ROSE RAMBLER 18.12.2014

Hello dear rose friends – don’t be frantic but grab a cuppa, slow down and believe me, all will be fine and dandy when you sit down for Christmas lunch this time next week.

If you need a ‘last minute’ gift sent somewhere in Victoria, call me NOW on 5787 1123 and I will organise posting a GIFT ROSE on your behalf. Anywhere else, I can still post a BOOK or GIFT VOUCHER, a pair of secateurs or gloves … take a look at rosesalesonline.com.au and let me ease the pressure of your Christmas gift-giving – only today or tomorrow, Friday 19^th at the very latest!

We won’t come to your ‘inbox’ on Christmas Day so this is our final Rose Rambler for 2014 – we have enjoyed the fabulous learning experience of our interactions with you as a result of the ‘rose issues’ raised – really, truly, Graham and I love putting this together each week!

Thank you for your constant feed-back which gives us a feeling that this newsletter from Clonbinane makes a valuable contribution to your learning about how to successfully grow beautiful roses just as Nature intended, organically!

In reflection, this has been an amazing year – this time last year, I signed a contract to write a book; ALL ABOUT ROSES was published in September and Graham had heart surgery in March from which he has made an amazingly speedy recovery; we’ve experienced the usual ups and downs that go with a family and running a business; 2014 will definitely be remembered!

Life’s great when one has a rose garden to come home to … the place where you can dump your troubles, take respite from the heat and hassles, trim spent rose blooms and one by one, pretend each spent flower is a problem you’re quitting from your life – let them rot in the compost heap and let that compost along with the experiences of life renew and revitalise your garden.

WATERING THE GARDEN …

If you’re planning on going away this Christmas and don’t have an automated watering system in your garden, here are some tips:

• DEEP SOAK … like, really DEEP SOAK the garden before you go and do the same the minute you step out of the car when you get home!
• Put potted plants in a filtered light or shady area of the garden with water trays under them.
• Ensure a good layer of mulch is placed over all garden beds and milled lucerne is excellent mulch for potted plants and veg seedlings.
• Have a reliable person visit once a week to water the garden!
• Give every plant a soak with seaweed solution before you go!

Water is a most vital and precious commodity in our gardens and you don’t need to be a WALLY WITH WATER to enjoy a beautifully flowering rose garden but rather, get smart with how you water, know your soil and …

GRA’S GARBLE …

Yes, you MUST continue to feed your roses during summer, especially if you are watering the roses and a most reliable way to feed roses is by way of a watering can (with a sprinkler or ‘rose’ on the spout for light cover over foliage) to which you add:

Natrakelp, eco-seaweed powder or other (follow pack directions)
Eco-aminogro or other liquid fertilizer (follow pack directions)

Here is a ‘free’ method of fertilizing your roses this summer:

Put a bucket full of horsesh, cowsh, sheepsh or chooksh (any animal sh.. or blend of sh..s will work) in a hessian bag and soak it suspended in a drum of water for 2-3 weeks.  Put it well away from the house (and washing line to keep the wife happy!) then dilute that solution at the rate of 1 litre ‘free’ fertilizer to 9 litres of water – always add seaweed!

Q.  What did the farmer call the cow that had no milk?  A.  An udder failure!

Every FORTNIGHT pour the solution over rose foliage – preferably in the morning when the stomata (like the pores of your skin) are open and very receptive to nutrient uptake.
If time permits, it is more product economical to spray any fertilizer products over the leaves but they work just as well from a watering can because residual nutrients go into the soil which is important too!

Thank you for all the loving messages I received during my recovery earlier this year, thanks too for telling me how much you love my crazy jokes – enjoy Christmas and see you soon at Clonbinane … Gra

IN CLOSING …

Cannot leave you without this picture of Mooi posing for promotional pics of our new gift box and the rose Forget-Me-Not …