ROSE RAMBLER 07.09.2017 …

Hello, dear rose friends as we sing …  SPRING IS IN THE AIR, EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK AROUND … It’s soooo green and what a lovely week we’ve had to welcome spring here in Victoria where the soil is sopping wet!  The moisture augers well for our gardens to flourish this season …

GRA’S GARBLE …

It’s a different story for our gardening friends in other regions of Australia, some are thirsty if not desperate for rain.  In NSW, things are shaping up for yet another ‘green drought’ in late winter/early spring.

We hope that most of you know that to apply heavy late-winter mulching of garden beds is imperative in anticipation of all-too-frequent dry spells.  Hot summers ensure that mulch rapidly disappears and usually needs topping up before the season ends.

This is a pic of recent pea-straw mulching here at the Rose Farm …

Sensible garden mulch applications enhanced by quality fertilizer and regular seaweed solution results in quite rapid carbonizing of the topsoil – you’ll see your soil turn quite dark brown, beautifully crumbly and growing magnificent roses!

There have been a few customers whose winter planting of bare-rooted roses hasn’t quite gone to plan – where is the fault???  If you have a newly planted rose (in any season) that doesn’t perform well, please don’t leave it in the soil to perish!

Lift it, place it in a pot or replant in a different location – there are lots of things happening in soil and most especially if there have been additives … compost and ‘new’ soil can be lethal because of decomposing which causes anaerobic conditions underground – your roses are dealing with it and you cannot see it!

Yes, we guarantee our plants 100% but we urge you to consider the situation you have planted your roses into and please, please, don’t let them die because of any of the above examples of where they might be planted!

Take action – trim them back to below where there might be visible dying stems and drench with eco-seaweed solution weekly until they recover …

Q. What do you call a fairy that doesn’t take a bath?  A.  Stinker Bell!

SUCCESSFUL WINTER PLANTING …

“Hello, Firstly I would like to congratulate you on such a wonderfully professional business. A short time ago I ordered an ORIGAMI rose which arrived in pristine condition, 

I was stunned that it was possible to order a plant online and receive it in better condition than I could purchase at my local nursing here in Qld. The plant is absolutely flourishing and beginning to produce its first buds.

The care and attention to packaging along with the rose itself and care instructions are simply impeccable. I also have enjoyed the Rose Rambler emails and look forward to receiving and reading them. Once again thank you and I look forward to ordering from you again in the future.” Sincerely, Mark.

GIFT ROSE CONTINUES TO BE A HIT …

With magnificent rose varieties named to suit all occasions which occur in our daily lives, our GIFT ROSE is an absolutely joyous way of acknowledging an occasion in your family … here is a testament to the beautiful 50TH ANNIVERSARY ROSE – GOLDEN CELEBRATION … 

“Hi Diana, Just wanted to say a huge thank you for the beautiful golden celebration gift box for my in-laws.  They just sent me the attached photo through of it growing already and tell me they are planting it this weekend.

It’s my parents 50th Anniversary next year, so you’ll hear from me again to arrange another one for them.”  Kind Regards  … Roschell

Q. What happens when a cat eats a lemon?  A. It becomes a sour puss …

Enjoy your garden in these early weeks of spring – if you haven’t pruned your roses from last season because you were worried about frost, get them done NOW … we’ve been pruning here at the Rose Farm too!

ROSE RAMBLER 10.08.2017 …

Hello, dear rose friends as the weather warms which might postpone more frosts and ensure us that our winter pruning is now SAFE …??? It’s a risk whichever way you go when you live in a very frosty/cold climate such as we do here at Clonbinane –were not on our own as lots of our customers who live way out western NSW, southern highlands Victoria and even parts of Queensland experience these extremely cold conditions.

Whatever the weather, we’ve got a bit of time now to be pruning so that’s what we’ve been doing this past week … of course, we are definitely still posting roses even though they’re now beautifully potted in supreme quality coir fibre potting medium – their roots will flourish in this ‘humid-crib’ environment.
Every care will be taken when they’re removed for posting … the roots will be carefully bound in damp newspaper and sealed in plastic which means they’ll actually continue growing whilst in transit!  At your end, be sure to get these beautiful roses into your garden as soon as possible and soak them with an eco-seaweed solution at planting then weekly for at least 8 weeks after planting!

Do you know you can apply eco-seaweed solution lightly over all the plants in your garden at least weekly to maintain good root development, healthy foliage and general good soil nutrition … ask your kids to do it for you … they’ll really enjoy having a special role in garden management – it’s easy for them to do, they cannot make mistakes by either over-doing or under-doing measuring the powder into a watering can.  Let them take responsibility and they’ll enjoy seeing rewards of healthy, robust plants in THEIR / YOUR garden!

PRUNING ROSES … This is how well Rosie has pruned just one of her MR. LINCOLN roses –

            

She’s got 199 to go; then there’s a three-sided wall garden of at least 30 plants of THE WEDDING ROSE which is just as robust.  It doesn’t end there so I urge you to visit GARNER’S WINERY just off the Hume Freeway at Longwood East during flowering season – any other time to sample their magnificent Award-winning wines of course!

If you’re thinking of a real tree-change, contact Rosie Garner as she is now reluctantly selling the winery – here are a few pics of this glorious property …

“GIFT ROSE” IS WINNING HEARTS … sending a beautifully gift wrapped GIFT ROSE of your choice with a personal message inscribed on a rose card is so appreciated!  We are receiving accolades from customers all around the world who trust us to post a beautiful rose to their friends and family; we can post to all States except Tasmania and Western Australia.
Whatever the occasion, let us organise posting a magnificent rose as we did for Barbara’s family recently …

“Hi I just wanted to thank you for the celebration rose bush which my Australian relatives received today and are extremely delighted with; that in part was due to the beautiful attention to detail in the gift packaging.  Thank you once again for making my gift so special”… Mrs Barbara C

Another happy customer …“Hi Diana … Just wanted to say a big thank you!!!!  My parents received their Slim Dusty rose gift yesterday and were very happy.  Thank you for putting together a great gift option and an easy and efficient process with FANTASTIC customer services.  Greatly appreciated and may you and your business be abundantly blessed.”  Kind Regards – Tereza

Don’t forget to put your reviews of our business on WOMO – Word Of Mouth Online as it can be very helpful to new customers and people who are not sure about online ordering.  I think it’s an easy process and we appreciate you taking time to acknowledge our business!

GRA’S GARBLE … “Healthy soils have at least 5% organic matter – most Australian soils have less than 3% organic matter so your household waste can be recycled and used in your own suburban backyard by creating simple layered compost heaps using lawn clippings, all types of baled straw/lucerne, leaves, bagged animal manure and tree litter after you’ve put it through a mulcher.

In order to add household waste to such a layered compost heap, buy a BOKASHI BUCKET – or make your own (BOKASHI powder which is a compost activator is available at large nursery outlets). The BOKASHI preparation is unattractive to vermin; most birds or animals won’t eat it.

You don’t need to turn this layered compost heap but you MUST KEEP IT MOIST to ensure rapid and effective processing of the heap to humus which can then be applied around all the plants in your garden.”

Q.  How do athletes stay cool during a game?  A. They sit near the fans!

Since we’re still posting roses, here are a few of my favourite climbing roses …

BLOSSOM TIME flowers are mid-pink with darker outer petals of absolutely perfect form and suitable for use over arches, on fences or in a pillar frame like these which we sell at the nursery – pick up only!

  

MADAM ALFRED CARRIERE is always first to flower and will still have flowering buds after the most severe winter frosts – with a fragrance to absolutely die for, this near-thornless rose is a beauty to fill a corner of the garden – let her spill gracefully over fences, through trees – plant this beauty and forget all about management!  Glorious creamy-white flowers with a blush tint during cold weather …

DUBLIN BAY is really my most favourite red climbing rose because it’s just ALWAYS FLOWERING and doesn’t require any special pruning or management … at some times of the day, I detect an absolute fragrance, other times not a hint – always lovely to pop into a vase though!  I love it!

 

Q.  How do rabbits travel?  A.  By hare-plane … a bit of a sick joke to finish another fabulous week in the nursery

I’ve planted some winter veggies, my early daffodils are flowering; the rest are well-foliaged and we’ll see a spectacular display throughout September and October … ah, life’s grand in the garden!

ROSE RAMBLER 17.08.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends,

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”  John Steinbeck

Indeed the cold of winter is almost over.  While you’re out pruning the roses, have a bale of straw close by and lay biscuits of straw/hay around for you to walk on.  If you stomp all over the soil, it is possible to cause compaction and a biscuit of straw/hay will alleviate that problem and give you somewhere moderately dry to kneel down on while you’re pruning the lower branches of bush roses.

GRA’S GARBLE 

… When you use quality products to maintain your roses, the rewards are immense.  Regular applications of the organic spray maintenance program will definitely delay problems like severe insect attack or outbreaks of fungal disease like black spot and powdery mildew – start the program as soon as you’ve finished pruning .   The eco-friendly products we use and recommend are very economical when used on a monthly basis whereas, if you wait for problems to arise, you’ll have to spray every 3-5 days for around four applications just to get on top of a problem.  Makes sense therefore, to start monthly applications as soon as the roses are pruned …  NOW!!! 

Q.  What do you call a deer with no eyes?  A.  No eye deer.
Say it quick enough and it sounds like ‘no idea’.So, Q.  What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs?  A.  Still, no idea.

Diana tells me that our products are ALL available for purchase in the online store:  GO SHOPPING for roses along with products which can be posted directly to your door.

FINAL BARE-ROOTED ROSES AVAILABLE NOW
ALL PRICES WILL BE INCREASED AT 12.00 MIDDAY ON 24TH AUGUST, 2017
ORDER NOW AT WWW.ROSESALESONLINE.COM.AU
BEAT THIS PRICE INCREASE – BUY BARE-ROOTED ROSES NOW

add ALL OCP products to your online order and pay NO EXTRA POSTAGE COST until NEXT THURSDAY, 24TH AUGUST, 2017

Meantime, if you prefer to shop in the traditional way, pop into your local garden centre and if you cannot find the Organic Crop Protectants (OCP) eco-friendly range of products:  eco-oil, eco-rose, eco-seaweed, eco-aminogro and eco-neem, ask them to contact OCP and organise stocking these great Australian products.  Then you and like-minded gardeners in your area can confidently manage pest and disease issues using these environmentally friendly products and work with Mother Nature in your garden … Gra

SHARING WITH A NOVICE ROSE GARDENER

… Carrie ordered roses and during the ordering process she told me she was really ‘new’ at the whole adventure of growing roses – especially scary since she lives in far north Queensland.  I sent her beautiful specimens (along with a really lovely FREEBIE) – I always post the best quality plants because I understand your dilemma at not being able to select for yourself!
Carrie sent this email which is totally awesome and makes doing what we do so very, very special:
 “Hi Diana .. I just wanted to say thank you for my order of roses. I’m new to rose growing so before I found your website I purchased roses from another nursery. Whilst they were very healthy looking, your roses were positively “jumping out of their skin” healthy. My first response on opening the box was ‘wow’. Also, the extra Cote d’Ázure was a lovely surprise and a beautiful rose, thank you.”
“My plan is to grow roses in Babinda, Far North Queensland. Everyone tells me I’m mad because it’s too wet and humid but I’m going to give it my best shot. Once your book is back in publication I’ll be purchasing a copy. I’ll need all the help I can get ☺  In the meantime I’m following your organic rose management instructions in the Australian Rosarian.  Once again, thank you.”  Regards  … Carrie
And more good stuff …
“Greetings Diana, Thank you so much – I am looking forward to getting them – I have had NAHEMA before but sadly after about 10 years it decided to curl its toes up and kark it so I cannot live without it. Have decided to replace it with my recent Birthday monies – thank you so much for stocking it. It is an amazing Rose” – Cheers Ingrid    Hello again Ingrid … how interesting to read this about NAHEMA … do you know why it ‘karked it’ ???  Was there an animal peeing in that location, was it particularly wet or dry???  Most unusual for a rose to just die after such an established time in a garden so if you can enlighten me as to what you think might have gone wrong, please let me know ???  Talk soon I hope …

“Hi again, Not really sure could have been my son’s Red Heeler but he usually relieves himself on my tyres first!!!!! We did have a terribly hot summer up here in SE Qld so that might have been the last straw for it…. I have been using a product called Black Marvel lately and all my roses are looking much healthier… So looking forward to having a new NAHEMA in my garden as it is definitely my favourite rose ever… Thanks again for your emails …” Cheers Ingrid    Oh, actually, I have received lots of information since our last visit to QLD … your roses don’t last anywhere near as long as ours down here … yours have such an incredibly LOOOOOONG flowering season and I think they wear out!  We have a good winter rest of at least three months in most cold zones and the roses enjoy that!  You know, when it boils down to it, you couldn’t have dinner and a nice wine for what this new rose has cost you … you’ll get another 10 years of glory whereas the dinner and wine are down the loo within 24 hours … gotta giggle!  Cheers .. Diana
Here’s a pic of our awesomely friendly guard dog who lets us know you’ve arrived at Silkies Rose Farm, CLONBINANE within 500 metres of the HUME FREEWAY at the CLONBINANE INTERCHANGE and open every FRI SAT SUN MON

Enjoy all the moments in your garden this week… cheers from us here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane
– Cheers, Diana, Graham & Mooi

ROSE RAMBLER 04.08.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends on this Thursday in the first week of the last days of winter …
As I turned the calendar, this is what gloriousness presented itself –

I think the rose might be WEDDING DAY but it might be one of the other species roses which display a most spectacular single flowering just once every year … however, for something seriously beautiful which flowers continually through the whole season, one of our most favourite roses is SALLY HOLMES which has a breathtaking display of up to 50 blooms on a branch and makes a most wonderful display in large vases!  Happiness is having SALLY HOLMES flowering in your garden …

Time is going so fast and it’s very interesting to share some emails from customers who haven’t got a clue when to prune … neither do we …???

I had coffee with friends this morning at the Rose Café in Kilmore and Marilyn told me her roses are still flowering in Craigieburn so when should she prune???  I suggested we all take Graham’s advice and do it when time permits and you’re in the right mood for pruning!  Be sure and glove up because this is another email we received this past week …

GRA’S GARBLE …

Gardens need many different plant species to remain healthy – microbes in the vicinity of plant roots increase the availability of minerals and trace elements required to maintain healthy vitality of all plants!

All living things – above and below the ground benefit when the plant:microbe bridge is working effectively.

Q.  What has four wheels and flies?  A.  A garbage truck!

Feeding your soil with organic fertilizer and applying layers of mulch such as pea-straw and/ or lucerne increase microbial activity, stimulates worm cultivation and thus improves soil vitality which ensures all the plants in your garden thrive.  Any mulch is better than bare soil; no mulch … definitely not recommended!

Incorporating a diverse range of plant species to your garden assists with managing plant health – amongst your roses I encourage you to grow garlic, alyssum, calendula, lots of bulbs and perennials – vegetables like silver-beet and kale – soon, you can plant tomatoes and other summer veggies – be creative and adventurous!

Q.  What’s the worst vegetable to serve on a boat?  A.  Leeks

Get your kids involved in planting veggies which they will be inspired to harvest, cook and eat – great family time together and way better and more constructive than watching TV.

Research has shown that using chemicals in your garden will inhibit biological soil activity so I urge you to consider which products you purchase when next visiting your garden supplier – yes, there is ‘quick, easy fix’ for most issues which occur within our gardens at times during every season … please take a look at the Sustainable Gardening Australia website and be sure you make INFORMED DECISIONS when it comes to which products you use in managing your garden!

