Beautiful, Cynthia! I'm envious! Kim

I wish my back 40 looked like that!

Cynthia, the casual blooms here and there have a charm all their own--not the same as a bed bursting with rose blooms, but definitely a charm of its own anyway. I like your backyard beds--but I'm also partial to mixed beds. Guess that comes from growing mostly perennials for 20 some years and then expanding into roses during the last 10 years. I'd never complain that my clematis and hardy garden phlox and daylilies and hydrangea were blooming--they are exciting also.

But yes, after our brutal winter, I too wish the roses would pick up steam and burst into glorious blooms. Instead, they are like my Mystic Beauty (Bourbon)--only a foot high, but bravely putting out a bloom or two every day. I was expecting it this year to reach 3.5 ft high and wide and be covered in multitudes of blooms.

I just hope none of my roses runs out of energy before the summer is over. After all, minimal bloom is better than no bloom.

Hang in there, Cynthia--you have wonderful gardens and I really enjoyed looking at your backyard.

Kate

Wish I had a back 40 and it looked half that good!

*swoon* Can I come hang out in your backyard?

I would be satisfied if my garden looked as beautiful as your back 40 which btw doesn't look like any back 40 I've ever seen lol.

I love your back 40! It feels cool and refreshing. The shade and nice green grass......

Our lower 40 is wood chips, a big upgrade from dust and dirt, but boy do I wish grass was something I could consider. You might not think it looks like you wish, but many of us wish our front 40 looked so green. Of course not reasonable for us in irrigated deserts but that does not mean we can not enjoy your yard.

Beautiful! Everything looks so healthy.

May I ask the name of the pink rose seems on the last image just behind the white rose in the foreground?

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sat, Jul 12, 14 at 13:34

And I am interested to know the name of the white rose in the same pic. Garden is just lovely.

All in all Nippstress! It looks fantastic to me!

Cynthia, trust me, compared to my garden yours is a lush paradise. You probably don't realize that green is a wonderful color too. I've nearly forgotten what it looks like but, believe me, it makes a world of difference, and makes the flowers look so much better. Thank you for giving the "thirsty" gardeners among us something so pretty to look at.

Ingrid

Thanks for your kind comments and it really does help to see my own yard through your eyes. I'd forgotten by this point that hot places like California are scorched beyond recognition, and I certainly can't be sorry for having enough green this year. Sympathies on the ongoing drought Ingrid, Kippy, Kim, Lynn, and all!

You're right Kate that the scattered blooms have a charm of their own and I should be appreciating the fact that I notice each and every bloom. It's much easier to disbud the sneaky buds trying to grow on my first year plants, since the established ones are not much higher, and they stand out. My DH is loving the fact that the plants are all the same (short) height this year and he thinks I did this on purpose to neaten them up. Yes, I did trim them back when we had the house painted, but mostly I couldn't help it with everything dying or dying back to its roots (right, Seil??) I go ahead and take the credit anyway (smile).

And yes, let's not dis the plants that do grow and flower this time of year! I've just been out planting around 65 daylilies to fill in around the poor kneehigh roses, so that when they do have years with these scattered blooms the roses don't look so lonesome. Somehow to me daylilies pack a powerful punch of color that is really needed in July, and they make a nice counterpart to roses since they couldn't be easier to take care of and thrive in my zone. My Blue Paradise phlox is glowing neon against the hydrangeas in the shade area now, and that one alone is worth the price of admission for me.

Oh yes, the white rose in the last picture is Champagne Moment (Kordes) and the pink is Dame des Chenonceau (Tantau). They're in the front of this big bed because somewhere I read they were supposed to be no more than 3 feet tall. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!! The only thing that keeps them lower than my head is ruthless pruning back as soon as an octopus arm finishes blooming. I was just out today trimming a good 3 feet off Champagne Moment today, and the plus side is that both plants branch out extremely well from wherever I cut, so I have to make sure to try to cut them back lower than I want them to bloom or they start eating the fence again. Not a bad problem to have, particularly in this slow year!

Thanks for all the encouragement!

Cynthia

Cynthia, I am so impressed with your shade garden! If you don't mind my asking, how much shade does it get? I wonder if I have a spot for Heavenly Pink and Smiling Jean? Your lovely garden makes them look so tempting.

Hi Kes - heavens, we're all happy to talk roses here so I'm glad you asked. This bed is mostly "part shade" meaning that it gets at least a few hours every day of direct sun and filtered sun off and on the rest of it. The shade is provided by two limbed-up pine trees (you can see one at the back of the main shade picture). Darlow's Enigma - the tall white bush you can just see at the back of that photo - gets nothing but filtered sun since he's directly under the trees. He seems quite happy about that and blooms throughout the summer.

You can tell the garden is more shade than sun by looking at how happy the hostas and forget-me-nots and coral bells are. A few feet behind Smiling Jean, I'd taken out a sorry looking tree and the hostas I had there got more than 4 hours of direct sun and started browning, so I had to move them. I'd guess that Smiling Jean gets more sun than Heavenly Pink, but both get some direct sun as they are on the edge of the shade. Mostly that's a good rule of thumb for even shade tolerant roses - they'd like at least some direct sun if they can get it, so planting them at the edge of the shade usually works better.

I think both would work nicely for you, and those two are among the top 10 most dependable all-summer bloomers for me among my 750+ roses. You have to keep trimming back the clusters of blooms on Heavenly Pink, and it likes to sprawl (that's all one bush in the photo and it will get wider if I don't prune back). Smiling Jean stays a nicely compact bush of no more than 3' X 3' in my zone, less if I prune it back. It literally blooms all summer and appreciates deadheading but will even bloom without it.

BTW, I took the liberty of checking to see who sells them. Angel Gardens is listed as selling both, and Rogue Valley sells Smiling Jean. I don't know if they're in stock but both are great reliable companies. Nothing like a little enabling from your GardenWeb buddies!

Cynthia

Thank you! The spot I have in mind gets several hours of direct sun and dappled shade the rest of the day. One rose that is doing well there is "Little Mischief", new this year, and another is "Sweet Chariot" which I've had for 7 or 8 yrs. At one time I also had the ARE rose "Winecup" planted there and it did well for years too, until the attack of the killer voles. Granted, they would flower more in full sun, but they still flower well enough to look nice and they seem healthy.

I think that I may put one or the other (or maybe both) of your roses my list for next spring.

I hope Smiling Jean is as bullet proof for you there as it is here. Absolutely spotless in this climate and it endures quite a bit of shade and neglect. Sean McCann did well when he raised this one. I wish he knew what the parents were. That seems a cross well worth repeating! Kim

Sounds like you have a great plan, and some success already in the spot you have in mind, Kes. Do share some pictures with us when you get that area expanded!

Kim, I have to agree on the bullet proof nature of Smiling Jean - not a speck of blackspot in my zone, and a tough lovely rose all around. Ironically, I got this one as a bonus rose from Ashdown in their later years because it wasn't selling well yet and Paul thought I might enjoy this one. I try to return the favor by recommending it whenever I can, as it's an absolute keeper!

Cynthia

I'm glad Cynthia! Sean has made some extremely good roses which seem destined to disappear, unfortunately. He's a wonderful gentleman and a good friend. This one appears to be one of his best for vigor and health. I cherish it. Kim

Cynthia - It's beautiful and everything looks so healthy.