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.

FIREFIGHTER
One of the most highly fragrant, abundantly free-flowering, tall and healthy bushes which produces THORNLESS long-stemmed, darkest crimson red blooms ideal for placing in vases …

THE CHILDREN’S ROSE
Perfectly formed pale pink THORNLESS-stemmed, highly fragrant blooms on a very robust, healthy bush continually throughout the season – one of our most highly recommended roses …

MONICA – THORNLESS
Long-stems of pure dark orange with yellow at the base of each petal and glossy, dark crimson new foliage on a tall, robust bush which flowers freely all season providing bunches of blooms which last for days in the 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!

Gloves available in small (7), medium(8), large (9) and extra large(10)
@ $14.50 per pair

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 –

PLAYBOY
What a rose!  Strong healthy, glossy dark crimson foliage which turns dark green with age – there’s slight fragrance in the single-petalled gold/bright red blooms which are produced in clusters with amazing continuity – one of my favourites!

DOUBLE KNOCKOUT
A really handy performer that maintains flowering through intense heat and well into colder months.  Masses of darkest hot-pink blooms on an easy-care, very tough and disease resistant bush – amazing rose!

EDGAR DEGAS
One of the most stunning Delbard roses which performs by free-flowering on a lovely rounded shrub which has mid-green, very healthy foliage.  Most delightful for me is that the flowers are always different colours so there’s a surprise every time you look!

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.

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

Hello dear rose friends … hope you all enjoyed Australia Day as much as my friend who emailed this:

Graham and I went to lunch with our friends – a German, a Greek, a Scot, a Pom and I’m Dutch – eight of us laughed till we cried whilst learning to do the Zorba which was safer than playing cricket on the back lawn … is cricket our NATIONAL DANCE???

One thing is for sure, we live in the most magnificently lucky, multi-cultural country!

GRA’S GARBLE …

I’ve been doing experiments with ‘bio-char’ which I created from a very slow burning, very hot bonfire several months ago.

To provide a steady feed on my rose garden, I put fine lumps of charcoal into a solution of seaweed and liquid fish emulsion, left it to soak for 3-4 weeks then placed it around the base of my plants.  Once a week, I poured seaweed solution and my weed-tea over the bio-char to keep it actively releasing microbes which are stored in the charcoal.

The results have been amazing – as I’ve been reading:  “Bio-char is proving to be the greatest, most significant beneficial revolution in organic growing techniques for years”.

To replicate this ‘brew’ you could buy a bag of pure charcoal (not heat beads which are impregnated with kerosene!), soak it in water, seaweed, fish emulsion, add some weeds, raw chook poo (or other animal manure) and after a few weeks, place the soaked charcoal around your roses.  Use the remaining liquid by adding about 1 litre ‘brew’ to 10 litres water and pour over all plants – stand back and watch them grow!

Q.  Why do you feed cocoa to tadpoles?  A.  To make chocolate frogs.

If you do nothing much to your roses during summer, please pour some seaweed solution over them at least fortnightly – we use and recommendECO-SEAWEED POWDER because:

• It has 60 vital nutrients which all plants love
• Includes 16% potassium to strengthen plants
• Is 100% pure soluble seaweed – no clogging of spray head
• Super concentrated – 1 teaspoon per 9 litre watering can
• Certified organic – no nasty chemicals!

Q.  What goes through a grasshopper’s mind when he hits the windscreen of a car driving at 100km per hour?  A.  His legs! 

Hope you’re enjoying your summer rose garden as much as we are here at Clonbinane – it’s a sight to behold… Gra

MAGGIE
Gorgeous modern shrub rose at the best of times but she ‘shone supreme’ during the extreme weather – highly, highly recommended rose if you love to pick bunches of flowers for a vase or simply love a rose which produces clusters of creamy-white blooms continually on a very disease-resistant, neatly rounded shrub to around 1.5 metres –

Hello dear rose friends … another week of perfect Victorian weather living up to reputation, has seen our roses sweltering at 45 degrees with north-westerly wind blowing a gale one day then less than 15 degrees the next day – we marvel at the roses adaptability – so long as they have water!

GRA’S GARBLE …

I didn’t cope so well with the 45 degrees – lost my sense of humour well and truly by 4.00 in the afternoon but the roses prevailed and here are three varieties which absolutely staggered me:

Just to let you know my sense of humour is back in place:
Q.  What is the difference between a television and a newspaper?
A.  Ever tried swatting a fly with the tellie?  

KNOCKOUT
This modern shrub rose deserves to be planted wherever you have a blank space to plant a rose and is especially ideal as a hedge!  Amazingly healthy, robust in all weather, extraordinarily free flowering and a stunning colour to brighten the dullest area of your garden … the potted specimens of KNOCKOUT did not bother one bit about the scorching sun and howling hot wind –

LORRAINE LEE
Bred in 1924 by Alister Clark at his property in Bulla, Victoria, this rose queen is still in demand because it is so suited to Australian conditions – it’s most prolific flowering can be during February when some roses like to have a bit of a spell after the hot summer.  LORRAINE LEE produces masses of fragrant, smoky apricot-pink blooms in flushes throughout the season on a neat shrub to around 1.5 metres.

There is also a climbing form which is most suited to a tennis court fence or similar large structure as the climber can reach massive proportions and requires very little attention!

