ROSE RAMBLER 13.07.2017 …
Hello dear rose friends after another series of freezing nights and gloriously sunny days with birds noisily indicating they’re mating and preparing nests for spring reproduction. There’s a continual shrilling sound which we think is a tree frog but we’re not quite sure … if you’re in the nursery in coming weeks, please ask about the critter which has us perplexed and sure to be heard during your visit.
I’ve soooo enjoyed reading your stories following on from last week’s Rose Rambler article about ICEBERG! Thank you all for sharing … yes, unfortunately, ICEBERG has the status of COMMON yet it is without doubt, THE ROSE OF THE CENTURY; it is proudly listed in the WORLD ROSE HALL OF FAME and continues to be the most popular standard rose in our industry year after year!
I guess in the olden days when people were classed according to their status, I might have been classed as a COMMONER. However, if I had half the beauty and afforded my subjects as much incredible joy as what COMMON old ICEBERG has done, let me gladly be classed as COMMON! A bit of fun with words I guess …?
GRA’S GARBLE …
I so miss the fragrance of roses since the FRAGRANCE OF A ROSE IS IN ITS SOUL … being deep in the winter here, there’s not a fragrant rose to behold – instead I’m busy pruning so get out and you do just the same – remember that you cannot kill a rose by pruning it … come along to a pruning demo this weekend at WHITTLESEA COURTHOUSE on SATURDAY at 10.00 am and help me and an enthusiastic group of gardeners prune the roses there.
This SUNDAY at 1.30PM be sure to come along to Silkies Rose Farm at Clonbinane where we’ll walk and talk and prune our way through the gardens here … bring the family and pets; don’t forget to bring your secateurs/loppers for a lesson on cleaning and sharpening.
My joke for this week:
Children were asked to write about the ocean and here are a few of their comments to give you a giggle …
Mike, aged 7: If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island. If you don’t have ocean around you, you are incontinent.
James, aged 7: My dad was a sailor and knows everything about the ocean. What he doesn’t know is why he quit being a sailor and married my Mother.
I hope you haven’t overlooked ordering these most beautifully fragrant and robustly healthy roses to add to your rose garden collection this winter …
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. Grows to 1.5mts
BLUE MOONHybrid Tea rose which has stood the test of time. Tall, upright almost thornless stems produce clusters or single stems of highly fragrant perfectly formed blooms.
FIREFIGHTERThis glorious specimen with tall single stems of the most highly fragrant dark red rose will be a joy to all rose gardeners. The men will rush out to buy it because it has so very few thorns and tell us in the nursery that they just love the red roses … we know it’s all about the lack of thorns even though we also know that men prefer their garden roses to be red!
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF WHILST PRUNING THIS SEASON …
Here are my suggestions for comfortable, safe and enjoyable pruning:
- Clean and sharp secateurs – we use and recommend Lowe 4 which are available in our online store – www.rosesalesonline.com.au
- Look after your back – sit on a chair if you need to – one rose at a time!
- Do light exercise before you start to get your muscles ready for a work-out!
- Wear protective clothing – most definitely a comfortable pair of gloves.
- Be the boss and prune each rose according to how it suits your garden!
- Enjoy being out in the garden knowing that every 25 minutes you spend in your garden is equivalent to a 4km walk – Yep, backed up by University research!
Enjoy all the moments of this fabulous winter weather in your garden – turn over a patch which will be ready for planting spring seedlings to feed your family the most nutrient-rich salad-greens and veggies throughout spring/summer.
