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ROSE RAMBLER 27TH SEPTEMBER, 2018 …

Hello dear rose friends from sunny Clonbinane where most mornings we wake up to see frost … STILL! There’s been minor damage … see below for more information on how to manage any frost affected plants in your garden…

GRA’S GARBLE …

Q: What do baby crabs wear? A: Nippy-nappies.

MULCHING YOUR ROSE GARDEN …

is seriously one of the most important tasks you can undertake NOW while there is still good soil moisture deep down in the sub-soil/clay. To conserve this moisture and have your roses send their roots way down and anchor themselves for years of robust, healthy growing and flowering, I recommend you place a good thick layer of mulch around the entire garden bed.

Notice when we mulch here, there is a ‘biscuit’ of pea straw along the border – this stops birds flicking loose straw out of the bed and we generally place a thick layer of damp newspaper under the ‘biscuit’ to inhibit weeds coming into the garden bed!

In the actual garden bed, the pea straw (or bale of whatever mulch you prefer) is pulled apart and fluffed-up – nice and thick – this also allows fertilizer pellets to find their way down onto the soil. NEVER REMOVE THIS LAYER OF MULCH because soil microbes are actively working to enhance your soil and you could, by exposing them to sunlight, destroy those beneficial microbes very quickly!

Be sure to allow at least 5-10cm of space around the crown of each rose.

MULCH WAY TOO CLOSE OVER CROWN

As this allows sunshine and space for new water-shoot development.

MULCH AWAY FROM CROWN AND WATER-SHRUBBLER VISIBLE

No matter which product you prefer to use, it’s imperative to get MULCH ON YOUR GARDEN NOW! We’re expecting a long, hot summer and we don’t want your roses to suffer or your water-bill to be excessive – ACT NOW!

FROST DAMAGE – WHAT TO DO FOR ALL AFFECTED PLANTS …

Some roses in lower areas of our garden are seriously frost damaged but we are not going to prune ANYTHING MORE off them until the first flowering in November and I urge you to do the same where frost damage is evident. From previous experience here at Clonbinane, I assure you that ALL YOUR ROSES WILL RECOVER and flower this spring. During severe frost last winter, this FATHER OF PEACE, FRANCIS MEILLAND rose was severely frost affected.

The rose recovered and was magnificent this past season. It might take several years to fully remove all blackened branches – diligent summer pruning is an advantage – we’ll cross that bridge when we get there!

THREE NEW BEAUTIES YOU’RE SURE TO LOVE IN YOUR GARDEN …

TWILIGHT ZONE
Has the most amazing darkest purple petals which exude enormous fragrance! Glossy, extremely healthy foliage adorns the rounded shrub which grows to 1.2 metres and the flowers are long-lasting in a vase – must have!

DREAM CHASER
Was one of the most outstanding and alluring roses we saw in the rose fields this past summer when we went to check-out all the new release roses … stunningly healthy foliage on a sturdy, rounded shrub just over 1 metre tall smothered in large blooms of brightest pink – and, it’s beautifully fragrant to boot!! Lovely and already a favourite …

ASHRAM
no rose garden would be complete without a stunning bright orange rose which produces long-stemmed, perfectly formed blooms which are brilliant to use in vases! This beautiful rose has dark reddish foliage which is a perfect foil for the orange flowers – a beauty and very highly recommended …

Q: What type of underwear packs a punch? ? A: Boxer shorts!

Hope you’re enjoying all the glory which spring offers us gardeners – Graham

LAST BARE-ROOTED ROSES – PRICE INCREASE …

This weekend is the last opportunity you’ll have to order BARE-ROOTED ROSES because the roses are now POTTED and beautifully foliaged, lots of roots in the coir-fibre potting mix and some are even budding! Yes, we have flower buds despite minus 2 frosty mornings!

In between watching the footy this weekend, scroll through www.rosesalesonline.com.au and order a few roses to plant for flowering throughout this season and for years to come!

