ROSE RAMBLER … 2.7.2015 …
Hello dear rose friends … not just a new month but already the second half of the year and the winter solstice behind us so we move onto longer days – how time zooms on by!
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GRA’S GARBLE …
Some roses offer the amazing quality of flowering right into winter and here are a few I have noticed in the gardens here – they flowered despite frosty mornings and their fragrance was intense too –
CHARLES DE GAULLE
Possibly one of my favourite lilac-blue roses for perfect Hybrid Tea form, lovely open-shaped healthy foliaged bush which produces bunches of highly fragrant flowers which are long-lasting in a vase …
FIREFIGHTER
dark, rich red, intensely fragrant, perfectly formed blooms on very long, thornless stems (one for the blokes who detest thorns!). The very tall bush is healthy but will love being positioned in the hottest part of your garden …
NAHEMA
I just LOVE this climbing rose because it continues to produce masses of highly fragrant soft-pink blooms on long thornless stems relentlessly! It has unique curled foliage which is nothing to worry about and deserves planting as a free-standing shrub or climber shown here with KARDINAL (a perfect red rose with awesome qualities) and our rock cyclamen – what a glorious photo to share …
WINTER SUN
a healthy beast in the extreme – awesomely free-flowering bush which produces masses of creamy-yellow, perfectly formed blooms and is reliable for a bunch of lightly fragrant blooms for the vase throughout the season – Highly recommended rose!
Q.
What do you call a snail on a ship? A.
A snailor! Speaking of snails … use a pet-safe snail bait throughout winter to try and slow their breeding for less issues with their destructive force in spring!
Q. What kind of dog likes baths? A shampoodle! Here’s a pic of our lovely MOOI who is always keen to greet you when you visit – there’s absolutely no bite in her bark, just a demand for a cuddle … here she’s showing you how she helps me round up the LANGSHAN BANTAM chooks who are bigger than her …
Please call up to the Rose Farm and if you need a personal rose demo, I’m happy to walk with you in the gardens when I am here … bring your secateurs with you and I’ll show you how to maintain/sharpen them too … see you soon at Clonbinane – Gra
DATES WHERE YOU CAN MEET US IN JULY …
BENALLA GARDEN CLUB – TUESDAY, JULY 7TH – 7.00PM – CONTACT: valbobknaggs@westnet.com.au for more information
3CR RADIO – Graham will be on the panel this month – 7.30 – 9.15am SUNDAY, 12TH JULY on 855 AM BAND radio – always interesting SUNDAY MORNING gardening talk-back radio
ROSE SOCIETY OF VICTORIA – Monthly meeting at St. James Anglican Church, Cnr. Burke Road and High Street, Glen Iris – 8.00 PM – CONTACT: jacinta02@optusnet.com.au
There are more presentations later in July and I will advise those dates next week. Meantime, hope you’re enjoying getting out in the garden while the weather is so inviting to share time with the kids through these school holidays …
Cheers from Graham, Diana and Mooi at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane
