Sweet days and roses
Lovely spring weather has coasted the garden along on a succession of bloom, especially the roses, which are slightly past peak now. I nearly imagine that I can smell fragrant ‘Marie Pavie’ when I look at this photo.
I’m pleased that it’s blooming so well since, year by year, the Mexican plum shades it ever more heavily.
Along the south-facing garage wall, ‘Valentine’ blazes for all it’s worth.
A passalong purple iris flowers near the Green Hall shed.
The “lawnette” view already looks pretty summery. Thank goodness the temperatures aren’t summery yet. Not to me anyway. It was 79 degrees on Sunday, and I took the kids to spring-fed Deep Eddy Pool for the first swim of the year. Not a soul braved the chilly water except lap swimmers and my apparently swimming-starved children.
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I need a low growing rose for a spot in back and I’d been pondering Marie Pavie as a possibility. I do believe you’ve made the decision for me! Valentine is just gorgeous: a friend and I passed it over in favor of Dame Du Coeur and both wish we hadn’t. Dame does have beautiful fragrant blooms but she’s very stingy with them. Ah, well, garden and learn!
That’s too bad that ‘Dame’ is stingy with her roses. I like ‘Martha Gonzales’ for a red rose too, but I can’t remember if it’s fragrant. If ‘Marie Pavie’ weren’t so fragrant, I might be sorry about having scentless ‘Valentine.’ But since they share space in the patio garden, she makes up for ‘Valentine’s’ lack. And I still get to enjoy those tumbling red roses. —Pam
Pam, what a joy to have roses…I can imagine myself so easily now stopping to see the roses and stooping to smell their fragrance! Maturing gardens seem to get shadier with the understory and canopy trees wanting to take over; thank goodness for shade loving perennials! But not so good for roses, sigh.
Gail
There’s always something we want to grow that we can’t, isn’t there? Actually, in my case, a lot of somethings. But thanks to garden blogs, we can enjoy those plants on a regular basis. If only we could smell them, right? —Pam
I am so jealous of the wonderful warm spring you are having! We just can’t seem to get it together up here in the pacific north west…we had sleet yesterday with intermittent sun breaks…weird to say the least…I can’t wait for it to warm up so my roses will look as wonderful!
Hi, Jean Ann. Don’t be too jealous. Today it got up to a steamy, humid 92 F here in Austin. I’m not ready for summer quite yet! Hope you get roses soon. —Pam
LOL, “lawnette.” I wish I had a “lawnette.” It seems so very civilized!
Robin at Bumblebee
Isn’t it funny? I smile to myself every time I use the word, and it really cracked me up to hear it used on the TV segment I was in. I’ll have to take tea and crumpets out to the lawnette one of these days. —Pam
I just love roses. Looking at your pictures I can nearly smell them. I can’t wait for them to start blooming in my garden here in Indiana **sigh**.
Thanks for dropping by, Karen. I know that spring has really arrived in Indiana, so your roses can’t be too far off. Meanwhile you have lilacs, right? —Pam
Your roses are so pretty! I have been so wary about trying to grow roses here in Austin – they look like they would be too much work. But then, I keep seeing images of roses people are growing here, and I am thinking about taking the plunge – maybe something that is supposed to be really hardy, like Knock Out rose or something.
Don’t be afraid of roses, Michelle. I was too for many years, but now that I know how easy they can be, I embrace them. If you grow the tough old antique roses, you won’t have any trouble. Just periodic trimming and organic fertilizer three times in the growing season is all I do. I never spray, and I don’t give them extra water. I’m trying a Knockout for the first time this year, but there are plenty of other varieties that do great here too. —Pam
I just love roses! They are so beautiful. I hope that I can manage to keep them alive this year.
I hope so too! As I mentioned to Michelle, the old antique roses are the ones that work for me. No muss, no fuss. —Pam
Each visit gives me a better sense of your gardens. You’re right (at least to me) about the ‘summery look’. Things here are just emerging. The Daffodils are in full bloom and the Bloodroot will have flowers open tomorrow. It’s hard to imagine roses just passing their peak. Hope the real heat holds off for you. 79 F is plenty warm enough for me.
The real heat is not holding off, I’m afraid. It was 92 F here today and very muggy. A preview of summer. Enjoy your spring while you have it. Ours is nearly gone. —Pam
Ah, roses–it’s so nice to see yours blooming brilliantly…we’re a long way from roses yet, but a week of warm weather has made a great improvement in things here. It’s always fun to see just how much is happening in your garden–from day to day the changes are amazing.
I’ve seen how much is budding in your garden, Jodi. Spring has truly arrived up north. Enjoy it! —Pam
I too can smell the roses. Yummmmmm… I remember going to a pool with a fast moving creek running through it when I was a child. Brrrrrr It was deliciously cold. I would swim until I was a big goosebump. What a great memory you evoked by telling about your children swimming.
Your childhood pool with a creek sounds wonderful. The spring-fed pools in Austin are a treasure to us, and I’m glad my children enjoy them as I do. —Pam
What wonderful pictures… your roses have beautiful blooms, but the dark green glossy foliage really strikes me. Lovely.
That’s what I love about ‘Radrazz’ Knockout rose, which isn’t pictured in this post. It has gorgeous, cool-bronze foliage with dark red roses—a great combination. —Pam
Your roses are lovely and they look so well-tended. I know you nurture them. Your iris is beautiful, and must look so pretty by the lavender of the shed.
Thanks, Diana, but I don’t really nurture them beyond an occasional arm-scratching trim and organic fertilizer three times during the growing season. They really take care of themselves. —Pam
The iris is gorgeous and I enjoyed seeing the different angles from your yard.
I’m glad, Robin. I like to show long views when I can. —Pam
Beautiful! And that reminds me . . . this year I will have a bottle tree! Except that I think it will be a bottle bush. LOL.
Love your chicken! Is it cement?
I can’t wait to see your bottlebush, Kylee. As for the rooster, I’m not sure what it’s made of. It’s heavy like concrete, but it looks more like molded clay. No concrete seams, for example. He was a Xmas gift from my DH, who did good that year. —Pam
Ah yes…..someone nearby — Hi there, I just viewed your segment on Saturday and quickly found your blog! You are inspiring!! Thanks for sharing your gardening world with us! Happy Gardening, Pamie G. (San Antonio)
http://www.pamieg.com http://www.gardenwithme2.blogspot.com http://www.sewwithme2.blogspot.com
Happy Earth Day!
Hello, Pamie, and thanks for visiting. It’s nice to hear from another San Antonio blogger—a neighbor! —Pam
You have the most appealing yard! It calms me every time you post photos. Just like that!
Brenda
Why, thanks, Brenda! I’m glad you enjoy your visits and find them a respite. Thanks for telling me. —Pam
Your roses are so beautiful. I liked your comment on Stuart’s post about roses going extinct. Your roses are proof that the water hogging hybrid teas are not the only roses grown by smart gardeners.
In fact, I can’t imagine anyone, at least not in this part of the country, wanting to struggle with teas. More drought is in our future, I’m afraid, and we have to be thinking of low-water plants. Luckily, there are still plenty of roses to choose from in that regard. —Pam
I forgot to mention, too quick with the submit button, must slow down , that we had planted Valentine in the communal mailbox area in our Houston subdivision, no watering ever. It was weekwhacked every year to the ground by the maintenance crew, they couldn’t tell it was a shrub, or didn’t care, anyway it came back and bloomed its head off every year, no problem.
Great story about ‘Valentine’! It is a tough rose, isn’t it? —Pam
The ‘Marie Pavie’ is very appealing, Pam, even though we can’t catch the scent – the dark glossy foliage is also beautiful.
When I grew David Austin roses in IL no weedwhackers like those Frances describes came to cut the roses down, but the colder weather in the late 80’s-early 90’s used to kill the canes down to 5 or 6 inches. It was a joy to see them regrow each spring and bloom in summer. Growing roses in zone 8 is so different!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I bet it is. I think we southerners miss out on the joyousness of spring that northern gardeners have, but I find our pleasant and garden-able winter ample recompense. —Pam
I’ve always shied away from roses, remembering too well the hybrid teas my Dad was always trying to grow when I was a kid, the kind you bought dormant in the spring in bags. But you’ve got me at least seriously thinking about adding some roses to my garden, by showing all the roses you’ve got in your garden.
Carol, May Dreams Garden
I’ve never bothered with hybrid teas. But I am sold, as you can see, on the old shrub roses. I hope you’ll give them a try, Carol. Roses add so much to a garden. —Pam
Your shrub roses are gorgeous with so many blooms. I think I’d have to pull up a chair close by and just drink in the sight and scent! My roses are just beginning to get their first leaves. I’m happy to say that all seven (including 2 new additions last fall) survived the winter. I can’t wait for those blooms!
I can’t wait to see them either, Kerri. It makes me happy to know your beautiful garden is coming back to life after winter. —Pam