Happy gardening from the team here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane …

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ROSE RAMBLER 20TH SEPTEMBER, 2018…

Hello dear rose friends as lots of gardens are open for you to wander through and be inspired by!  This Expo at Yea coming weekend will be a great spring event …

Our garden is beautifully lush and green, daffodils are stunning and we’ll be seeing rose buds soon …

We hope you did what Laurel in QLD did last week – she forwarded the Rose Rambler to her local politicians.  Together we must and will stop multi-national companies ripping the fragment of our small family businesses apart; however, this will only happen with ACTION so we hope you shared the Rose Rambler with family, friends and politicians!  Thank you!

Here’s the climber which was missing in RR last week … SPITFIRE is a very moderate climber to around 2.5 metres which makes it actually very appropriate to plant in a large tub on a balcony perhaps!  The stamens which are laden with pollen are very attractive to bees and the rose blooms constantly from season start to end!

GRA’S GARBLE…

It’s so rewarding when customers have a happy experience with our roses.   This email from Yungaburra, QLD – the roses were in transit for EIGHT DAYS!

”Thanks to the team at Silkies … the roses are doing well. Some were a little bit wilted after their long journey (they were collected and planted on Saturday). On one PG I trimmed off a few wilted leaves, and gave all a soak for a few hours in seaweed solution before planting. All watered in and sprinkled with seaweed solution over the next couple of days. They are all looking bright and chirpy now.
Best wishes – Dinah”

You may think I harp and harp about the value of seaweed solution on roses but if all gardeners did the regime which Dinah offered her new roses, then you would also see ‘bright and chirpy’ plants every time you plant something new in your garden!

It’s simple and very economical – deep soak every new plant then water over with a sprinkling of seaweed solution – one watering can would easily cover more than 5 square metres – you don’t need to put a whole watering can of seaweed solution over each plant.

SUPER SPRING SPECIAL

With every online order until the end of September, add 1 x 600g ECO-SEAWEED (RRP $32.50) to your cart and pay just $25.00!

Q: What’s a really happy ant?  A: Exhuber-ant.

Did you know that ants are really good to have in your garden?  They actually open up the soil which allows water penetration deep into the subsoil and we all know the importance of moisture in any garden.

Ants are in harmony (symbiotic) with earthworms and other soil microbes and when you see ants being particularly busy, you can be sure there’s rain on the way!

One more ant joke:

Q: What do ants study at university?  A: Ant-atomy.

YES, WE’RE STILL OPEN TO POSTING BARE-ROOTED ROSES … You’ve still got another two weeks to order bare-rooted roses for planting this season.  We are now removing all foliage when packing the roses as this reduces stress in transit and from all recent accounts, the roses are travelling well and settling into their new homes with ease!

Here are two very special favourites which Gra says are “to die for” …

 

GOLDEN CELEBRATION
is my all-time favourite golden yellow rose with exceptional fragrance in large, cupped flowers with masses of petals – I like to cut short stems and float them in an open bowl on the kitchen counter … a delight!

MUNSTEAD WOOD
produces large blooms with velvet, deep crimson petals which exude strong old-rose fragrance.  The bush grows beautifully rounded to about one metre and I have three growing on a short hedge in my breeding garden … a true beauty!

HOW TO PERMANENTLY ‘TAG’ ROSES IN YOUR GARDEN …

Following on from last week, we are confident this suggestion from Kathy is sure to meet with approval – I’m definitely going to get to my local Rodwell’s and see their range of tags …

Hi Graham and Team, I was reading through your newsletter and someone had asked about name tags for roses. Being on a cattle and cropping farm we have access to the NLIS ear tags used for cattle. I use these and the marking pen that comes with it. They are great for all weather conditions and our heat and I attach with a zip tie on a lower branch – not done up tight. After a year or two they might need writing over again but they have lasted better than any other types of tagging system I have tried and can be purchased from rural stores by anyone or online. We buy off Drovers and get blank ones.

