Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Additions For the Spring

As garden madness approaches fever pitch, I though I'd mention the 'upgrades' to the garden this year.   Hardscape, I got nothing.   Softscape, I went and bit the bullet and got myself all underdirt strung up with soaker hoses.  I am going to do my best to avoid powdery mildew and outrageous water bills this summer.  Granted, if it ever chose to rain during the summer that would help. (hint, hint Mother Nature).

But of course the new additions of note are the plants.
Image Courtesy of Antique Rose Emporium

I have added another antique rose to my collection.  Rosa "Ballerina," which is a single with appleblossom like flowers, and a heavy repeat bloomer.  Or so they say.  Also a nice fragrance.   It is a hybrid musk from 1937, chosen because it is not in a full sunlight situation.  It will get about 4 hours of direct sun, and another 5-6 of very bright indirect/reflective sun.   I'll be keeping you updated on how this 'shade tolerant' varietal does.



I purchased 2 additional Blue Storm Agapanthus to join the other 3 clumps I already have.  This varietal is shorter, by a good foot than the ones I dug and replanted from my Mom's garden, though it is the same traditional color.  I have had good success with getting these to bloom profusely and immediately, and I do it by literally planting them directly beside each other with zero 'room'.  Works like a charm.  Some times indeed you should listen to your mother.

I couldn't help but buy this tiny miniature rose from Lowe's with its perfect pink color.  It was labeled as 'Rosa'.  I can't tell you how obnoxious that is to me.  Come on now, you are telling me the person who planted this rose didn't know what type it was?   I will probably have to spend the next 20 years trying to figure out what it is.  I guess this is their solution to their terrible mislabeling of plants!  Before long everything there will just be labeled "Plant" or "Your guess is as good as mine."



I have bought two more urn style pots to plant the remaining $2.25 knockout roses I was able to acquire last November! (4 gallon sized roses for 9 bucks, steal of the century).  They are already blooming in their nursery pots they've been stranded in since last year.  I am really bad about this.  Its amazing that I actually don't kill stuff more often.  I know this whole urn potted rose thing works because I have a red knockout from last year that managed to become a 4 foot tall bush in one.  Knockout Roses are tough as nails and would probably qualify as a weed if people didn't like them so much.  They'll grow in anything!

After last years crazy tropical look in the shade corner, I'm going to try for a little different look this year, and acquired a couple of double impatiens to make the area a little less tropical looking.   It was cool and different but really not my cup of tea, particularly set against the sunny rest of the garden.  I'm not sure what else I'm going to do with this section... particularly if the persian shields come back.  And they might, it wasn't a particularly cold winter here.


As an aside, guess who I saw out today??  My little guy doesn't get sun at all til mid February due to the massive garage next door and the angle of the sun.  Now he's in the sun full time but my guess is he's going to be a few weeks later than your average Lady Banks.


15 comments:

  1. I so agree about the plant purveyors not labeling plants! How hard is it to write the name on a tag and stick it in the container? Your Ballerina looks lovely and the Agapanthus too. I am in love with my Knockout roses.

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  2. The knockout rose I bought bit the dust with black spot , the only rose I have been able to successfully grow here ( as we have the same climate just about ), are the 4.00 shrub roses , bare roots that I bought about 9 year ago. Two survived out of about 15 bushes that black spot devoured. In your last post you showed a pink flowering tree you did not know the name of . I think that it is some type of magnolia , believe it or not. A zoo horticulturalist told me they are the first trees to bloom here in the Spring. That is from my very vague memory about 11 years ago. I'l check on that if i remember. take care, GIna

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  3. Miracle of God I was right. It is called a saucer pink Magnolia ( the one in your previous post ). take care.

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  4. Gina - on the roses, it is all about picking the right one for this climate. Many roses were bred here in the 1800s and perform well with only minor blackspot (our biggest enemy here for SURE). So many of the old garden roses aren't as finicky as modern roses and aren't as susceptible. Every rose I own, with the except of the miniature pink one above, are noted for BS resistance.

    My knockouts get a touch of blackspot too, IN WINTER, because the climate doesn't cause defoliation and it remains very damp for months... hence I chop them all the way down to 6 inches and defoliate them myself. So far no problems at all, without spraying too. They grow back to 4 feet tall in minutes!

    A rose I can suggest, if you've got a good sunny spot for something to climb is a Madame Alfred Carriere (MAC) rose. Its an old garden rose, cupped with a huge fragrance. I have done nothing to it, no spraying, no fertilizing and its about to bloom. Also Lady Banks (if you have TONS of room) is ubiquitous here and I think its totally BS free nearly always.

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  5. Grace - I keep telling myself to stop going to Lowe's... but I can't. I am definitely part of the problem, but I still gripe anyway.

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  6. I have managed to kill knockout roses numerous times so can only imagine what I would do to "real" roses. But damn love that last rose, maybe some day in better soil and in better conditions. And love the Lowe's comment, so dead on!

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  7. ONG - NOBODY can kill a Lady Banks rose. I'm sure commenters here will agree. They don't need to be watered, fertilized, trimmed, sprayed or anything. They grow wild here pretty much. All they need is about 6 hours of sun and a lot of room because they get very big.

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  8. Jess - I love your 'rose' from Lowe's. Very pretty. I get mad about those labels, too. And then when people ask me what it is, I have no clue! Hate that! The light in your Lady Banks photo is gorgeous.

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  9. It is always exciting to get new roses, isn't it:)? Mildew and water bills pretty much sums it up for here too, I didn't know you had the exact same issues so far away... I love your "rosa" from Lowe's, I hope it does well for you.

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  10. Lovey roses! I can understand how irritating it would be when your plants aren't labelled. We here in India suffer that everywhere. Unless the Nursery caretaker doesn't tell you what plant it is, you'd never know. If he/she doesn't know it, you're left to go-google. With roses, every other rose is a rose. If you ask them to ID it, they look at you crossly and say, "It's a rose! What else do you want to know?"

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  11. Spring planting addictions are the best kind... albeit expensive at times.

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  12. Jess, I have agapanthus envy; it's such a beautiful flower. I laughed out loud at the idea of each pot in the big box store nursery with a label in it that says "Plant." -Jean

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  13. Jean - I heard that they have some hybrids that will make it to zone 5 now...but that still probably isn't hardy enough, huh?

    Chandramouli - Hey welcome back, long time no hear!

    Masha - Mildew and BS are huge problems with the heat an humidity here. We don't have bad pest issues though like some places. To humid for them or something. :)

    DGG - I have given myself a strict limit, and so far I'm still under it. I like cheap stuff too...

    HolleyGarden - Welcome! Yes, thats another thing, you look like an idiot gardener if you don't even know what you have planted. I'm calling it Cupcake, until I can prove otherwise!

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  14. Oooh - I do love an apple blossom style bloom so I think that antique rose is just lovely! As for just naming everything 'plant', I think I could warm to that idea. I can picture myself showing people around my garden and explaining with great authority "Well, that's a plant, and here is a plant...and just over by the fence there I think you will find..."

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  15. Love your agapanthus and Lady Banks, which aren't hardy here in CT - love the beginning of the gardening season and all the excitement!

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