Hello dear rose friends … Already passed the middle days of Spring and things starting to ‘hot up’ … a taste of the fast advancing Summer and oh, the joy of the roses blooming and the magnificent fragrance makes all the dipping and dunging so worthwhile! No time to rest on your laurels though … plenty to do in the rose garden now.
RAMBLE ON WITH GRA … Ever noticed all the perfumes we could buy – there are dozens. The perfume in roses is natural and the best time to smell a rose is when the sun is shining on the open flower. What ENERGY attracting the bees to create the beginning of another rose – the seeds! The rose fragrance also gives us lucky humans a lift. Try smelling some coffee first, then smell the rose; what a delight for our spirit … it takes us to a higher place.
By the way, what did Cinderella say when her photos didn’t show up? “Some day my ‘prints’ will come.
- POTTING ROSES: Potted roses can still be planted or re-potted from now on and throughout the flowering season. If potting, always use a good quality, certified potting mix with added nutrients and water saving granules. Mulch the top of the pots with compost about 50mm thick and then place milled lucerne or some straw over the compost. Place the pot on a tray filled with stones and water daily, use Natrakelp or Eco-cweed at least fortnightly.
- ROSE GARDENERS GLOVES: How good are your garden gloves? It is so important to use good quality, washable gloves that have material on the back that breathes but also protects your knuckles while moving around the thorny roses as you prune! Buy two pair so that you can change and wash them regularly – great Christmas present for the avid rose gardener and the one’s we stock here at the Rose Farm come in four different sizes – we’ve used them for years and highly recommend them!!
- MULCH IS CRITICAL: It is important to mulch the rose garden NOW to save moisture from Winter/Spring rains – plants are 96% water! Use Lucerne, straw, leaves and soaked newspaper at the edges of the garden beds will keep weeds away and be home to good soil critters and worms. Place the mulch on damp soil or water before and after mulching.
HELP THE ENVIRONMENT … MULCH THE SOIL! I’m told that 40% of grass is carbon so lawn clippings in light layers must be useful as a mulch too!
Enjoy the beautiful perfume of the roses while you wonder about the answer to this … what has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive … I’ll tell you next week …. Graham.
EARLY NOVEMBER MOON PLANTING/GARDENING GUIDE … Best sowing/planting days: 4th from 10.50am; 7th from 7.45am, all day on 8th to 9.30am on 9th. No sowing on 10th!
Best sowing/pruning days: from 12.35pm on 11th, all day on 12th, to 5.40pm on 13th; all day on 16th, to 1.15pm on 17th.
MELBOURNE CUP HOLIDAY WEEKEND … Yes, of course, we’ll be here all weekend as usual and besides, the roses are flowering beautifully so treat yourself to a day out with the roses at Clonbinane! You’re always welcome to bring a picnic and sit on the lawns or under the shade of the gum trees – we have boiling water for tea and coffee!
TWO NEW ROSES … It can take a few years for a new rose to make a statement and these are creating an impact now:
MY HERO – Highly fragrant, clear-mid-pink blooms with masses of thick petals on the most disease-resistant shrub to 1.2 metres high and wide
SHOOTING STAR – Fragrant blooms with a swirling mass of buttery-golden yellow petals in dense formation on a sturdy, very healthy foliaged bush to 1.2 metres.
IN CLOSING … Last week I was kneeling down while mulching the garden and got bitten – probably one of those big ants, maybe a spider …? Gentle reminder to me and I wish to pass on to you all that the burning welt on my leg lasted for over a week and I will now use one of the kneeling frames.
No I won’t, I’m not old enough to justify using a kneeling frame for it’s intended purpose ie. assist me in getting up from a kneeling position .. giggle .. so I’ll just use a piece of cardboard or layer of newspaper. I WILL NOT kneel and crawl around the garden unprotected and I urge you all to take care of the same insects lurking in your rose garden!
Enjoy the Melbourne Cup – a real celebration of roses – Diana & Graham at Clonbinane