Regards  –  Kathy

Hope to see you at Clonbinane soon… Cheers from the team

Within 500 metres of the CLONBINANE INTERCHANGE
on the Hume Freeway, 60 kms north of Melbourne
and open every FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY and MONDAY
9 – 4 PM – PH. 03 5787 1123 …

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ROSE RAMBLER 13TH SEPTEMBER, 2018

Hello dear rose friends as the first week of spring ambled on by with lots more daffodils revealing their smiling selves!

GRA’S GARBLE…

I truly enjoy seeing something strikingly different in a rose garden so I’m showing you three climbing roses which I just couldn’t be without in my garden:

JOSEPH’S COAT

– is one of the first roses to flower on the arches through the nursery – it prides itself as our ‘insect indicator’ … if aphids are around, they’ll definitely be on this rose and very quickly we’ll know whether ladybirds are active.  But apart from us ‘using’ this beautiful rose, it provides a most glorious display of multi-coloured blooms continually throughout the season … the bees love it, we love it and you’re sure to love it too!

EDITH HOLDEN

– is a true ‘brown’ colour – very unique and although some unusual-coloured roses can be considered ‘difficult-to-grow’, this rose is very robust, extremely healthy and continual flowering – it could be used as a very dense ground-covering bush of 2 x 2 metres – a very versatile rose!

SPEAKING OF BEES … every one of us has a responsibility to encourage bees into our gardens.  I urge you to plant flowers for ALL SEASONS to enable bees to support themselves and in turn pollinate our food crops!  

Q: Why did the flying angel lose his job?  A: Because he had harp failure.

IDENTIFICATION LABELS FOR ROSES  …

We’re constantly being asked …

Dear Diana, I was wondering whether you have a permanent name badge solution? How do you tag your Roses?  Kind Regards Robyn

Permanent naming of roses has been a journey – back at Kilmore I used 45cm long white conduit sticks to which I pop-riveted 25cm lengths of venetian blind and HAND PAINTED with BLACK ENAMEL paint … they were terrific and lasted really well!  However, when the 24hour service station opened and there was a lot of night foot-traffic past the gardens, we used to have armloads of the name ‘sticks’ returned to the nursery – mostly but not only, from the swimming pool at the Motel a few doors down!  Lots were still there when we destroyed those gardens back in 2012 to move out here to Clonbinane.

Another thing that has worked is to paint the original label with MARINE LACQUER – I have a PIERRE DE RONSARD label which is still 90% as clear-looking on a plant against a hot tin shed wall facing south-west – it was painted with marine lacquer more than five years ago!

In an endeavour to get something even MORE PERMANENT, I had a guy visit who was able to print aluminium tags with a laser printer … unfortunately, it was very expensive, the print way too small and the label too short so got lost under mulch!  An expensive experiment indeed!!!

So, if you find a really great way to permanently label our roses, I do hope you share your creativity!  Cheers … GRAHAM

Q: Where do birds invest their money?  A: In the stork market!

I received this email during the week that I want to share with you all:
====================================================
Dear Dick Smith Fair Go supporter,

I have never been so angry!!

Please watch my video below, where I expose foreign-owned multinationals for extorting millions of dollars from small, family businesses in Australian country towns, in the middle of a drought.

In the video, I compare this “extortion” to the protection money paid by Kings Cross hotel owners to crime gangs in the 1950s.

This is not voluntary. Our small country family businesses are forced to sign up to these foreign booking websites, otherwise they will lose up to 50% of their business and be forced into bankruptcy.
WATCH IT NOW!
SHARE WITH ALL YOUR COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS & FAMILY!
THIS NEEDS TO GO VIRAL!!

Please watch video here.
Read media release here.

Regards
Dick Smith
====================================================

Enjoy your week in the garden … remember to take at least 10 minutes to pull some weeds, mow a lawn or trim some plants – those 10 minutes of exercise EVERY day will ensure you live happier for longer!

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ROSE RAMBLER 6TH SEPTEMBER, 2018

Welcome dear Rose Friends to spring when the roses come to life again after their winter hibernation – not, of course, true for those in northern climates – you’re already flowering but let me tell you this … Melbourne rose gardens are also flowering NOW! I’ve had several customers call to ask “What should I do? I’ve got flowers on my roses!”

