to our ramblings – we hope you enjoy all the ‘stuff’ we share to make your gardening experience happy and fruitful!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Q.  How do you make a goldfish old?  A.  Take away the ‘G’ …

if you take the ‘G’ away from my name, you’d call me ‘RA’ – my new rose ‘GRA’S BLUE’ wouldn’t quite be the same called ‘RA’S BLUE’ – glad I’m not old or a goldfish!!!

So, you’re planning a new rose garden?  Before you do ANYTHING, take a good look up, down, all around; check where the sun is throughout the seasons (yes, it is always different and daylight saving also needs to be considered).  Most importantly, will the sun shine for NO LESS THAN 5 HOURS on your roses throughout the flowering season?  This is SO important!!!

Equally important is to check where large trees are growing around your garden … out on the nature strip maybe?  Don’t even contemplate trying to establish a new rose garden where there is a huge tree within 5 metres of your planned garden because the established tree will take all of the water, nutrients and sunshine – here is a copy of email consultation this past week …

Here’s a picture of a magnificent rose we sent this past winter – DUBLIN BAY, the most magnificent red climbing rose was planted at the foot of a huge eucalyptus tree … didn’t have a hope of growing in that location …

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a camera above ground which showed exactly where those tree roots are, indicate an ideal space where we could plant a new rose so it would be happy to get on with growing between the tree roots … now there’s an invention for somebody to work on!?!

Q.  How do you stop someone eating your last chocolate?  A.  Eat it first – don’t eat too much chocolate this Easter weekend – buy a rose instead!  Enjoy the time to catch up with family and friends, have a bit of time in the garden or maybe take a drive out here to Clonbinane … Gra

ART & ROSES TOURS …

If you’re planning a visit to our region on the weekend of 9th/10th April and you have a group, please contact me NOW so that you are eligible for the TRAVEL SUBSIDY of $10 per person when more than 12 attend in a group.

Bookings for this great weekend close on WEDNESDAY, 31ST MARCH – please call Diana 5787 1123 or email:  info@rosesalesonline.com.au to register your booking.

MORE NEW RELEASE ROSES FOR 2016 …

These three will definitely excite you with their intense colour and extreme health and vigour …

Descriptions of all the NEW RELEASE 2016 roses are available at www.rosesealesonline.com.au and you can always call the Rose Farm any FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY and MONDAY to discuss your order or for design consultancy which we will discuss in greater detail next week!

Hello dear rose friends from a very hot, very dry Clonbinane in autumn when I was looking forward to crawling under the doona at night – not yet, obviously!  Our roses are enjoying the dry heat and flowering magnificently – amazing plants they are for sure!

I’d like to share this quote I read recently:

We are still frequently asked to supply thornless roses – not even our growers are budding the ‘smooth touch’ roses which were released many years ago – seems that a rose without (some) thorns just isn’t a great, enduring rose for planting in our gardens.  Graham trialled several thornless ‘smooth touch’ varieties and established that they were generally disappointing both in pots and in garden beds.

There are several highly recommended roses which have few or no thorns on the flowering stems which makes them an absolute pleasure to cut and put in a vase.

The list goes on and on but I think it is imperative that whenever you are working in the garden, you must take care – quality gloves protect your hands from contact with biting insects, spiders, and thorns!   When you’re visiting Silkies Rose Farm, please take time to FIT a pair of our recommended garden gloves which afford you the ability to FEEL what you’re doing because they fit snuggly to most hands and are wash ‘n’ wear durable quality!

GRA’S GARBLE…

This weather isn’t funny but this joke is …

Q. What do you get if you cross a chicken with a cement mixer?  A.  A brick-layer!

Some varieties of roses are amazing performers in very hot weather – here is my absolute stand-out selection –

One more joke, but before I give you that, please, please use seaweed solution over your roses at least every couple of weeks – add foliage fertilizer like AMINOGRO once a month and you’ll have beautiful blooms right into winter – this weather is definitely no joke … Gra

Q.  What sort of nails can you find in shoes?  A. Toe nails

ART & ROSES TOUR 2016

Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th April

Get your group bookings in as soon as possible – with a $10 per person travel subsidy for groups of 12 or more, gather some friends to car-pool with or hire a mini-bus; come along and visit our region – you’ll be spoiled with Devonshire Tea and walk and talk in the gardens with Graham here at Silkies Rose Farm, entry and catalogue for the Art Show – just pay for lunch and morning or afternoon tea at the delightful Hidden Valley Country Estate – we promise you a great day out!

ROSE RAMBLER …  3.3.2016 …

Hello dear rose friends and welcome to autumn which we consider to be the most beautiful season in our garden because the colour in the roses is intense and true; the season when all our deciduous trees turn magnificent colours and we start preparing new rose garden beds for winter planting.  It’s also the season when we get cooler nights and can snuggle-down under the doona again … lovely all-round.

It’s been easy to select the FREE varieties because every one of these roses is highly worthy of planting in your garden!  You’ll see them growing beautifully in gardens all around Australia and have proven to give enormous pleasure to rose gardeners year in and year out!

We’ve chosen varieties from the colour spectrum of roses which are sure to please; importantly all these varieties are very hardy, easy-care and will give you years of abundant blooms!

Now, which one will you choose???  Enjoy this gift from us to you …

APRICOT NECTAR	BONICA	DUET
ELINA	GOLD BUNNY	HOT CHOCOLATE
LA SEVILLANA	MEMOIRE	PARADISE
	VALENCIA

 

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW …

MIFGS starts on Wednesday, 16^th March when I will be giving a presentation ALL ABOUT ROSES at STAND 41B (close to front entrance gate – SCOTT’S AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD.)  commencing at 10.30 – 11.30 so get there early!

Graham’s beautiful, Multi-Award Winning rose: GRA’S BLUE will be featured in Kerri Heron’s garden on the AVENUE OF ACHIEVABLE GARDENS.  Kerri is a horticultural student at Melbourne Polytechnic and when she won the honour of presenting her garden design, she wanted a highly fragrant rose for her ‘picking garden’ and selected GRA’S BLUE as it met all her criteria!

Q.  What do you call an angry chocolate bar?  A.  A Violet Crumble.

EASTER IS AROUND THE CORNER …

Here are a few appropriately named roses which you can gift instead of chocolate –

Q.  How do you say “Richard and Robert have a Rabbit” without using the ‘R’ sound?  A.  Dick and Bob have a bunny!

VERY IMPORTANT SUMMER ROSE CARE …

We’ve had several customers email pictures of their poorly roses this past week – an infestation of RED SPIDER MITE will rapidly spread on the underside of rose foliage in areas where there is poor air circulation and very dry conditions.  The tiny insects will be visible using a magnifying glass – there is usually signs of webbing on the foliage as well.

To control RED SPIDER MITE we recommend immediate action by spraying ECO-OIL with NEEM OIL added (if available).  NEVER SPRAY plants when temperature is expected to be 30 degrees or more – as has been the case this past week!

To minimise the spread of RED SPIDER MITE while the weather is still too warm for spraying, wash affected bushes with the hose – particularly the underside of leaves – MITE hate being wet!  This kind of watering will protect the rose until you can commence spraying with ECO OIL (which suffocates them) and ECO NEEM (tells them to stop eating).

Clear around the base of each rose to improve air circulation and deep-soak the affected roses – this is most important to stop reinfestation!

IT’S BEEN DRY … most issues with roses are due to lack of adequate, deep soaking moisture so give the roses a light prune, turn the hose on and you’ll have a spectacular show of blooms throughout autumn and into winter.