Thursday, April 7, 2011

Sunshine and Roses



This is the first part of the garden to see the sun when it rises in the morning.  Located on the east side, it is a sunny patch for about seven hours each day.


Roses are the anchor plants providing greenery and blooms all year long.  The ferny foliage of yarrow and the constantly blooming sweet allyssum  along with sedum 'Florida Gold' have worked well as ground cover all through the winter.


Spring brings a more exuberant flush of blooms to the roses but there are flowers in all the seasons.  Lots of re-seeding native salvias provide background and attract buterflies, bees and hummingbirds once Spring arrives.


Sweet fragrances fill the air and make me smile while I enjoy my morning cup of coffee.  Nothing like watching the sunrise over this beautiful view.


There are many reseeding and spreading companion plantings flourishing now that it is springtime.  I'm loving the yarrow.  Sure hope it blooms for me.  It has really multiplied since the warm weather returned.  The guara is looking especially good this year too, though it's hard to capture in a photo. 


Well, I guess it's time to put the camera away, take my coffee with me and finish up the morning watering chores.  Only, it's not a chore.  It's something I love to do.


 

12 comments:

  1. I love to water too. Wish I could hook up the hoses to the irrigation well, so I could actually afford to do it. Maybe it's time for me to try the rainbarrel thing. Do they give you enough water to pull out the hose every day?

    That striped rose is so pretty. Do you know its name? I like that trellis you are growing the cracker rose on. I should've thought of trellising mine. Instead I keep them trimmed as bushes, which have turned out to be ginormous.

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  2. Your Roses really look healthy. For some reason I have never had much luck growing them here. Mayby it is the soil difference but Several folks in my area appear to grow them with success. I might not have luck growing Roses in the Sandpit but I do enjoy looking at the pictures of yours.

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  3. I also love to water. It is soothing, and you get more personal with your gardens that way, IMHO.

    Your roses and their companion flowers/herbs are wonderful to look at. Oh to be able to smell them too would be great.

    Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

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  4. I like to water now, soon it will feel like a chore in the summer heat. I really want to know more about the tall salvias in the background of photos one and two....do you collect their seed?

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  5. Kay,
    Your roses are really loving their sunny location. I didn't realize you had any space that received 7 hours... no wonder they like it there. I knew when I saw that salvia it had found that home all on its own. My coccinea re-seeds anywhere it pleases also. Your spring garden is busting out with beauty and enjoyment. Enjoy those early morning coffee breaks with hose in hand. Most relaxing!
    Meems

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  6. I too want to know more about that striped rose.It's stunning.I need to trellis my Louis Phillippe.I like the way you have your's.

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  7. Wow, you have so many beautiful roses, especially that striped one, stunning! I see you put a trellis around that florida Cracker rose, is it a climing rose? I always thought it is a bush type, although I have not got one yet. Love your sunny spot of the garden, as well as the shady part.

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  8. Floridagirl - The rainbarrels hold enough water but don't have enough pressure to use the hose for most of my garden. My backyard is on a slope and that enables me to string out the hose and water along the back fenceline from the barrels. This link gives info about a solar powered pump that sounds interesting:
    http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/life/comments/its-new-its-affordable-its-solar-powered-but-does-this-rain-barrel-pump-del/

    But $139 leaves me cold.

    About the rose: don't be seduced. Everything I've read and have been told by people who know such things is that it is not a good fit for Florida. But, I found it at my little fruit stand for $13.95 (where I also got Julia Child for the same price) and I just decided that it was worth trying. It has a heavy rose fragrance. That's what got me.

    sanddune - Thank you. I've only had roses since last year so I'm not claiming to know anything yet. I do amend the soil A LOT though.

    FlowerLady - Yes, my watering time is a great quiet time to enjoy what's out there in the garden each day. I'm loving the fragrance of the roses. Only one is non-fragrant and it isn't blooming yet.

    Darla - I don't collect the seed as I just let it sprout where it may and then dig up little seedlings to give away or relocate to other areas of my garden. These are native so they are quite prolific. I can try to save some seed though and mail to you. Send me your mailing address by e-mail. Pink or Red? or both?

    Meems - The morning sun stays in this little square longer than around the corner at the veggie bed. The veggies get about 5-6 hours though. Then there is some afternoon sun on the west side where the bamboo are but they are shading some of that area now. (My house faces north so the sun comes in at angles around the sides of the big tree in the back. The frontyard only has sun right at the edge of the street.)

    I really like the salvia coccinea. This year though I put a lot of compost and Black Kow around the roses and I think I covered up most of the seedlings. Hopefully more will sprout up during the summer.

    ChrisC - Read the rose info I gave to Floridagirl above. It's beautiful, it smells wonderful, but I don't expect it will last.

    Ami - I have seen LP growing as a sprawling bush usually. Mine is still very small as it was given to me as a rooted cutting last summer. I have it trellised to keep it off the ground. As it gets bigger I don't really know what to expect. I would love to keep it growing upward if possible. But then I'll have to get a taller trellis:)

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  9. Thank goodness we have a well! Then I don't have to worry about the meter running when I water. It is definitely relaxing.

    I love my salvia coccinea. It just reseeds everywhere. I can't believe it...we had a hummingbird at one of my firecracker plants. Of course I didn't see it. My significant other did. The firecracker plant is one of my favorites. Originally bought 2. It is not invasive but it will root where the branches hit the ground. Snip it off, dig it up and plant it somewhere else. Such an easy plant and the winter did not affect it much.

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  10. We will do a swap then. I see you are interested in the Blue Bedder Salvia...it does reseed and pops up here and there and I also collect the seed. Either color for me will be fine NanaK.....

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  11. Kay, that bed really looks good. I like all your companion plants, and the roses have good size for their age. They must really like the soil-home you gave them.

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  12. Hi Kay...Your roses are looking great as well as all those wonderful metal trellises. I love putting them with roses...just seems like a natural fit. What is that peppermint stripe looking rose? It's gorgeous!

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Thank you for travelling down My Garden Path with me. I love hearing from you. Please leave a comment and share what is going on in your gardens.

NanaK