ROSE RAMBLER … 14.4.2016

Hello dear rose friends!  Well, the weather was extraordinary when over 250 visitors came to the Rose Farm last weekend and the coaches left with their bellies filled up as well as the travellers’ bellies were … everybody happy which is exactly how we like it and lots of roses being planted in country gardens during this glorious autumn so they’re magnificently established for spring flowering after a light winter prune!  Here are a group of visitors on the WALK ‘N’ TALK in the gardens with Graham:

We owe a HUGE THANK YOU to our family members and staff who worked tirelessly to make your visit such a pleasant experience.  Because this past weekend was such a success, we will be holding…

SILKIES ROSE FARM OPEN GARDEN WEEKEND
– 26^th and 27^th NOVEMBER, 2016

so save the date and start getting bus groups organised.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer a travel subsidy but we can definitely offer magnificent DEVONSHIRE TEA throughout the weekend – might see if my Rotary colleagues will organise a BBQ using those fantastic Warialda Beef (Clonbinane) hamburgers again!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Driving along a country road the other day, I saw a BIG sign which read: “POO – $2.00”

When you see a sign like this, STOP and grab as many bags as will fit in your car, take it home and place it on a compost heap, directly on your garden or into hessian bags dunked in water!

• Any amount of POO added to your garden NOW will benefit the soil and retain warmth while adding humus and nutrients before the cold of winter.
• Adding animal manure in layers to a compost heap is imperative to VITALITY and ENERGY within the compost – keep the heap moist AT ALL TIMES!
• Dunking hessian bags filled with POO will offer your soil a nutrient rich ‘tea’ when you pour it over the garden at a rate of 1 part to 10 parts water.  Toss the contents of the bag on a compost heap or directly on a garden bed then cover with mulch to preserve the microbes.  Renew the POO BAG continuously throughout each year!

Q.  What kind of bat cannot fly?  A.  A wombat! 

Hope you’ve got all your winter bulbs planted – my job in the next few days so that we have a gorgeous display of colour to herald spring.  Bulbs are great value in a rose garden as they’re flowering while the roses are dormant – ideal to plant around roses because they allow great air circulation at the base of roses throughout the rose-flowering season!

Q.  What do you call a stupid flower?  A.  A daffy-dill.  A kids play on words because daffodils and lots of spring flowering bulbs will brighten the most bleak winter day so plant lots of them – definitely NOT stupid!  Have a beaut week in your garden …Gra

Here are a few more photos of roses we had in vases recently …

SPECIAL OFFER THIS WEEK …

We’ve re-invented the POT LUCK ROSE section of the nursery where roses which have lost their labels are placed until we can identify them – since we frequently forget to label them, they’re there for you to take home at the crazy price of $15.00 each!

Over the years, we’ve had people come back to the nursery telling us of the fabulous gardens they created with POT LUCK ROSES … it’s fun!

PLEASE NOTE – when ordering your roses NOW, lots of varieties of roses are ONLY AVAILABLE as BARE-ROOTED WINTER ROSES either because they’re NEW RELEASE FOR 2016 or simply SOLD OUT… I can adjust orders accordingly but it is impossible to note in our online store www.rosesalesonline.com.au which roses are still available as potted specimens.

If you wish, please call 03 5787 1123 FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY to check on a particular variety if you especially want it as a POTTED SPECIMEN.

Most of the GIFT ROSES at www.giftroses.com.au are still available as POTTED SPECIMENS.

ROSE RAMBLER 7.4.2014

Hello dear rose friends and a hearty, warm welcome to all our new subscribers since the Plant Expo last weekend where we had a most spectacular display of 60 vases of rose blooms … here are a few pics in case you weren’t able to attend.

And there were way, way more that deserve mention so I’ll share them in coming Rose Ramblers because they were simply extraordinary!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Q. What bow doesn’t tie?  A.  A rainbow. 

Saw a magnificent rainbow today when the rain was easing and the clouds cleared to intermittent blue sky and showers.  After a lovely dump of more than 10mms of deep-soaking rain the gardens will be stunning for when 220 people come visiting on this weekend as part of the Art & Roses Tours in conjunction with Kilmore Art Expo.

Next week I promise to start giving you all the hints and tips for preparing your rose gardens for winter planting and sharing more information about the Biodynamics Course which I recently attended – I’ve had the whip on me to weed MY garden beds and generally clean up around the place for our visitors this weekend – a bloke’s gotta do what a bloke’s gotta do!

Whatever you do, rake every single autumn leave ready for the composting ideas I’ll be sharing in coming newsletters … one last joke:  Q. What is the easiest way to grow tall?  A.  Sleep long! 

Enjoy your roses while you can … Gra

ART & ROSES TOURS …

If you’re out for a weekend drive, call in at Hidden Valley Country Club, the Rotary Art Show at Memorial Hall, Kilmore or here at Silkies Rose Farm (you might score one of our famous Devonshire Teas if you time it right!) and you’ll enjoy a lovely ‘round-trip’ of our region.

After this busy time of Plant Expo and Art Shows we’ll be seriously back into ALL ABOUT ROSES with hints and tips to enjoy the most of your rose garden prior to winter, how to prepare gardens for winter planting and entice you to order magnificent quality two-year-old winter roses from our extensive range.

A new catalogue will be available at www.rosesalesonline.com.au soon but if you know which roses you want to order for this winter, do it NOW because all the new release 2016 roses are available for ordering and we’re guessing that lots will sell-out very quickly!

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

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

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

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

GRA’S GARBLE …

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

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

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

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

ART & ROSES TOURS …

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

STAYING OVER FOR A WEEKEND …

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

CHOOKERY NOOK
BED & BREAKFAST
695 Spur Road, Clonbinane

Your very own sanctuary in the mountains.

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

Phone: Cathy 5787 1561 or 0416 391 085

DON’T OVERLOOK THESE BEAUTIES …

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

ROSE RAMBLER 24.3.2016 …

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

GRA’S GARBLE …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ART & ROSES TOURS …

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

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

MORE NEW RELEASE ROSES FOR 2016 …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GRA’S GARBLE…

This weather isn’t funny but this joke is …

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

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

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

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

ART & ROSES TOUR 2016

Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th April

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

ROSE RAMBLER …  3.3.2016 …

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

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

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

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

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

 

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW …

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

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

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

EASTER IS AROUND THE CORNER …

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

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

VERY IMPORTANT SUMMER ROSE CARE …

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

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

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

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

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

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!