ROSE RAMBLER 11.9.2014
Hello dear rose friends … sorry for the late arrival of this Rose Rambler!
There’s some real WOW factor now with lots happening in our rose gardens – there are early buds with heaps of lush, healthy growth. It’s time to do some ‘grooming’ which means going back around the rose bushes which you pruned during the past few months and trimming down to the healthiest outward-facing bud which is sure to produce an abundance of strong-stemmed blooms very soon.
My book ALL ABOUT ROSES has been selling extremely well – if you cannot find it in a bookstore near you, order it at www.rosesalesonline.com.au and I’ll sign it for you too. Here’s a snippet from an email I received …
“Hi Diana, I want to start this email by saying “someone who can write like you must have a beautiful loving soul”. I have so many rose and garden books that I have never finished because I lost interest in them. Your book, I couldn’t put down and when I finished it I wanted to read it all over again. You took me on a journey of love, knowledge and inspiration …..”
That was just part of the email from Julie who received one of the first copies I posted out. Thanks to Julie, I feel more confident recommending you read the book and keep it on hand as a reference to help you grow beautiful roses.
GRA’S GARBLE …
There’s been a bit of rain about so I hope you’ve commenced the organic rose management spray program to prevent early incidence of mildew/black-spot and also, as soon as the sun shines, the critters like aphids will start making an appearance.
Get ahead of them by using preventative spray applications – you may not see any aphids but you can be sure they’re lurking! The eco-oil is particularly effective on the larval stage of many insects which reduces the potential of those insects growing to adults and breeding rampantly.
Ladybirds can be a bit slow to get going in the early spring but with lots of warm, sunny days, they’ll soon catch up.
Q. Why did the girl throw her toast out the window? A. She wanted to see the butterfly.
I was looking at old photos the other day and took a trip down memory lane with this amazing rose JEANNE LA JOIE which was part of our miniature rose collection when we first started the rose nursery 30 years ago …
JEANNE LA JOIE was magnificent at the front of our home (the cottage which later became the Rose Café) with such a glorious display of blooms right from the beginning to the very end of the season. We used to take long branches of blooms and they would last forever in a vase. The foliage was always healthy and because the canes were supple, we could have covered the front of the cottage with it!
This extremely versatile, beautiful miniature climbing rose is now available at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane – we have re-introduced it because it is one of those roses that should NEVER go out of production because it will grow just about anywhere, anyhow, cover anything you wish it to and perform exceedingly well in a tub or cover a difficult sloping bank or create a hedge-row along a fence … this is a rose which ticks all the boxes … and yes, it has a light fragrance to boot! Very, very highly recommended rose!!!
Q. Why did the toilet paper roll down the hill? A. To get to the bottom!
Enjoy the glorious spring weather in your garden … Gra
IN CLOSING …
Your roses will start to flower soon, depending on your climate zone so do give them some organic fertilizer – read the packaging to see what it is you are applying to your soil – fertilizer with balanced N:P:K (major nutrients) and a range of trace elements is perfect and it doesn’t need to stink to be good!!!
~ Smiling … Diana, Graham and Mooi at Clonbinane
