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ROSE RAMBLER 25.5.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 25.05.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends as the days get shorter and we’re seeing the last of our beautiful roses for this rose season … aaaw, how we will miss the fragrant beauty on the kitchen island bench but oh, how I will enjoy having a clear space for the next few months – as the garden changes, so does the interior of our snugly home!

In glorious sunshine we’ve been madly labeling all the roses which we collected last week and lots of orders are being processed for posting/collection – don’t despair if we haven’t called or emailed you about your order – this first consignment of nearly 5,000 roses is only the beginning of a HUGE season!

It is sooooo important that you practice PATIENCE at this time … if your order contains the very new 2017 release roses or standard roses, there will be a delay in dispatch as these varieties are allowed to have a bit of cool weather to ‘harden up’ before they are dug!

We are committed to processing your order as soon as it becomes available for posting or collection and WE WILL CALL OR SMS TEXT YOU AS SOON AS THE ROSES ARE READY!!!

Here are a couple of my absolute favourite roses which, if you want to create a hedge or simply wish to fill spaces around the garden with the most free-flowering, easy-care, delightfully awesome roses, these are the ones I highly recommend:

LIONS ROSE
Modern Shrub/Floribunda rose of immense beauty,
resistance to disease and ability to grow
and flower in any sunny location.

MAGGIE
Modern Shrub rose named for our very own
Maggie Tabberer who is the patron of the Melanoma Foundation
who receive the royalty payments from sales of this rose in Australia.

LINKED HEARTS
Beautifully fragrant Hybrid Tea rose produces masses of
perfectly shaped blooms with the clearest pale pink centres
fading to almost white at the edge of the petals.

Of course, there are lots of others in all colours and categories – why not email me your specifications and together we’ll create the garden of your dreams!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Let’s start this week with a bit of a puzzle …

Q.  What travels around the world but stays in the corner?  A.  A stamp!

Diana will be speaking at the following destination … suggest you book a place for this event which is really just around the corner now and sure to be a brilliant day out at a most pleasant location –

 

Garden Seminar

Thursday 15th June 2017
Garden Room, Buda Historic Home & Garden
42 Hunter Street, Castlemaine
10.30am for 11.00am start – 3.00pm

Hot buffet-style lunch – BYO drink –
Cost: $15 members   $25 non-members
RSVP Thursday, June 9

Organizer:  Tom Comerford –
tomchris@mmnet.com.au  –  5470 6230

Format – 2 sessions
a.m. Speaker Diana Sargeant – Consulting Rosarian
p.m. Garden Symposium with Jill Hildebrand,
Garden Curator Buda Historic Home & Garden

Gill Miller, Curator Castlemaine Botanic Gardens and Diana Sargeant, Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane

Please register your attendance with TOM COMERFORD at Castlemaine on 5470 6230.

Q. Why did the monkey put a piece of steak on his head?  A. He thought he was a griller.

ROSE PRUNING DEMONSTRATIONS …

Let’s kick off traditional ‘rose pruning season’ with some demonstrations in June … come along to one of our FREE DEMONSTRATIONS and I’ll show you what to do …

SUNDAY 4th JUNE & JUNE 18th
1.30pm

Please know that you really should let the roses go into a natural dormancy, allow them to lose their leaves and then just as they start shooting new seasons leaves, do the pruning!  That way, they’ll indicate exactly where to prune – makes pruning a real cinch and makes you look like an expert!

Talk to you again next week … from us at beautiful CLONBINANE …
Diana, Graham, Mooi & Tova
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ROSE RAMBLER 18.5.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 18.05.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends as the cold weather starts to kick in with winter just around the corner now; the lovely sunny afternoons are such a delight with the autumn tree colours enhanced by sun – it’s a beautiful, beautiful time of year in our garden!

Not much time to squander enjoying the view though … we are head-down-bum-up heeling in this seasons bare-rooted roses … 5,000 of which arrived this morning!

We sure hope you have your rose order organised for this year – there seems to be a reinvented interest in roses and yes, we think it’s because they are more and more easy-care, free-flowering and there’s a huge amount of fragrance in the newly released roses!

Place your order during the next 5 days and enjoy selecting one of our FREE ROSES as a special treat for all orders over $100.

GRA’S GARBLE …

Today we removed the outer layer of hay bales from the compost heap which was started on November 16th, 2016 because we wanted to use those straw bales (filled with breeding worms) to create a new compost heap over a load of steaming, fresh horse stable manure and bags of oak leaves from a Melbourne property which were delivered here this past weekend.

Rotten little opportunists we are – absolutely! and most especially when it comes to gathering such glorious products to create more compost which enhances our gardens!

You might think “it’s all right for them, they’ve got lots of space” … but hang on, just a very small amount of space would be required in your back yard where you can compost all the ‘stuff’ you need to put some goodness back into your garden … I hope this information triggers action at your place:

Alarming Facts – we can all help to reduce – Approximately 50% of the rubbish Australians put in the everyday mixed-waste ‘garbage bin’ could be put to better use in the garden as compost and mulch or could be returned to agricultural land to improve soil quality. Based on 25 Council audits conducted by EC Sustainable in 2011, around 33% of the rubbish is food organics (including peelings) and about 10% is garden vegetation.

Alarmingly, such a huge amount of organically-active material buried ‘anaerobically’ (without air) in landfills causes over 3% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions annually through the production of methane gas (which has 25 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide).

Please click on the link to read more: http://www.compostweek.com.au/core/about-composting/

Q.  Why did the jelly-bean go to school?  A. Because it wanted to be a smartie!

It was such joy to make a ball of humus exactly 6 months to the date after Diana created the hay-bale-compost-heap when she became frustrated at the amount of weeds I had caused by putting oat straw on garden beds last winter … we turned a negative situation into a huge positive for our gardens.

 

This new compost heap has very different composition with a similar concept from its creation – lovely customers in Melbourne load their garbage bin with leaves every week and since they enjoy raking them, we suggested they might like to bag them and bring them here on their next visit – 19 bags of leaves over a load of stable manure from our neighbours!  I’m in heaven … whistle, whistle!  In 6 months, I’ll show you another series of photos and truly, very little input for an immensely pleasing reward!

PLEASE DO NOT PUT AUTUMN LEAVES IN GARBAGE – USE THEM AS MULCH AROUND YOUR GARDEN OR BAG THEM; TAKE THEM WHERE SOMEONE WILL USE THEM FOR COMPOST – MOST SUBURBS HAVE A COMMUNITY GARDEN – TAKE THE BAGGED LEAVES THERE.

NEVER BURN AUTUMN LEAVES – PLEASE COMPOST THEM OR BRING THEM HERE!

Q.  Why were the baby strawberries upset?  A.  Because their parents were in a jam.

STANDARD ROSES VERSUS BUSH ROSE …

Many roses should NEVER be budded onto a standard understock/stem because of their upright shape and despite me constantly telling our customers to ‘be the boss and make the rose grow as you wish it to grow’, I encourage you to be careful when selecting standard roses for your garden!

Here are a few of my most favourite standard roses because they are so beautifully shaped when grown on a 90cm standard understock/stem …

ASHRAM
Hybrid Tea Rose with a very strong growth habit
and free-flowering throughout the season.

TATJANA
Hybrid Tea rose which produces masses of vase-quality blooms continually throughout the flowering season on lush, healthy, dark green foliage
– HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

POPE JOHN PAUL II
Healthy and produces and abundent supply of the most perfectly shaped rose blooms which last well in the vase – looks stunning when planted as a Standard Rose.

FORGET ME NOT
Is one of my most highly recommended roses for fragrance, health, vigour, stunning foliage, exquisite fruity fragrance from a Hybrid Tea shaped bud which opens to a cupped mass of swirling petals in shades of mauve/warm pink

ST. PATRICK
Is a Hybrid Tea rose with unusual green buds which, depending on the weather, turn golden yellow in the summer or retain a chartreuse green in cooler weather.

Our standard roses will become available at the end of June/early July – remember, always buy quality and consider durable stakes like 13-16mm rio-rod and use reliable ties – we use and highly recommend VELCRO ONE-WRAP 19mm.

If you need assistance creating the rose garden of your dreams design, let me give you a hand – send as many pics, dimensions, ideas and your own wishes so together we can make it work … my motto:  DO IT ONCE, DO IT WELL …

Talk to you again next week … from us at beautiful CLONBINANE …
Diana, Graham, Mooi & Tova


Can you spot our supervisor Mooi in our newly resurfaced nursery?!

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ROSE RAMBLER 11.5.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 11.05.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends as the frosty mornings take their toll on our beautiful roses for this season – a few will be glorious this weekend for Mother’s Day gifting – the most spectacular rose right now is PERFUME PASSION.

You know, there are times when the name of a rose is very, very important – I understand that because I do the GIFT ROSE which is, quite sincerely, mostly about the NAME OF THE ROSE … however, when appropriate, I will select a more gloriously beautifully flowering rose or a more robust, healthy specimen to pop into the GIFT ROSE pack!

Why?  Well, it’s all about the MEANING of the GIFT ROSE – you don’t want a shaggy, half-decent rose being delivered and let’s be honest here, sometimes in their flowering cycle, most roses go through a pretty shaggy time when they’re definitely NOT suitable for gifting.

MOTHER’S LOVE which is so appropriate for Mother’s Day this weekend has NEVER been at her absolute best by late April/early May so think outside the square and afford your Mum the most spectacular rose available at the time!

It might be AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL or SUMMER ROMANCE or LA VIE EN ROSE which are all new varieties we have carefully selected to add to our list for this season.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
A gorgeous modern shrub rose which produces masses of blooms in clusters – best described as lemon in colour, very deeply-cupped cool yellow in the centre with very pale lemon/white outer petals which open flat as the blooms age.

SUMMER ROMANCE
A supremely healthy modern shrub rose which produces fully quartered, old-fashioned style blooms which have a captivating spicy fragrance continually throughout the season.

LA VIE EN ROSE
A beautiful addition to the Delbard series – it’s healthy, produces masses of fragrant blooms which are suited to a vase and all this, produced on a sturdy upright bush with extremely healthy foliage … very highly recommended for 2017 planting in your garden.

GRA’S GARBLE …

It’s winter which means it’s footy season so let’s see if you can get this joke:

Q. Why are football grounds odd? A. Because you can sit in the stands but can’t stand in the sits!

ORGANIC ROSE SPRAY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM …

There’s little need to continue spraying the roses now as they are ready to go into winter dormancy which means their foliage will spoil with yellow leaves and black spot.
This means there is no more photosynthesis; the rose ceases flowering or producing new foliage so the foliage will drop and the rose bush will be ready for winter pruning.
VERY INTERESTING EMAIL …

Dear Diana, I have heard that you must pick up all fallen rose leaves.  Being elderly and with bad knees I find that I am unable to do this.   Will this be detrimental in the long term or will your rose programme help to keep the roses in tip top condition.  Your advice will be much appreciated.  Many thanks … Margaret

Diana’s response: Whoever wrote such rubbish could never be a ‘real’ gardener!  Can you imagine how I would ever be able to maintain a rose nursery where petals and leaves are falling EVERY DAY in masses?  I would be on my hands and knees all day picking up petals – I would rather be out amid the roses sniffing and enjoying them and I encourage you to do the same!!!

Yes, if you are using our organic management spray program use it immediately AFTER PRUNING and spray over the mulch on the ground as well just because you can!  Hope this relieves you of the stress thinking you were doing it all wrong!!!  Best wishes … Diana

I will remind you as we head into winter rose management that once the roses have had a bit of dormancy, they’re hardened for winter pruning and the organic rose management program will be implemented again.

Meantime, please don’t give up on regular seaweed solution applications.  Remember, as the nights get frosty, your roses and other plants will enjoy between 3-5 degrees of greater frost tolerance if their cells are filled with seaweed solution protection!!!
I urge you to conduct trials in your own garden … pour seaweed solution over a few plants, leave others without and see for yourself what the difference is … these trials are not ‘overnight’ visually apparent but your whole garden will appear more robust and healthy when you implement regular fertilizer and maintenance programs!

When ordering your roses NOW FOR WINTER PLANTING, afford your plants a really great start with ECO-SEAWEED – this 600g pack of powdered seaweed with just a small scoop per 10 litre watering can will make more than 500 watering cans of solution … all that for just $32.50 – be sure and add it to your winter rose order!

Q.  What lights up a football stadium?  A.  A football match!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

… to all our beautiful rose gardening Mothers, Grandmothers, Nonnas, Omas and Great-Grandmothers … “Grandmere” which my beautiful Mother has the joy of hearing 17 of her great grandchildren call her!!!  

If you’re awake nice and early on Sunday tune into 3CR GARDENING SHOW at 855 on the AM band quite close to 774 ABC Melbourne.  Graham will join a great panel of professional gardeners who offer their Sunday morning for your listening pleasure and learning …


3CR GARDEN SHOW
7.30AM – 9.15AM at 855 on the RADIO AM BAND
Cheers from Graham, Diana, Mooi and Tova at
SILKIES ROSE FARM, CLONBINANE
Open Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 9am – 4pm
PHONE:  03 5787 1123

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ROSE RAMBLER 4.5.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 04.05.2017 …

Hello  dear rose friends and welcome to the month of May when we start to see the last of our magnificent rose blooms until spring!  I will indulge you with lots of beautiful pictures to incite you to purchase some of the beauties which are newly available this season …

SUGAR MOON
Ooooh, gosh but was it gorgeous in the vase at Tesselaar’s Expo recently and it will be a delight in your garden as a lovely healthy rounded shrub which is bound to produce masses to flowering stems throughout the season … I’ll be sure to plant at least one in my new garden …

EARTH ANGEL
Luscious palest pink heavily petalled and deeply cupped, highly fragrant blooms are the outstanding glory of this magnificent new rose …

ELYSIUM FIELD
Salmon pink blooms with masses of petals which reflex to flat open blooms on an extremely healthy shrub rose – the flowers were glorious after a very humid five days in a vase which is another reason to grow this beauty in your garden …

GRA’S GARBLE …

I love it when I get this kind of testimonial for the beautiful rose I created from seed which then received awards including a GOLD MEDAL as the most highly fragrant rose at the Australian Rose Trial Grounds.

“Graham gave me a small rose bud after his pruning demonstration on Sunday at Tesselaars Plant Expo. When I unpacked the car later that evening I found a very sad, shrivelled bud amongst other plants I’d purchased.  As my husband boiled the kettle for tea I recalled the section in Diana’s book that talked about reviving roses in hot water.  This is the result…. GRA’S BLUE in all its splendour.  So thanks for the very useful tip….it works!!!”  Madalyn, Mount Evelyn.

Q.  What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?  A.  A carrot.

PREPARING THE ROSE BED FOR WINTER PLANTING

The most successful and rewarding rose gardens are those where the soil was well prepared prior to planting and autumn is the ideal season to prepare your new garden beds for winter planting of bare-rooted roses.

Remove the grass/weeds to a depth of say, 50mm – 100mm. This ‘turf’ can be laid in another area to create a lawn or place it on the compost heap where it will break down and provide compost for another garden bed once the weeds are ‘cooked’.

Do not dig the cleared area because it is back-breaking work and there is no need for you to do it.  There is an army of workers waiting underground for you to proceed to the next step of creating this new rose bed and they will happily do all the necessary digging and aerating which is essential to create a well-drained site suitable for bare-rooted roses.

Apply gypsum and liquid seaweed over the area then pile on any combination of animal manures or whatever composted material available.  Take some litter from under a range of shrubs and trees in other areas of your garden and spread them over the compost.  This will supply mycorrhiza (fungi) from your own garden environment and is an integral component in the soil life when preparing a new garden bed.  Lightly mulch with lucerne or pea straw and water weekly if there is no rain.

Sprinkle rock dust and liquid sea minerals to ensure a balanced range of earth and sea minerals are incorporated into the soil.

Liquid seaweed applied weekly will act as a soil conditioner as well as feed the worms, your army of workers, without whom your garden will not flourish at all.  They will rapidly come to the surface and begin aerating the soil for you.  As they chew their way through all the manure, straw, leaf litter and goodness you’ve been adding to the site, they will generously add their castings to the soil.  If the pile of manure you have applied rots down to become humus and the bed needs to be raised, keep adding more manure and straw layers up to four weeks prior to planting.

When you are ready to plant the roses, the only area to dig will be at the planting hole.   By doing this, you reduce weed activation because you are not disturbing the soil structure of the entire garden bed.

ORDER YOUR WINTER ROSES … NOW!

It’s time now to put your winter order together … it’s easy to procrastinate but we would like to ensure that you get EXACTLY WHICH ROSES YOU WANT and some varieties are already close to selling out!

WE OFFER A 100% GUARANTEE ON OUR ROSES … Yes, we do offer this guarantee but it can be tricky when things don’t quite go as planned like in this case with Gayle

Hi… last year I ordered a bare rooted rose from you my order no. #2857.  I planted the rose…like I do all my roses properly…it is very weak and sick looking lost all its leaves and is now looking very sorry for itself.. Do you have any ideas what I can do..I would love to save it.  I planted it in memory of my deceased 18 year old cat Duchess.  Any help would be appreciated – Gayle

Perhaps if you send some pics I might be able to assist you?  I’m thinking you might have planted DUCHESSE DE BRABANT which is a magnificently strong Tea Rose of immense beauty.

Please do let me know … Diana(Several weeks passed and I got a photo which I cannot locate but the rose looked great.)  The next email was:

Hello Gayle … oooh, I can see lots and lots of new growth/foliage on this plant … perhaps it has been sulking for a while but it’s definitely ok in the location where it is planted so LEAVE IT ALONE!  Give it regular seaweed solution – weekly perhaps because of the intense heat stress it might be incurring and it will be beautiful in no time!  Hope this is helpful and keep me posted please … best wishes

Hi Diana….thanks for the advice…yes it is looking a lot better, thanks again –  Gayle.

Early this week, I received this email from Gayle:

Hi Diana…thought I would give you an update on my DUCHESSE rose….the rose is healthy…I realise it was being nibbled at by rabbits!!  Have a wire protection on it now.  LOL..live and learn!

Yes, we offer a 100% guarantee on all our roses, a replacement rose is offered where necessary but not before thoroughly exploring EVERY possible reason for why a particular rose isn’t flourishing and we urge you to do the same!

Q.  What kind of pets do teachers at beauty school like?  A.  Hares!

Have a great week in your autumn garden – get out the winter woollies because winter is just around the corner now.  Enjoy sniffing the last rose blooms …

Cheers from Graham, Diana, Mooi and Tova at Clonbinane

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ROSE RAMBLER 27.4.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 27.04.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends – phew, what a month this has been and thank you to ALL OF YOU who supported the events which we have been involved with, thank you for coming to the Rose Farm and thank you absolutely for ordering your winter roses/bare-rooted roses online during this past month that the online store at www.rosesalesonline.com.au has been open for winter ordering.

In coming weeks I will be uploading all the wonderful photos I’ve taken this past season – do take a look and please, if you see a photo which you don’t think does our website justice because it’s wrongly loaded, please can you shoot me an email.  I will happily add a free rose to your winter order as thank you for being my ‘online scout’ but you have to let me know … thank you so much!

NEW ROSES FOR 2017 …

Here are a few of the beauties we showcased at Tesselaar’s Garden Expo this past weekend – gosh, was it spectacular!

SPIRIT OF RURAL WOMEN
A healthy shrub which produces pure white blooms
displaying a swirling mass of petals on long, strong stems ideal for a vase.

ORIGAMI
Distinctly unusual rose with strongly angular red and white
petals which give the bloom a ‘square’ appearance,
similar to a paper folded flower – hence the name Origami.
Highly disease resistant and well clothed in mid green foliage,
plant singly, as a hedge or in a pot. Light rose perfume.
A Gold Award winning rose – Australian National Rose Trial Grounds.

BOSCOBEL
This David Austin New Release Rose for 2017
had people stopping to check whether the flowers
were real when we presented this magnificent rose at the
Tesselaar Plant Expo in April, 2017 …
what a rose and it just got better as it aged in the vase!

GRA’S GARBLE …

There’s all sorts of talk about how small business makes this country ‘tick’ – so easy to talk and talk and talk!  Please, Australians, buy as local as you possibly can!!!  We select products for our household shopping with diligent care – the one we like MUST preferably be ‘MADE IN AUSTRALIA’ or we’ll find an alternative product of similar or better quality to pop into our shopping trolley!

YES, the Aussie product will obviously be more expensive … H-E-L-L-O … we are SO WELL PAID that all the products we make and distribute here in Australia are always going to be more expensive than what is imported where cheap labour is used to produce our overwhelming need for more!

All worth a thought as our beautiful roses have been taken in luggage to India, Thailand and UK in past weeks.  It’s a small world and becoming smaller.

Q. What do snakes write at the bottom of their letters?  A. Love and hisses …

Hope you haven’t had issues with them in your garden recently – just a few sightings here this past summer and we’re now confident again with colder weather that they’re gone off to hibernate!

THE WISE SEE KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION AS ONE;
THEY SEE TRULY … Bhagavad Gita

ROSES AND SHADE TOLERANCE … PERHAPS TIME FOR A REST TOO …

Here’s an email chat with Jodie in QLD who has received three consignments of roses, eco-products and Diana’s book, ALL ABOUT ROSES in recent months …

Hi Jodie … ok, so you have roses in the shade???  It’s a tricky one and you’ll have to manage it … can you trim the plants/trees which are causing shade?  If it’s the house – ha, ha, you cannot shift it!You’ll have to be very diligent with a spray program … please follow directions in my book ALL ABOUT ROSES when you get it in the post this week … put all the Eco-products into the one sprayer – spray them all over the foliage at least monthly (try and avoid the flowers because it does spoil them!!!) … NEVER SPRAY OVER 30 degrees and hot sun conditions!  Get up early and get it on before 9.00am … put half-strength ECO-OIL in really warm conditions!!!

Think about it too … does NEPTUNE need a bit of fertilizer – it’s been flowering like a ripper … yes?  All the roses will be adapting to your climate, soil conditions and quite frankly, it’s a heck of a journey from here to you, being planted in a whole new environment and perhaps a bit of stress (ie, indicated by back spot on foliage) would be NORMAL???

Remember too Jodie … it’s that time of year when the roses are ready to have a break – there one means of losing foliage to become hardened up for winter pruning is to be riddled with black spot so the foliage cannot photosynthesise, it drops, the plant becomes bare, you prune it, it rests for winter and the next minute, it’s sprouting foliage again and then very soon after, it’s flowering!

It’s a cycle with a whole of lot of ‘stuff’ in between – most awesomely, beautiful flowers pretty consistently for around 7-9 months depending on the climate where you live … All very, very special … enjoy!

PERFUME – A ROSE DELIGHT …

Throughout the ages, humans have sought to capture the tantalizing, elusive perfume of the rose … here are some categories of scent …

  • Aromatics such as aniseed and lavender
  • Citrus
  • Flora such as rose, jasmine or lilac
  • Fruit such as raspberry, pear or peach
  • Greenery from herbs
  • Spices like cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon
  • Wood and balsam – vanilla, heliotrope at the base.

On still, warm, sunny days, fragrance from roses is at optimum and strongest for even the most ‘hard of smelling nose’!  Blooms picked when the outer petals have fully reflected will exude fragrance for days at evenly warm room temperature – so when you pick a rose that you think is hardly worth popping in a vase, do it as you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the change in fragrance when vased in a warm environment!

Q.  What do you call a rabbit who tells jokes?  A.  A funny bunny!

GOOD TIP … to test for fragrance don’t just take a quick ‘sniff’ but rather hold a semi-open rose bloom in the palm of your hands, perhaps pick it and pop it in your pocket or place it under your cap for a short time and you will soon know whether it is or isn’t fragrant FOR YOU!  Remember, we ALL have a different capacity in our sense of SMELL!

I hope you’re digging and dunging the garden ready for planting bare-rooted roses this winter … next week I’ll give you some really good hints for what to add to the soil but if you’re out and about at a garden centre this week, take home a few bags of quality manure / compost / fertilizer … remember, it’s still autumn and the most wonderful season to sort your garden for this coming winter!

Enjoy the awesomeness of your autumn garden … take a drive out our way to experience the beauty of autumn colour in the ornamental trees … we’re basking in a whole other glory here at Clonbinane!

Cheers from Graham, Diana, Mooi and our lovely assistant, Tova


“Stay cosy!”

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ROSE RAMBLER 20.4.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 20.04.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends as we pack the iLoad with buckets of cut rose blooms, boxes of vases, potted roses and head off to the Tesselaar Gardening and Plants Expo – which is EXACTLY what it is!

A gathering of some of the finest specialist horticulturalists who meet at this magnificent destination to show our wares and offer our discerning gardening friends an opportunity to come along and meet us all at one place – the pulsing heart of horticulture at Silvan in Victoria.  Yes, some customers have flown to Melbourne for this event!

If you require information about attending this weekend, please call us 03 5787 1123.

GRA’S GARBLE …

I have an opportunity to once again speak at the…

Tesselaar Gardening and Plant Expo
SUNDAY, 23RD AT 1.30PM
ROSES – ALL THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Bring along your questions!  Never, ever, not ask a question because you think you ‘should know the answer’!!!  I feel privileged and honoured to be invited to share my years of horticultural experience at these events.

For all our customers, always, if you have a query, please land it in an email or bring pictures and all your questions to us here at the Rose Farm.  Our belief is – if you don’t ask the question, the answer is NO … just bring on the questions when you have them!

ALSO! Don’t miss out on this 2 for 1 offer for tickets to the expo. Simply print the below coupon and bring it along to Tesselaars with you this weekend!

Q.  What happened to the dog who swallowed a watch?  A.  He got ticks!

Ever tried weeding in garden beds and you pull at the base of the weed but it just won’t come out roots and all?  Other times, you can hand weed such deep-rooted weeds like ‘dock’ and it almost falls out of the ground!  Well, from 21st April till 26th April INCLUSIVE will be a most successful time for weeding this month – please test this for yourself and we would love to hear your feedback!

You can source the MOON PLANTING GUIDE in Better Homes and Gardens monthly magazine so that you know when to plant, when to weed and when to take a rest from gardening!  Great idea!!!

Q.  What position does a monster play on a soccer team?  A. You’re right … GHOULIE!

This past week we experienced another “TYPICAL SCENARIO OF A POTENTIAL ISSUE WITH A ROSE IN YOUR GARDEN” … It starts rather impersonally and we eventually end up as best friends with Diana and I trying to solve a problem together with our customer …

Dear Roses online, I bought several roses from you last year most are performing very well but I have two that I cannot get to flower.  They have been fertilized and watered just the same as the others. I have tried to give them a prune and nothing seems to be working.  The two roses are Brother Cadfael and Eglantyne both David Austin roses.  Your help would be appreciated.  I can send some photos if it would help.  Thankyou.  Jayne

A photo is always helpful.  However, my thought is that the roses are not getting enough sun?????  Sometimes, when a rose isn’t performing, I will recommend digging it up and holding in a pot for some time, re-working the soil then replanting.  What do you think?

Hi Diana, I have included some photos hopefully you might see something that I cannot.  They all have full sun so no worries there.  If you can`t see anything I will remove the plant from the garden and try it in a pot.  Thanks Jayne

Jayne:  Everything seems in order … are you perhaps cutting/pruning roses which want to grow taller than others … they’re both rather tall in their habit and if you keep trimming, then you’ll deplete flowering potential …???  The foliage is healthy and in both cases, I can see they’re true to variety – BROTHER CADFAEL has that lovely new dark red foliage so is easily identifiable.  Since they’re in full sun, I don’t know other than they’re robust plants and you are potentially cutting off the flowers in order to keep the plants short … ???

Hi Diana , many thanks for your help I will leave them alone for a while and see what happens.  If they don`t flower thru the autumn I will have to put something in it`s place.  Another excuse to buy some more??  Many thanks Jayne.

Jayne:  We would prefer to resolve the issue happening in that location … there HAS TO BE SOMETHING WRONG … not wrong perhaps but definitely not 100% ok … if we can be of further assistance, please let us know  … best wishes

Hi Diana and Graham, I think that I may have solved my problem with my roses – I was digging the top of the soil to loosen it up the other day and I seem to have a lot of curl grubs.  I don`t know if they eat the roots of roses but I do seem to have a lot in there.  I would of thought that the other roses would be suffering as well.  My husband has sprayed with confidor so I am hoping that will get rid of them, fingers crossed that it is the problem.  Regards Jayne

Jayne:  Well there you go … a little bit of fossicking and you’ve probably solved the problem … would the grubs be eating the roots of the roses you ask?  We don’t know but them being there is obviously an issue … keep regular applications of seaweed solution (weekly perhaps) to those roses and please do let me know how it all goes.
Appreciate you following through and telling us about this …
Best wishes, Diana & Graham

So you see, good communication generally gets to the bottom of an issue … 10 days of backwards and forwards emailing, a few photos and Jayne will probably have those two roses flowering this autumn.

Believe me, roses are tough as indicated by our very long-time customer Wendy who popped in today and we took a walk in the garden together – she revelled in the fact that we had lots of roses flowering – hers have been dormant through a very long, hot spell in northern Victoria when she didn’t water her gardens!

A few weeks ago she turned on the tap and thoroughly soaked all her rose gardens and then we’ve had this lovely rain so she is totally excited about autumn flowering.

THE LOVELIEST ROSES IN THE NURSERY THIS WEEK …

GRA’S BLUE
No matter how cold or wet, customers are invited to sniff the fragrance … aaaaah, it is amazing and very worthy of its GOLD MEDAL AWARD for MOST FRAGRANT ROSE at the AUSTRALIAN ROSE TRIALS, 2015 …

CREPUSCULE
Is rich apricot now and will flower right up until the coldest winter weather shuts it down for a rewarding spell as this thornless beauty has flowered and flowered absolutely continually from October onwards …

FLOWER CARPET
You cannot deny a rose which has won more than 25 international awards and sold more than 90 million plants world-wide – it will flower freely until the frost tells it to take a rest!

Enjoy all the glorious moments of your autumn garden and remember, if you have a query about something in your garden, let us help you get it sorted!

We hope to see you at Tesselaar’s Garden Expo this weekend – for our interstate gardening friends, we hope you continue to enjoy your autumn roses and remember, the online store is now open for ordering bare-rooted roses!

Graham and I still hope to get across to see the 2017 new release roses flowering at Penola so that we can give you our opinion of their growing habit and fragrance – it’s so very important to us that you read our personal experience of the new release roses …

Happy gardening and best wishes …
Graham & Diana at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 13.4.17

ROSE RAMBLER 13.04.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends and thank you to all who came this past weekend – phew, wasn’t it a beaut event?  We certainly enjoyed the occasion and are so grateful to you all for coming … THANK YOU!  Also, a huge THANK YOU on behalf of the Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell and Kilmore Art Society for participating and contributing to this wonderful event!

Just a quick reminder, we are closed tomorrow on Good Friday, but we’ll be OPEN 9am – 4pm the rest of the weekend from Easter Saturday, Sunday through to Monday!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Q.  What do you get if you cross a centipede with a chicken?  A. Enough drumsticks for everyone!  

We’ve had some beautiful rain here at Clonbinane so we know that after a very long, dry spell, such a rain event will result in lots of black spot fungus and potentially, some infestation of insects such as aphids – before the cold nights and rain, we had an infestation of white-fly which proliferate in hot/dry conditions!  There’s always something!!!

If you’ve been regularly spraying with our recommended organic rose-management program, your roses should look ok just as ours do – there will be some stress indication as the roses adapt to this wet and cold weather – black spot may tend to defoliate some varieties earlier than others … they’ll recover with a good quality organic fertilizer and fortnightly application of seaweed solution.

VERY IMPORTANT TO FERTILIZE NOW – this is the last fertilizer application until after pruning in late July/August.

Stressed roses are always more susceptible to black spot and undernourishment, the roses growing in partial shade due to trees blocking out the sun or the lower roots suddenly unable to function due to sopping wet soil will all cause fungal infection and defoliation.

The one positive aspect of black spot infection and defoliation is that it starts on the mature leaves, lower down on the bush, as well as on those shaded, on the inside of the plant.

If the upper leaves are protected by spraying with a fungicide, the sap flow is ensured and even with reduced photosynthesis, food flows to the roots, encouraging them to start sprouting new shoots on the denuded stems.

If your rose has dropped its leaves due to black spot infection, trimming the plant appropriately will still stimulate new sprouting and encourage blooming right into the start of winter.

Q.  Where should a 500kg alien go?  A.  On a diet …
(oh, my goodness, are these jokes getting worse or is it just ME???  Editor: Diana)

TESSELAARS PLANT EXPO …

 

Hope you’ve got the date in your diary …
SATURDAY 22ND AND SUNDAY 23RD APRIL
9am – 4pm

The perfect weekend for green thumbs and budding gardeners where you can meet more than forty nurseries and plant growers with a vast range of bulbs, plants and perennials on offer in the one location.

Gather knowledge with free gardening talks and information all weekend or directly pick the brains of your favourite grower or specialist. Visit http://gardeningandplantsexpo.com.au for more information.

Come down and see us!

A LOOK IN OUR GARDEN …

Here are a few shots of a couple of great looking roses this past week …

THANK YOU
THE THANK YOU ROSE produces masses of very fragrant deep
mauve blooms in clusters all over a very healthy,
well rounded shrub continually throughout the season
a lovely rose to gift when you want to say a special
“Thank You” to somebody special!

REMEMBER ME
Hybrid Tea rose with a delightful confection of colours
including burnt orange, amber and beige with burnt red edges.

TROPICAL SUNSET
This is a very striking rose – one that stands out when in bloom.
The flowers are beautiful in form and the colour is amazing,
yellow with orange stripes fading to a soft pink.
Tropical sunset is a great performing rose with numerous
blooms throughout the season and healthy semi-glossy foliage to compliment.

Hope you have a lovely Easter time with family and friends – perhaps a grand opportunity to have some time in your garden … enjoy the moments!

See you soon at Clonbinane where this
SAT SUN & MON we will continue the promotion..
BUY 1 GET 1 FREE for all Roses
Except those under the tunnel*


(*Conditions apply)

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 6.4.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 06.04.2017 …

By golly, time is moving fast and we wish you a pinch and a punch for the first day of this month of April!  Dear Rose Friends you can be pleased we didn’t have this edition of Rose Rambler land in your inbox on 1st April … Gra was in his absolutely finest form with shenanigans for April Fool’s Day – one day I will discover his source of fun!

Meantime, I need you to know that we offer a fabulous GIFT VOUCHER service which will prove useful when you need a ‘last minute’ gift like I have organised here …

Greetings,  I am Secretary of a Community Op Shop and we are looking at a gift for a local person who has done us a significant favour.  We wondered whether you have a gift voucher which we might give her as a token of our appreciation?   Regards – Angus

Hello Angus, thank you for your enquiry.  Yes, of course you can have a GIFT VOUCHER from our business by going to our online store:  www.rosesalesonline.com.au and purchase a voucher of whatever value which you can print and then pop into a gift card for the recipient to redeem at their leisure either online or by coming to visit Silkies Rose Farm at Clonbinane.

Or, you can give me a call; I will take all the details over the phone and then post you a complete GIFT VOUCHER pack which will include a GIFT CARD VOUCHER, rose list and other info.  Talk to you soon …

SILKIES ROSE FARM continues to offer such a diverse service with gifts in $ value GIFT VOUCHERS or as beautifully gift-wrapped, potted GIFT ROSES with personal messages along with the best quality roses you could purchase online or by visiting our Rose Farm at Clonbinane – located just 500 metres from the Hume Freeway interchange.

GRA’S GARBLE …

Oh, aren’t the cooler nights glorious – the trees are starting to turn colour and I’m sleeping under a doona again!  Lovely!!!