I guess you know what my response would be … ENJOY THEM! Of course!

Lots of our customers leave southern areas seeking warmth during winter – if any of you are coming home now or in a few weeks, if you didn’t prune prior to leaving home, happily go about and prune your rose garden. Flowering might be a little later than usual but you’ll be staggered at the size and quality of the blooms when they arrive in early summer!

GRA’S GARBLE…

Late last summer I planted hundreds of EARLY FLOWERING DAFFODILS and the gardens here are spectacular now despite heavy frosts – the bright yellow daffodils are so warming and a lovely reminder that spring is in the air!

Q: What do you get if a giant steps on Batman and Robin? A: FLATMAN & RIBBON!

Since it’s nearly the end of bare-rooted season, I want you to consider planting a hedge-row of one of the following varieties which I see are still in the heel-in bed:

SOEUR EMMANUELLE
One of the most strikingly pretty, very free-flowering and robust roses you could wish to have – add to that, incredible fragrance, extremely high health and you’ll be stunned with a row of three or more of this magnificent rose.

MUNSTEAD WOOD
Creates a low hedge to around 1 metre tall and it is never without heads of flowers which are ideal for a vase – it’s magnificently fragrant, and produces the darkest crimson red blooms constantly in a west-facing garden.

VERSIGNY
Is so awesomely pretty that when people step from their car in the top carpark they are drawn to visit this beauty which produces long stems of roses which are suited to use as a lasting cut-flower – a hedge or group of three or more plants will offer you masses or gorgeous blooms in vases throughout the flowering season!

Q: Why wasn’t there any food left after the witches party? A: Because everyone was a goblin.

MULCH TO RETAIN MOISTURE IN YOUR ROSE GARDEN …

All organic mulches conserve water by reducing evaporation due to sun and wind, they supress weed growth and feed earthworms and many other microbial insects vital to balance the eco-system of the soil in your garden. Organic mulches hold and retain moisture for their use in hot weather!

Straw (wheaten, oat, barley, pea) can be used very effectively in times of dry weather. There is no doubt that lucerne straw is by far the most superior mulch because it breaks down and adds beneficial nutrients to the soil – right now, however, most lucerne will be used for drought affected animals!

Mulch of woodchips / leaves / animal manure around roses and other plants is effective however, apply lime over the soil every second or third year to counter possible acidity. I will talk more about soil health after my attendance at a SOIL WORKSHOP this past weekend. IMPORTANT: get a good cover of any of the above mulch products over your soil as soon as you have weeded the garden this week!

I’m sneaking another joke in …

Q: Why did the greyhound breeder take dog food to bed? A: Because he wanted to feed his nightmares!

POSTING ROSES IS SUCH A PLEASURE …

“Dear Diana, I would like to say, that of the 32 bare root roses we’ve ordered this season, your root stock and your packaging thereof is by far the best, by far. Thank you very much. With kind regards, Jo-ann”

to which delightful message and a peek at the fact that Jo-ann had purchased SIX roses from us, I emailed …

“WOW … how lovely is this? I’m so thankful when our customers take time to praise our roses and service … you be sure to enjoy a lovely flowering season for years to come! Best wishes and thank you! Diana

It didn’t end there … Jo-ann had the last say:

“It is not for you to thank me….it is for me to thank YOU!!!! 🙂 Thank you, again! 🙂 With kindest regards, Jo-ann”.

During the next few weeks we’ll happily post our roses knowing they’re bouncing to be planted in your garden – we pack them so well and remember, OUR ROSES ARE 100% GUARANTEED TO GROW IN YOUR GARDEN – especially if you follow all of Graham’s recommendations for healthy growing! Weekly Eco-Seaweed solution over your roses in the first six weeks after planting will ensure the plants settle well – please don’t EVER let them dry out before planting and please, DON’T EVER OVERWATER once they’re planted!

Enjoy the happiness of this first week of spring in your garden … cheers from the team here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane …