Roses After The Rain

Some roses decided to bloom during Tropical Storm Debby.  I ran out between rain bands and took pictures since most of these blooms would soon be blown to bits by wind and heavy rain.

'White Out'  

'Belinda's Dream'

'Louis Philippe'

'Julia Child'


I am still amazed that my roses are doing so well.  They get a haircut and compost in February, and a monthly application of Mills Magic rose food.  During the dry season I hand water them about twice a week.  A drip irrigation system is on my wish list.  

Up Close

After a few days of rain, I found some blooms I just couldn't resist spotlighting with some close-up photography.

Brazilian Plume, Justicia carnea, is a deep shade blooming small shrub that has been blooming off and on since March.  

The Zebra Longwings have been all over the Shiny Leaved Wild Coffee, Psychotria nervosa.  It is so nice to see these butterflies back in large numbers once again.  

False Cardamom Ginger, Alpinia nutans, doesn't look much different from the Shell Ginger, Alpinia zerumbet, I have in a more sunny location.  Hmmm....

The Rain Lilies, Zephyranthes, have multiplied and are putting on the best show since I planted them two years ago.  

The raindrops are still on the roses my sweet husband brought me for our anniversary.  This is a thornless, compact floribunda named, Smooth Buttercup.  I'm hoping it will do well in my no-spray rose garden.  It sure is beautiful and full of buds and blooms.

Roses Love Rain

All the rain and soggy conditions the last few weeks kept me from deadheading the roses as should be done to encourage less leggy growth and more blooms.  The roses seem to be doing well in spite of my lack of diligence.

Julia Child

The bushes have all grown quite spindly and less bushy with all the extra water, but the buds still keep opening and offering their sweet scents.  The area in front of Julia Child was actually under water for weeks.

Scentimental

The other roses are planted up close to the house and are in a well-draining area.  It was nice to not have to worry about giving them supplemental water.

Louis Philippe

It seemed that whenever I had the time to get outside for a quick trip around the garden with the clippers the rain clouds would let loose.

Belinda's Dream

This section of the garden is ready for some attention.  I am looking forward to spending some time cleaning things up in this area and preparing for one of my  favorite times of the gardening year - Fall.

White Out

Look at Louis

Known as the "Cracker Rose," Louis Philippe is perfectly suited for a Florida garden.  The sprawling bush is virtually black-spot free and still blooms profusely no matter the heat and humidity.

My rose was given to me as a rooted cutting last summer.  It was tiny, having only two canes, but it bloomed constantly.  Soon those two canes became many.  A year later it is about three feet tall and wide.

It blooms in flushes that cover the bush in sweetly scented crimson flowers.  As the rose opens, more of the light-colored center is revealed.  During the sweltering July heat, my other roses are taking a break from blooming.  Louis Philippe keeps showing he deserves his nickname, "Cracker Rose."

The term, Florida "Cracker," refers to the hard-working Florida cowboy  of the 19th century.  These cowboys used bullwhips to herd the cattle, thus the name "Cracker."  The Louis Philippe rose is as able to withstand the harsh conditions of Florida as those early pioneer cowboys.  But, Louis is not only tough, he's pretty.

Summer Roses

My two favorite roses are doing well and blooming despite the heat and the lack of rainfall.  My other roses seem to have less blooms and bloom less often in the heat of summer.  These summer roses are a treat to both my eyes and my nose.  

Julia Child was planted this spring and seems to be happy in her spot against the back fence.  This area is full sun and is irrigated only by me and my trusty hose.  As often as possible that hose is attached to the rain barrel, but lately rainwater hasn't always been available.

This rose starts out a deep butter yellow that fades to light yellow.  My bush is only about eighteen inches tall and about as wide.  I have read that I should expect her to get to be a very round, bushy three feet in all directions.  So far, her leaves have remained a deep green and don't seem to be bothered at all by the heat.

The other rose that is doing super this June is my favorite, Belinda's Dream.  She is just so beautiful to me.  Her fragrance is very sweet and drifts on the breeze so I can enjoy it while I work near her.

This rose is a really big bush.  She is about five feet tall and wide and blooms in continuous flushes.  She does get brown leaves when not watered regularly.  She doesn't have any pest problems though other than last fall she had a little blackspot; but just a little on the backside of the bush.  

These are my favorite roses because of the shape of their blooms and the fact that they bloom so often.  When in bloom each bush is covered with roses.  They both have a light fragrance.  Julia Child is a bit spicy scented while Belinda's Dream has more of an old rose fragrance.  I do not want to spray pesticides or use chemicals in my garden and these roses are doing well without those things.  I love all my roses, but in the heat of summer these two really shine.

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.

 

Bluebird of Happiness

Bluebirds are associated with happiness and contentment in life.  I'm certainly happy to have this charming couple visiting my garden this spring.  I hope they make their home here. 

They have been visiting every day, making quite a show of catching bugs.  As I go about pulling weeds and other garden duties this cheerful pair seem to enjoy my company as much I enjoy theirs.

There is much to be happy about in the garden these early days of spring.  Along the sunny side of the back fence the new 'Julia Child' rose is blooming  in floribunda bunches.  I have been looking for this rose ever since I saw it at Bok Tower gardens.  It gets good reviews from Bok Tower and from other central Florida gardeners.


My happiness with the floribunda  rose, 'Scentamental' is probably going to be short-lived.  I know he's wrong for me, but I don't care.  I love him.

Seedlings in the sunny patch that is now a rose garden have been springing up and starting to bloom.  Blanket flowers, guara, hollyhocks, and alyssum have all re-seeded from last year's plants.  Yay!  Belinda's Dream provides lots of happiness in this spot.

Tall red pentas and more blanket flowers are coming back in front of the bamboo on the sunny west side.  A few sunflowers were added.  Butterflies and bees have gradually been coming around to visit them. 

There is more guara happiness along the path leading to the pot of bright orange geraniums.  Those geraniums were a Mother's Day gift from my daughter-in-love.  I'm very happy to see them blooming and rejuvenated with the spring weather.

What could be happier than little green sweat bees buzzing around sunflowers? 

And, finally!  Blooms on the bottle brush tree this year! 

"...happy is that people, whose God is the LORD."

Psalm 145:15

A Rosy View

The roses are filling out with leaves and even blooms.  I timidly trimmed Belinda's Dream, cutting her back by a third and pulling off most of her leaves.  It was very nearly the scariest thing I've ever done. 

New growth has been mostly at the top with some hints of leaves coming back on those bare canes further down the bush.  I stripped the leaves because of some blackspot she developed in November on some leaves that were up against the house. 

Some new companion plants have been added to the rose area, Stokes Aster, Stokesia laevis, is a native perennial that I'm hoping will love it's new spot. 

The rose, White Out, is in the background against the white wall of the back porch. White on white doesn't do it justice. Soon though, this bush will be covered with white blooms that show well against those dark green leaves.

See what I mean in this close-up view?  I love this rose. 

No trimming was done to my baby Louis Philippe who bloomed even during the freezing temperatures we experienced this winter.  The red and pink Salvia coccineas have come to life just in the last few weeks.

Two of these petunias were gifted to me by Pumpkin from Graceful Cottage Gardening back in November.  They both made it through the cold wonderfully well and have been continually blooming ever since being planted.  They make great companion plants for the roses.

Louis P. opened fully just in time for this post.  He has a wonderful fragrance.  See the ferny foliage in the background?  Thanks Meems from Hoe and Shovel for these starts of yarrow, Achillea millefolium.  I can't wait to see some blooms!

The roses are in a small area on the east side of the backporch in a corner formed by the porch and the back wall of the house.  Eastern sun shines on the plants there for about 8 hours in the spring and summer, less time in the winter.  In the summer, zinnia, Mexican flame vine, Mexican sunflowers and other butterfly and hummingbird attractors are grown here as well.  There aren't many sunny patches around My Garden Path so I try to make the most of this one.

Garden Valentines

Valentine's Day in a Florida garden is traditionally the time it is finally safe to think about spring.



Camellia Sasanqua 'Shishi Gashira'

 Signs of life are budding out on previously cold ravaged stems.  Flower buds are showing up  promising springtime blossoms. 