Q. How do thunderstorms catch fish?  A.  With a lightning rod … !  

I went to see this magnificent hedgerow of KNOCKOUT – Sharyn and Ewen are thrilled with how quickly they were able to cover the unsightly wire fence at the front of their property, how low maintenance the hedge is and obviously, how their front boundary is a stand-out in their street!
Sharyn wrote:

Hi Graham … I thought you might like to see the progress. Knockout has reached the top of the fence in about 18 months. I have not done any pruning since July last year and thought I would see how it went. I read in the newsletter someone was keeping theirs dead headed. A big job over 54 meters!! What do you think is best? I am happy for you to pass on how thrilled we are and it is very easy to explain where we live. Be over soon for some fertiliser. Cheers Sharyn

Q. Why did the students study in the aeroplane?  A.  They wanted higher grades! 

Hope your kids are enjoying these Easter Holidays – get them out helping in the garden to plant winter veggies, fertilize the garden so you get the most amazing flowers right into winter and don’t be afraid to freshen up the mulch by adding another light layer because worms will start breeding soon and they’ll need protection!  Enjoy the moments with your kids and grandkids these holidays.

ART & ROSES – THIS WEEKEND …

It’s going to be superb autumn weather so jump in the car and come visit our region for a great day out.  Print this voucher so you pay only gold coin donation at each destination where you enjoy a cuppa.

Lunch at the Art Expo Café, Memorial Hall, Kilmore will be delectable home-cooked fare as usual – served by Rotarians and Artists – COME WITH AN EMPTY BELLY for the most enjoyable lunch you’ve had in a long time!

Being the holder of this document entitles me to free entry at all attractions*
conducted by Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell and Kilmore Art Society

ART AND ROSES TOURS

PLEASE PRESENT THIS DOCUMENT
TO YOUR HOSTESS, GLEN GEORGE
AT THE ART EXPO, MEMORIAL HALL
SYDNEY STREET, KILMORE.

*ATTRACTIONS:  SILKIES ROSE FARM AT CLONBINANE, BLAZE-AID SHEARING SHED, OPEN GARDEN:  “LAVENDER ROSE”, 10 CURRY ROAD, KILMORE, CATALOGUE AND ENTRY TO ART EXPO.


If you need assistance with organising a visit this coming weekend, don’t hesitate calling me on 0418 337 765 or leave a message at 5787 1123 and if I miss your call, I’ll be back in touch as soon as possible – email:  info@rosesalesonline.com.au

After this weekend, we’ll get stuck into some serious ‘rose information’ to ensure you get maximum flowering through autumn.  Meantime, when weather permits, don’t hesitate to apply the organic rose management program – we’re doing every 7-10 day applications here because of the very cold, damp nights which produced ‘instant’ spots on foliage.  Remember, lots of healthy foliage produces lots of flowers so to retain good cover of healthy foliage, apply fertilizer and eco-spray NOW!

We wish all our dear rose friends who are cleaning up from recent cyclone Debbie our very best wishes – we hope you are seeing light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane, both Graham and Diana will be conducting WALK & TALK IN THE GARDEN with Mooi as supervisor while our assistant, Tova will assist you in the Rose Nursery where you can…


BUY ANY ONE ROSE,

GET ONE FREE!
ALL WEEKEND FRIDAY – MONDAY
(*conditions apply)


 Our supervisor Mooi& the chooks – “I AM THE BOSS … REALLY???”

(*conditions:  PLEASE NOTE, OFFER EXCLUDES GIFT ROSES AND WEEPING ROSES IN TUNNEL AREA – OFFER INCLUDES STANDARD ROSES AND ALL OTHER ROSES IN THE NURSERY – LIMIT 5 FREE ROSES PER CUSTOMER. NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE.)

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 30.3.2017

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ROSE RAMBLER 30.03.2017 …

While we enjoy more beautiful weather to welcome our dear Rose Friends at the end of the first month of autumn, we send our loving thoughts to gardeners who have lived through CYCLONE DEBBIE … please let us gift you a rose when you re-establish your garden!

What a glorious season it has been – we now enter one of the busiest months of our nursery year with Art & Roses visitors on 8-9 April; then our annual pilgrimage to the Tesselaar Garden Expo on the weekend of 22-23 April where we put on our most spectacular flower show …

Particularly important this week is that you can now transfer your rose wish list to lock in a winter order for bare-rooted roses – the online store is now open and there is a surprise there for ONE WEEK ONLY!!!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Although ALI BABA is listed as a NEW RELEASE FOR 2017, we have had the pleasure of this glorious rose in our gardens for a few years – we wanted to test it prior to release and truly, really, you won’t find a more robustly healthy climbing rose in a dusty orange/apricot colour – more amazing is that this rose holds foliage throughout winter which can be a very prominent reason for having a climbing rose in a certain location – we are frequently asked for roses which retain winter foliage!
ALI BABA is stunning and very, very highly recommended …

Q. When should you buy a bird?  A. When it’s going CHEEP!  

We are also re-introducing MANY HAPPY RETURNS because it is an outstanding performer and has such an appropriate name when you need a GIFT ROSE for the person in your life who has absolutely everything … they will make space in their garden or in a large tub for this beauty which flowers and flowers on abundantly healthy foliage – if you forget to trim spent flowers in autumn, you’ll get the most spectacular show of red hips (seed pods) all the way through winter!

FACT … REALLY?

I read this recently:  “Insects and secateurs can transmit rose mosaic virus from rose to rose. (see below pic – irregular mottled yellow markings on rose foliage).

Research conducted at the Universities of Washington State and 3 other USA Universities with funding from the American Rose Society have TOTALLY DISPROVED THIS THEORY.”

Lots of customers tell us they wipe their secateurs with bleach and other petro-chemical mediums whilst pruning … DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME or potentially cause your roses the grief of dealing with wounds affected by these chemicals!

By all means, keep your secateurs clean and sharp but be quite confident that no disease will be spread by pruning your roses and if you read such information and are not quite sure, please shoot me an email so that I can reassure you of the FACTS!

