At about the halfway point in my front yard conversion to front rose garden I think it's time to share the joy of seeing
a garden during its creation. Notice I did not not say "under construction". I have grown into a more poetic self.
Realism was painful; lyricism is where I'm at now. (I like this definition: overflowing with eager enjoyment or
approval. Yes!)
As things sometimes happen, the central characteristic of the garden - a circle - came out of the blue from a tiny
thumbnail in a Google search that when enlarged turned out to be not what I thought it was, but the idea it planted
in my mind was nonetheless perfect. The problem: how to place LOTS of roses in a small front yard beautifully. For
months my creativity was stopped dead, frozen in fear of failure until that tiny thumbnail. That spark of creation
infused me with excitement, joy, anticipation and confidence. I knew this was the perfect plan. I would have to
eliminate most of the grass in the front yard, except for the 22' diameter circle, leaving a 5' wide bed on each side
and an arbor at the top of the circle toward the house and a small (about 24' deep) "strolling cul de sac" along the
sidewalk bed. A perfect spot for a garden fountain someday.
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Perfection notwithstanding, there was still the knowledge that my very bold plan would be a monumental task for
one 57-year-old arthritic woman, but every journey starts with a single step so with shovel in hand I stepped out into
the unknown on October 28, 2007.
A circular bed already existed so some of it had to be filled with transplanted grass to complete the new circle of
grass.
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The remaining grass around the new circle from property line to driveway had to be killed. Dare I kill it ALL, making
my front yard an eyesore? Would it be better done in stages? Once I got the Round-Up in the sprayer my fear of it
passed so I forged ahead (waiting many times for the breeze to stop.) A week later it was the color of straw and set
off the circle nicely.
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My front yard soil is nothing more than contractor's sand - fill on top of hardpacked limestone-type soil that looks like
grayish, powdery sand. Early on I planned to obtain wood chips and let them compost the dead grass, but the
tree-cutting companies are short of work and so, short of chips. At this point my DH found a local lady who was
giving away horse manure compost. So far I've gotten 4 pick-up loads. With the availability of good compost fill, I
set out to remove the top shovelful of sand from the beds. Roughly 200 square feet by 6" deep of sand had to be
moved by wheelbarrow to the backyard which fortunately needed it.
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Doing the bed along the driveway and sidewalk has taken 2 months of Saturdays and Sundays, six hours a day.
That was my "painful realism" stage. Realizing that it was going to be a long time before I got to the bed on the
other side of the circle, I decided to put a load of compost on top of the dead grass and let time work for me.
Hopefully, by the time I'm ready to work on that side, the dead grass will be well rotted, and I will only have to turn it
over. That may require some edging blocks to hold in the extra soil. Haven't thought that far ahead.
So here are some shots as of today.
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The choices of roses that Florida has allowed me are limited. They must either be on Fortuniana rootstock or Chinas
and their closest relatives. The nematodes in our sand shorten the lifespan of other roses dramatically and reduce
their vitality. But nematodes don't like organic matter or concrete, so hopefully those two things will mitigate the risk
for roses like the Maries and Grusses and HMs and old HTs. My selections were also limited by expected plant size,
disease resistance and fragrance. If at all possible, I wanted my garden to be one that wafted fragrance. Searches
for small, fragrant and fungus resistant roses gave me plants that I think will fill the bill.
As to size, I wanted short roses along the driveway and sidewalk so that the entry would not be hidden and
overwhelmed. So from the street up the driveway first comes Marie Pavie', Marie Daley, Purpurea (China), three
Hermosas in a tight grouping at the corner of the sidewalk, Iceberg on Fort. (an impulse purchase - don't often see
Fortuniana rootstock at Lowes for $11.87), Jean Bach Sisley, and Don Juan on Fort. on the arbor. Turning the
corner toward the front door are Marie Pavie', Marie Daley, four Gruss an Aachens alternating Pink and Original,
and finally the climber Parade to go up the front porch post and rail. Back at the driveway at the corner of the
garage is Madame Caroline Testout. She will have a nice pergola that will extend about halfway across the left side
of the garage. These roses, except for Parade who was supposed to go in the ground today had it not rained, are all
planted and budding. I'm so happy! Pink, maroon and yellow daylillies are scattered amongst the roses along with
Elephant Garlic and for the winter season Dianthus and African Daisy.
Between the cul de sac and the porch will be Bubble Bath with the fountain right in front of him, left to arch as he
chooses in that 7x7 spot. On the other side of the circle will be another Don Juan on Fortuniana on the other side of
the arbor, then Arcadia Louisiana Tea, moving around, Monsieur Tillier, Marie d'Orleans, and LaSylphide nearest
the street. On the street on both sides are 6' deep beds with Liriope and Daylillies in them.
My plan for the space between the sidewalk and the garage (about 15" wide) is to grow Pleasant Hill Cemetary
Noisette on a trellis that will cover the whole garage wall. Your opinions are needed as to whether this is doable. I
will replace the sand naturally with compost, and I'm sure the roots will run under the concrete some but mainly
along the length of the garage. Do you think the plant will like this position? BTW, this wall faces west and will have
sun from 12pm almost till sundown.
Under the trees the plan is to have Pinky Winky, a red and pink Paniculata Hydrangea, and was to have azaleas on
the edge of the cul de sac. But I have decided to take them out and put a few shade tolerant roses there - maybe
Country Dancer but probably more Grusses. I have fallen so in love with the flowers and fragrance of GaA that I'm
also thinking of planting a couple of them on the edge of the circle on the big tea side with the teas set back a little,
figuring the Grusses between the teas would hide their naked legs and give that side the voluptuous look that I
want.
Originally, I had planned to put a trellis across the end of the porch and grow a climber on it, but I'm getting more
shade there from my trees and the neighbor's so I'm not sure what to do until I see how much sun I have when it
shifts north. I have a rose order coming in March - Ley's Perpetual, Chromatella, Reve d'Or and Noella Nabonnand.
Also, I am about to pull the trigger on an order from Roses Unlimited for Duchesse d'Auerstadt, Bouquet d'Or or
Kaiserin Friedrich. (Pleasant Hill Cemetary would be in this order.) Maybe one of them would be right for that spot.
The trellis would be square and would be the size of that side of the porch.
So this is my rose garden. I'm so excited to be this far. Hopefully, you have found it interesting, and I would love to
get your thoughts.
Sherry
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