This time I am going to make the gardening areas narrow and small enough so it is easier to reach in and weed and work with the roses. My last garden was too deep and I loved getting new roses so I would sneak a new rose into any available space, so when all the roses matured it was difficult to get in and do anything.

I'm going to put all the gardens within easy hose reach, which will be fairly easy since the yard is tiny. At my previous house I used to have to unroll a 75 foot hose in order to get to everything.

And I am going to be more diligent about checking rose descriptions before I make a purchase this time. No more blackspot magnets. No more purchases of gargantuan roses like Mermaid hoping to keep them tamed into a small space, for certain roses that is just very hard to do. I loved Mermaid but one would take up my entire yard now.

What would you do different if you had to start over?

The first thing I want to do is come up with a plan for the layout before I start planting, instead of just putting things willy-nilly where there is enough room and the right conditions. I would like to have an actual landscape instead of a series of gardens, if that makes any sense. The second thing would be to choose only roses that thrive in my area without any coddling, and the third would be to have a good irrigation system so that I can spend my time tending instead of watering. Most of the other stuff on the list is about the fruit and veggies that I want to grow, my dream is to have a garden that is both beautiful and productive.

My new home, also has some landscaping, however, a lot of it I was able to tear out because it was just awful and overgrown, full of weeds and what I term "weed trees" and such. It also needed some updating which I did last year and I had an underground irrigation system installed. I put in some new flowering trees and bushes to give more interest (it was too heavy on evergreens) such as hydrangeas, lilac and dare I say it, Knock-Out roses for quick effect. I thought I'd hate those Knock-Outs, having grown hybrid teas, floribundas, and old roses previously but actually I was rather pleased with their "hands off" approach. They were healthy, vigorous (they got very tall for me) and pest free. Who could ask for more?

Anyway, I had beds created on my front walkway which never got planted last year due to it being too late in the season to do so (it was ridiculously hot here in NJ last summer). I also have a small bed (it's about 12' x 8' I think) in the back area that has some room in it for maybe a few roses along with the existing hydrangea tree (elderly, came with the house, a remarkable bloomer) and some other things I planted there. I have some room here and there to get a few more roses in, against a side fence, near my front porch, etc.

I ordered 9 bare roots this year. I think that will be all I can get in around the property. Several will go in the planting strip at the front of the house - the smaller species, and maybe one of the taller ones near the lamp post. I ordered one climber, which will go near my garage side door near my neighbors fence - I'll be buying something to train that on. I think I'll be able to tuck 3 (maybe 4) into the back bed area. And that should take care of all of them.

I have no intention of buying any others. Certainly not this year until I see how all of these acclimate, and if they get enough sun. My property is much smaller than my last homes, and I want to be able to put in some perennials, so keeping the roses to a manageable level is important.

I have the irrigation going to all of these areas so watering won't be an issue. I'm hoping growing them now will be lower maintenance than in the past. I'm getting older myself, have bad knees also (had the meniscus removed from the both), and between working full time and occasionally not feeling 100%, having a simpler way to care for them is my goal.

I'm also going to go organic this time around, and not stress out about them being "perfect". I picked roses which had good ratings for disease and pests, and if the rest of my garden has any bearing on things to come, so far I've had a very healthy one so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the roses :)

She was a contemporary of J. Horace McFarland, who built the ARS into what it became and led it for many years. Many of his printing processes and techniques were in common use until recent years.

This article, "A Tired Woman's Roses", is very much what you're speaking here. I wanted to dig it out, scan and share it as I thought you and others would enjoy it. Please do! Kim

Clicking on the images will take you to Flicker, where you may further click on the images and enlarge them to more easily read them.

Her books are wonderfully written and contain many, genuinely interesting and sympathetic characters. She wrote several series designed to teach children about Nature. Her Birdcraft was long considered the consummate work on American Song Birds. Flora, Fauna and their Haunts was written with J. Horace McFarland and is as excellent as her others. Her autobiography, My New York, tied them all together and shared what a fascinating character she was and what a rich life she led.

My introduction to her through the "Barbara" series taught me the background to the love affair and life she shared with "The Commuter". Reading how in 1925, the home and garden she shared with him were then "passed into others' hands" brings tears to my eyes now, just as it did all the years ago when I first read it.

Several of her articles appeared in the ARS annuals. "Silver Anniversary Roses" in the 1921 edition, I remember was quite enjoyable, though I lost that edition in a fire in 1996.

Any of her books make great reads, but the "Barbara" series are sure to touch you. She was quite an author. Kim

Tammy

1. Find LEVEL property with NO pine trees (or other large trees)
2. Plant fewer roses
3. Set up the drip/sprinkler lines before planting
4. DO NOT plant perennials (or especially irises) in the same beds!!!
5. Mulch mulch mulch
6. Fertilize more often
7. Kill the Bermudagrass before it gets out of hand...
8. Do not get a new dog (sprinkler-chewing, rose-chomping pain-in-the-butt)

This thread made me smile and smile. Thanks, I enjoyed it.

1. I will not include any once blooming roses because they have a very short flowering period. It's already March and I'm longing for more blooms in the garden. The only roses that are blooming in my garden are Claire Austin and Evelyn. The rest are taking a rest. I might include a once-bloomer if only it looks really nice and is healthy.

2. I will plant two or maybe three roses and that would be it. Roses require a lot of watering to keep them healthy and keep those mites at bay. Since I'm renting and so many jobs are going offshore, it would be wise for me to save up for emergency. Besides, the majority of our roses contain some type of viruses. I noticed when my roses get stressed and dry, their performance and their bloom quality isn't too good.

Lessons from previous garden: Build raised beds for the roses if at all possible. And as others have said, keep the rose beds narrower. Plan for weeding. Get weeds under control at the beginning - don't plant the roses now and figure I'll get the weeds under control later - doesn't work that way!

Don't plant spring bulbs directly under the roses. If I mulch the roses for the winter, the poor things will be trying to come up through all that winter protection when it's their time to bloom.

Wait for it to get really cold before mulching the roses for winter. Probably half the time I'll be able to skip that step entirely with no freeze damage.

Lessons from current garden: Plant more once-bloomers. They bloom about as much as the HTs in our climate, with a lot less work. I left most of them behind in the old garden due to space constraints but now I'm regretting that.

I'll need a potting shed and/or greenhouse of some kind too. A covered outdoor space where I can putz around even in our nonstop 9 month rainy season. Doesn't need to be heated, just covered. And a cold frame for early spring starts.

And this one is critical: BUILD A DOG RUN. Do NOT let the current dog have free run of the yard while I'm at work. She is a digger. And she likes to chew up nursery cans, and she's strong enough to carry a planted nursery can across the yard to chew it up.

i'm insisting on the back yard facing south or east
(this one's facing west)
i'm going for great dirt first then i want
some walkways and more narrow beds and
lastly i want an irrigation system of some kind (drip hoses if nothing else)
lots and lots of great mulch
then i want a hip replacemnt and some tylenol

i can hardly wait