ROSE MAINTENANCE DURING HOT WEATHER …

If you need to spray the organic management products, especially if you experience humidity which can induce black pot/powdery mildew, do so, but ONLY WHEN IT IS NOT GOING TO BE OVER 30 DEGREES and we highly recommend morning application.

ECO-OIL is a very effective insecticide – it also makes ECO-ROSE FUNGICIDE and seaweed solution STICK TO THE FOLIAGE to improve efficacy of the products.  It will BURN FOLIAGE if applied during hot weather!!!

If you notice brown/crisp edges on foliage, check soil moisture and be sure to apply at least 20 litres of water per plant AT EACH APPLICATION once a week – not 5 litres per plant every day!  Such watering is pointless as it doesn’t reach the root-zone which is where roses require water.

Q.  How do you fit more pigs on your farm?  A.  Build a sty-scraper.

To increase the healthy vigour of your roses and have them produce quality blooms throughout summer, deep soak your plants to ensure their roots travel way down into nutrient-rich clay sub-soil – there are usually good reserves of moisture down in the sub-soil!  Good watering will ensure a healthy cover of foliage which is the absolute ‘life-force’ of your roses!

We hope you’re still enjoying the holidays and can take time to read this article from Biodynamic Agriculture Australia newsletter:  Between the Leaves …

GRA’S GARBLE …

Using organic and biodynamic management practices in your home garden is very economical and will definitely afford you better health and a sense of satisfaction that you’re working alongside Mother Nature providing a safe and inviting environment for you and your family to enjoy!

Some websites I suggest you log onto for more information:

• www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au – join their e-club
• www.sgaonline.org.au everything you need to know about sustainable gardening
• www.biodynamics.net.au – monthly newsletter available

Q. What do you call an ant sitting on a $10 note?  A. An antenna

MY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ROSES WITH HUGE FRAGRANCE …

HEAVEN SCENT
Large, orchid pink blooms with split outer petals on long single stems that have few thorns on the flowering stem.  Lush, healthy mid-green foliage – beautiful!

MOTHER’S LOVE
Palest pink blooms gently deeper pink towards the centre.  Abundant blooming with dark glossy foliage, medium-tall spreading shrub – stunning!

BEST FRIEND
Vibrant blooms of deep, hot pink this tall grower was named by the RSPCA to honour the unconditional special friendship that comes from loving your pet!  Every single bloom deserves to be vased for the pleasure of fragrance in your home!

Q.  What lies around, one hundred feet up?  A.  A dead centipede.

Remember, when watering your garden during this hot summer, deep soak once a week with at least 20 litres per rose delivered at the same time!  Stay cool … Gra

WINNING OR LOSING WITH POSSUMS …

Here’s another good idea to help you wage war against the little blighters –

Of course, you could also grow climbing roses away from fences in an obelisk/pillar frame such as we stock at the Rose Farm … lovely sturdy supports, not too decorative which can makes them VERY AFFORDABLE – they certainly look beautiful in my new garden.

They come in two sizes – short 1.5mts $150 and tall 2mts $195 both 55cm diameter. These pillars would be suitable for a large pot/wine barrel to add a column of flowering beauty in your space!  There is a new addition to these obelisks which suit CLEMATIS 1.5mts tall x 30cm diameter $75.00 – these frames are ‘pick-up’ only as they are very sturdy and are not bolted together out of a ‘flat pack’ from China – a local guy constructs them for us!

We trust you’ve enjoyed the Festive Season as much as we have – we wish you health and happiness during this year!  We re-open tomorrow and will be here every FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY and MONDAY throughout this year from 9.00am – 4.00pm – www.rosesalesonline.com.au, www.giftroses.com.au and www.allaboutroses.com.au with an encyclopaedia of roses and lots of helpful information along with all past issues of this Rose Rambler are there for you 24/7 – enjoy!

Our roses have loved the heat and because of the late frosts we kept the garden beds well irrigated to encourage regrowth and flowering after -3 frost on 30^th November with a follow up -1 frost on Saturday, 12^th December.  Saturday, 19^th December, we recorded 45 degrees and Saturday, 26^th December, we recorded 21mm of rain.  A season to remember!!!

Fortunately, we’ve also been blessed with a significant 40mms of rainfall over the past week so it’s a picture here again – all in less than 5 weeks since our garden was devastated by frost during December!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Saw this ad in a local paper:  “Sheepdog for sale – will eat anything. Very fond of children.”

If your kids need entertainment, get them out in the garden – over the next THREE DAYS until Saturday, 9^th January, there is a moon phase which indicates a brilliant opportunity for weed eradication.  Offer the kids 5 cents for every weed they pull out – have them count them, write up an invoice and suggest they’ll then have to put 50% of the earnings into their bank account and spend the rest on something they ‘have to have’.  You’ll have a weed-free garden in no time and the kids will have had a great experience!

Scientists tell us that people average around 70% of each day sitting whilst working in the garden for around ONE HOUR is equivalent to a 4KM walk!  Get out in the garden but do remember to be kind to yourself in extremely hot weather – half an hour in the morning and then another half hour after dinner in the evening.  Let your garden be your doctor!!!

Here are some beautiful pics  of potted roses taken around the nursery last week …