Rosa 'White Out'

 The temperatures are just delightful here in central Florida.  The coming week is forecast to be in the 70's during the day and the 50's at night.  Absolutely perfect gardening weather.

Happy Valentine's Day gardening friends.  I hope you are enjoying all the promise that springtime has to offer.

My Favorites....This Month

December 2010 Favorites

This has been a busy month filled with Holiday activities from beginning to end.  Time for the garden has been short around here.  Most of the garden activity has consisted of bringing potted plants and newly rooted cuttings in and out of the house and back porch.  Watching the weather report has also taken up a lot of time here at My Garden Path.  There have been a few shining stars out in the garden this month in spite of my neglect and I certainly want to give them credit for the great job they have done keeping my garden from being just one big brown patch.

The two camellia bushes have been blooming all month providing lots of color and shiny green leaves.  I am seeing that I need to add more of these to my garden.  The roses have shown how much they love the cooler drier air by blooming profusely. The honeysuckle was purchased this spring just for it's cold hardiness and it is rewarding me by not only keeping it's leaves but also putting out wonderfully scented blooms.  Of course, the Christmas cacti shone bright this month.  It always amazes me how they bloom right on time.  I'm only showing the creamy white one but there are two other colors in my collection, a fuschia and a red.  The two big surprises have been the red shrimps and the flowering maple.  Both have been blooming since October and neither have been fazed by all the freezes we've experienced this month.  I will definitely be adding more of these.  Since they are easy to root from cuttings they'll even be budget friendly. 

Drop by Simply Susan's blog to share your December favorites.

Happy New Year!

Roses Along the Path

After the repeated deep freezes of early 2010, huge, old hibiscus bushes were removed from the garden.  In their places roses were planted.  I've never grown roses before but knew that I wanted fragrance and flowers in this small sunny area just off the back porch.

Mother's Day brought me two new one-gallon size bushes.  'White Out' is about 2'X 2' at this time and blooms non-stop.  The label said this rose would get to be about 3' X 3'.  That would be perfect for the space. 

'Sunny' is another of the Knockout series and was labeled as 3'X 3' in size.  This rose is just now starting to grow and bloom.  It has not been happy all summer.  I am hoping that it will get well established in the cooler weather and that by spring it will be a vigorous rose bush.

The sunny yellow blooms it is named for are worth the wait for this little bush to settle into its spot. 

'Red Cascade' is an old garden rose that was given to me many years before the Path came into existence.  This is a miniature climber and is on its own root.  I have rooted several of these and passed them along to other friends.  This rose just keeps growing and growing. 

Another old garden rose, 'Louis Philippe', was given to me earlier this summer.  It is a rooted cutting and has been doing very well, blooming pretty much non-stop.  I've been told that the blossoms will become more red as the bush matures.  I don't care, I love it just as it is. 

The original Knockout Rose has sulked a little this summer.  It is healthy, just not prolific with the blooms. 

Of course, Belinda's Dream is just that.  My dream rose.  I love, love, love her.  She has bloomed all summer and has grown from an 18" height to over 4 feet.  You can read about the beginning of it all in this post. 

As important as foliage and flowers are to My Garden Path, butterflies, bees, birds and other wildlife are just as important.  Even though I became a little obsessed with the roses, I made a decision early on to not use any pesticides and to use only organic fertilizer.  So far, the foliage of all the roses has been quite healthy and free of the dreaded blackspot.  You can see 'White Out' in the background  of the above photo with 'Belinda's Dream' in the foreground.  'Belinda's Dream' is full of buds but just a couple of blooms are barely visible.  The foliage on both bushes is just perfect as it has been all the hot, humid summer.

Janis, from Graceful Cottage Gardening, recommended that I use Mill's Magic Rose Mix organic fertilizer.  Her roses are so big and beautiful that I knew that was good advice.  My roses are loving the Magic.

I've never grown roses before, but so far, these roses have proven themselves to be easy and well adapted to the Florida climate.  I'm quite happy with my combination of 'Knockout' roses and old garden roses.