Hope you’ve been planting lots of bulbs – I’m having a ball planting mine and I know we’ll have a most spectacular spring garden again this year!  Don’t you just love the excitement of gardening?  I truly enjoy it all … Graham

GIFT ROSE CONTINUES TO IMPRESS …

It’s such a delight to read emails like this one:

“FYI…. we were all amazed at the lovely packaging, and info with the rose.  My mother and I have always been “into” roses, so she would definitely have appreciated it… I will enjoy watching it grow.   The stem is nice and strong, quite small leaves, which I suppose it just that style of rose? I will definitely keep you in mind again for sending presents like that to other friends!”
 

Potted GIFT ROSES will continue to be available in the online store even though we are now open for winter orders which are listed as BARE-ROOTED ROSES …

If you’re confused or need to speak with a ‘real person’ to sort your order for this winter, please don’t hesitate calling the nursery on our open days:  FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY from 9 – 4 but please understand that we have one phone line  03 5787 1123 – yes, there is a mobile phone too but I can only answer one phone at a time … please be patient!

Know that I will ALWAYS answer your email enquiries promptly – we can even plan and design a rose garden together via email – it’s fun!

Hope you’ve got yourself organised to come and visit during the Art & Roses weekend on 8th and 9th April … see you soon at Clonbinane – Diana & Graham
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 23.3.2017

ROSE RAMBLER 23.03.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends as we start to get slightly cooler weather for this autumn which has broken records across Australia!  Lucky gardens who have had massive dumpings of rain – our gardens had some too!

ART & ROSES TOURS is fast approaching – there are buses coming from…

  • BALLARAT
    Contact GOLD BUS on 1800 775 295 or BROOKE on 0499 002 941 or VIA THEIR WEBSITE at www.goldbus.com.au  The coach will depart Ballarat at 8am on SATURDAY, 8TH APRIL.
  • SUNBURY
    Contact: CHERYL SHEMBRI on 9744 1663 or email: cheryl.shembri@bigpond.com This coach seats 48 people and they are leaving Sunbury Community Centre, corner of Elizabeth Drive and Gap Road near the Fire Station at 9am on SUNDAY, 9TH APRIL and the cost is $45 which includes lunch.

This is a wonderful opportunity for you to join a tour group during the Art & Roses weekend – please don’t wait until the last minute to book as I know both coaches are filling fast – if you need any advice or assistance with booking, please don’t hesitate to contact me here at the Rose Farm on 5787 1123 or mobile:  0418 337765

TRAVELLING INDEPENDENTLY IN CARS … means you can incorporate this delightful tour …

 

Another Reason to visit Kilmore!
Kilmore Historical Society are conducting a
Historical Houses Tour
Saturday 8 April, 2017 – 10am – 4pm
Tickets: $15 person / $25 couple / family
4 Powlett Street, Kilmore –  from 9.45am – 3pm 

The Old Courthouse is 500 metres from the Art Expo venue
Ranging from humble, beautifully restored cottages to substantial large homes,
five owners of historic houses in Kilmore have very generously
opened their homes to the public. 

Please, if I can assist you with arrangements for your visit to Kilmore, the Art Show, and our gardens along with a visit to Kevin & Rhonda Butler at the BLAZEAID SHEARING SHED, contact me as soon as possible and I will do my absolute best to make your visit here a memorable occasion!

GRA’S GARBLE …

With a good drop of rain, our gardens will now flourish well this autumn – I can hear the roses breathing a sigh of relief!

It’s amazing really, roses LOVE deep soaking water during their flowering season but gosh, overdose them with water and they will turn up their toes VERY quickly!  Unfortunately for us Rosarians, the visible symptoms of UNDERWATERING are exactly the same as OVERWATERING …

Yellow leaves in the understorey of the plant, wilting foliage and buds; generally poor plant performance!  So what is the issue when your roses aren’t flourishing?That we have to leave to YOU – gently fork into the soil around the rose and you’ll soon know how wet or dry it is.  When conditions prevail that you are irrigating the garden, be diligent and follow these simple rules for watering in a rose garden:

  • NEVER WATER AFTER 2PM – ESPECIALLY IF OVERHEAD WATERING
  • DEEP SOAK ROSES – DELIVER AT LEAST 20 LITRES PER PLANT AT EACH WATERING
  • WATER POTTED ROSES EVERY DAY BY FILLING THE POT TO OVERFLOWING

When you’re planting roses this autumn, soak them to a slurry when you plant them and then turn your back on them while they get on with getting settled and establishing their roots into the new soil – once a week you can spoil them with a light watering of seaweed solution and as long as they’re well mulched, the roses won’t need deep watering again for a couple of weeks.

Stay diligent and if weather conditions prevail where your gut tells you that the roses need another deep soak, give it to them!  DEFINITELY NOT EVERY DAY!

Q. What would happen if pigs could fly?   A. The price of bacon would go up!

I’m looking forward to this rose which is a new release for 2017 – I love the name EARTH ANGEL and I hope it’s a ripper for all of us.

ASSISTANCE WITH ROSE GARDEN DESIGN …

We are always happy to assist if you have an issue about where to plant roses and Diana offers a free service on rose garden design.This is the type of issue which you might confront … Where would plant roses in this situation?  Inside the front boundary where there is limited sun and obviously, a bit of root competition from existing plants …

Or outside the boundary and cover the wall completely?

I suggested to Ash in North Queensland that she might look at planting on the street side by creating three garden beds 1 x 1 metre or a complete bed along that front wall for ease of management with mowing and mulching … can you imagine driving into your home being greeted by not only the mass flowering beauty of RENAE but the fragrance … yes, it would be awesome!
One of the most spectacular THORNLESS climbing roses with perfect small rosebuds in massive clusters continually throughout the flowering season … a very lush, healthy-foliaged plant with glorious fruity fragrance … I hope Ash sends us photos of this when established in a couple of years …Q. What did the computer do at lunch time?   A. It had a byte!

Have a beaut week in your garden.  We suggest you have your wish list of roses available for ordering at www.rosesalesonline.com.au … there will be a few surprises for you as the online store opens for bare-rooted rose orders – we’re excited and hope you will be too … talk to you next week – Diana & Graham