WEEPING ROSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE …
PICK UP ONLY …

We have a lovely selection of these magnificent roses – there is no more spectacular sight than a weeping rose which flowers prolifically from October through to May/June.

Provide a well-drained, open sunny location at least 2.5 x 2.5 metres around and you will enjoy years of glorious display – all these roses should be well supported with a very sturdy ring and pole kit available here at Silkies Rose Farm.

MY FAVOURITE WEEPING ROSES …

Crepuscule
Freely produces the most amazing flushes of clusters of apricot blooms which fade to cream and literally smother the bush with flowers throughout the season on relatively thornless canes.  This highly versatile rose can be used to cover arches, adorn fences of variable height and is so easy to maintain because of the beautiful flexible canes.Pinkie
Cluster of mid-pink flowers all season. Lush healthy foliage on thornless wood. Dense foliage cover.

Seafoam
It produces small pretty white flowers throughout a very long flowering season. It is thorny but don’t let this deter you. Highly recommended for a healthy, pretty feature weeping rose in your garden.

Summer’s evening

All our weeping rose varieties are my favourites because they’re all really spectacular – you MUST come to the Rose Farm to collect one and get the support kit too!

Remember to use seaweed solution, fish emulsion and other organic liquids like worm-wee, compost tea and other brews to increase ‘soil-life’ which is guaranteed to ensure you produce the most healthy roses, plants and veggies to guarantee YOUR HEALTH!

ROSE RAMBLER 27.07.2017 …

Hello dear rose friends as the morning bird calls start to indicate a sign of spring in the air … definitely a bit early by comparison to previous years but all things considered, it’s been a rather extraordinary winter with us having recorded our coldest frost in 17 years here at Clonbinane – down to minus 8 a couple of weeks ago and an amazing number of freezing morning temperatures with gloriously sunny days and above-average daytime temperatures.  Aaaaah … the conspiracy of the weather will keep our conversations alive!

Yes, we are all ok and still here – yes, your computer email is functioning ok too – I didn’t produce a Rose Rambler last week simply because I felt it was way more important to put all my energy into packing parcels of roses!   Thank you to all of you who checked up on us!

After a consignment of roses this week, most rose orders will be completed – JOSEPH’S COAT was a real straggler and has held up a lot of orders … when it flowers in years to come, you’ll forget about how late your rose order was delivered when this magnificent rose flowers and flowers throughout each season … what a sight to behold it is and I’m so glad we offer it to you by having it budded each year …

GRA’S GARBLE …

STANDARD ROSES are most definitely a great way to grow roses as your body ages and it gets more difficult to get down on the ground to prune and manage bush rose plants!  One of the most important issues to consider when planting standard roses is permanent and durable STAKING A STANDARD ROSE …

We use and highly recommend 13mm RIO ROD which easily penetrates deep into soil and will not move, will never rot and actually looks great because it’s almost invisible as it rusts and sits very snugly right against the rose stem.

Be sure and allow around 20-30cms of rod ABOVE THE CROWN which acts as support or to lightly tie new water shoots to, in extremely high-wind areas.

 

To secure the standard rose understock to the rio rod, use 19mm VELCRO ONE-WRAP because it doesn’t come unstuck if correctly applied!

Q. Why aren’t elephants allowed on the beach?  A. Because they can’t keep their trunks up! 
(for the kids reading this, old guys ‘trunks’ are kind of like your ‘jocks’ …)

TAKE CARE WHEN ELECTING TO USE CHEMICALS IN YOUR ROSE GARDEN …

We can all learn from this email exchange during past weeks:

One pic of Amber’s affected foliage …

Amber admitted to ‘self-diagnosis’ after trawling through the Internet … I suspected this and although I know there is NO rose rosette disease in Australia, I wanted to be careful with how I responded – not wanting to offend any Rosarian who might be consulting with Amber and trying to sort her problems!

Since much email exchange, I realised Amber ordered roses from us this week …

Thankfully, Amber has responded very positively …

Please take extreme care when using weedicides – in fact, ANY CHEMICALS around your garden!  There are so many alternatives available – for more information please retain these two addresses:  www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au and www.sgaonline.aug.au so you have access to the most updated information about sustainable gardening and which products you can safely use in your home garden.

Q. What happens when a frog parks in a no-parking space?  A. It gets toad away.

When the winter blues happen for you, either give us a call (our phones were seriously challenged this past week when all calls went direct to ‘message bank’ … sorry!) or log into www.rosesalesonline.com.au and purchase some roses just like Holly did a couple of times in these past weeks …

ROSE RAMBLER 06.07.2017 …

Now Hello dear rose friends as we enter the middle of winter with very cold nights – down to minus 8 here on Sunday morning and miserably small amounts of rain – just  13mm in the past few days!

I haven’t had a great deal of time to prepare this Rose Rambler so let me just take some emails with very interesting information for sharing … even Gra has been head down, bum up and hasn’t got a joke this week … you actually need to send him a couple if your kids/grandchildren are into jokes – he did have this little ditty to share …

A REASSURING HUG THAT’S BETTER THAN ALL OTHERS;
THEY’RE THE BEST, MIRACULOUS MOTHERS!

POSTING PARCELS OF ROSES …

ROSE OF THE CENTURY … YES, IT IS …

Hi Pamela … thank you for contacting me again… I think that to save a whole lot of bother / money / time and be guaranteed of success with this project, you need to source 30 or more ICEBERG bush roses – I can supply same for $16.50 each if you order over the phone very soon … roses are now being potted and have been increased to $19.50 online …

Why ICEBERG and not some other very fancy, highly fragrant hybrid-tea rose like say, POPE JOHN PAUL II … simply because ICEBERG is the variety which will most definitely be flowering at the time of your wedding with the least amount of stress – after the wedding, as gifts, the roses will offer immense joy in the home garden of your guests.

Yes, ICEBERG is common (Pamela actually stated that in one of her emails!!!) but so what?  It’s beautiful and will definitely give you an avenue of potted white colour down the aisle at your wedding – do what works for YOU not what others might say about this glorious rose!  Please let me know if I can assist to make this work for you … no, I cannot offer cheaper price than $16.50 per plant plus pack post … oh, $45.00 high out!  Talk soon perhaps … best wishes DIANA

In my usual form, I did respond to Pamela and wished her well with her wedding – you, know, it’s not always about the cost of something and no, roses purchased from Silkies Rose Farm / www.rosesalesonline.com.au aren’t the CHEAPEST but by golly, they come wrapped or potted with love and they’re 100% guaranteed to grow in your garden and give years and years of pleasure – something that good NEVER COMES CHEAP!

FAVOURITE OTHER WHITE/CREAM ROSES FOR MASSIVE DISPLAY …

MAGGIE
Maggie is delightfully feminine – the superb flowers are softly ruffled with masses of petals in rich, creamy white. During the cooler months, there is a distinct border of blush pink at the edge of the petals and there is a distinct soft, fruity fragrance which adds a romantic charm to this most beautiful rose.
LIONS ROSE
Modern Shrub/Floribunda rose of immense beauty, resistance to disease and ability to grow and flower in any sunny location. With flowers creamy-white, tinged apricot-pink deep in the swirled central petals, the blooms open to 15cms wide and reveal their dark stamens when opened.

POPE JOHN PAUL II
A magnificent pure white rose with the most amazing fragrance!  The healthy bush produces masses of long stemmed, large blooms continually throughout the season – a very highly recommended rose!

PRUNING ROSES

Graham will conduct regular pruning demonstrations here at the Rose Farm throughout July – here are the dates:

• SATURDAY, 8TH JULY – 1.30PM – BRING THE KIDS AND SECATEURS
• SUNDAY 16TH JULY – WHITTLESEA COURTHOUSE DEMO SAT, 15TH 10.00AM
• SATURDAY 22ND JULY – 1.30PM – BRING THE FAMILY FOR A LOVELY WINTER OUTING

We promise to get it together and video Gra doing one of his garden WALK ‘N’ TALK demos so that all you lovely interstate followers can be part of what goes on down south!!!

ROSE RAMBLER 29.06.2017 …

Now on the ‘upside’ of longer days already – it seems unbelievable that we have passed the winter solstice and our days from here onwards will lengthen and hasten the herald of spring flowering for our roses.  Phew, have we been busy while all this celestial ‘stuff’ has been happening …

PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME AT THE NURSERY ABOUT YOUR ROSE ORDER … we now have almost every rose available for posting – the last consignment only came into the nursery yesterday and now needs to be graded (obviously the BEST for pre-orders!) then sorted, tagged and pitted into heel-in beds then packed and posted.

We can only post around 50 cartons each day because we have a small Country Post Office managing our parcels so you can expect your roses to be delivered very soon – if you have a mobile phone contact on your order, we will send you AustPost tracking number so you know when to expect your roses.

If you are going away and wish to delay posting, please contact us IMMEDIATELY to ensure your roses are not wandering around the postal system waiting for you to come home!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Come on up to Silkies Rose Farm at Clonbinane if you’re unsure of how to prune your roses this winter – there will be formal pruning demonstrations on:

When we’re out in the garden together, I don’t just talk and demonstrate rose pruning, we’ll check out the compost heaps, prune some fruit trees and discuss all manner of gardening issues including how to avoid and correct this …

Soil compaction: the silent and sinister destroyer of healthy soil and plants

Imagine wearing tight clothing and not being able to breathe properly to perform regular tasks in your life.  Imagine if you were drawing breath with no one taking notice that you were slowly suffocating.  This is the condition of many agricultural and anthropogenic soils in which plants try to grow.  The lack of air space and waterholding capacity is the primary reason for substandard plant performance and eventual crop failure.

If you have time, we can chat over a cuppa before/after the demonstration … see you this weekend!

Q. What trees like a warm beverage?  A. Tea-trees

FEATURE ROSE …

In the rose fields at Coldstream, Victoria, along a row of THE CHILDREN’S ROSE, there appeared a stem of creamy white flowers with all the characteristics and traits of the pale pink roses in the row … Mother Nature doing ‘her thing’ had produced a ‘sport’.

This ‘freak of Nature’ is a glorious rose which now bears the name:  THE WEDDING ROSE and is now available for rose lovers to enjoy.  So appropriately named because of the bridal-cream colour and magnificent fragrance, this robust beauty will be a treasure in every bride’s garden!

Here’s a little ‘twist’ of romance which now makes this beautiful rose extra special … I received a phone call enquiry about THE WEDDING ROSE … in my usual form, I postulated about how lovely the rose is, how appropriate it would be for a wedding gift and Vicki then placed an online order for the rose to be sent as a GIFT ROSE with this message:

I responded to Vicki that I would post the rose according to her instructions but was curious about the message and I’m not afraid to ask a question when something sparks my curiosity so Vicki responded …

Here is a follow-up email…

Now we have to wait until they have their first child and they order THE CHILDREN’S ROSE!

Our GIFT ROSE is an ideal way of commemorating special events in your life and I make EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM extra special so that YOUR GIFT is eternally memorable!

Q. Why do birds fly south for the winter?  A. ‘Cause it’s too far to walk …

A HEDGEROW OF ROSES …

Here’s a tip for those of you who dream of having a magnificent hedge of roses … Neil ordered 11 x MRS. B.R. CANT (tea rose ideal for mass planting) and when I acknowledged his order, I mentioned how glorious it would be.  He responded:

Hope to see you here at the Rose Farm soon … whether it’s for a demo or to collect your roses this winter … do come along and meet with us here during our open hours:

Stay warm and comfortable when indoors but do get out into the fresh, cool winter weather to prune your roses – the winter garden has its own special beauty for you to enjoy …