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blendguy

David Austin's Gardens photos (Very Long)

blendguy
14 years ago

This past weekend we visited at the height of the blooming season; it was spectacular! It was a cloudy day, and felt like it would rain any minute (and looked like it judging by some of the clouds hanging above us). We only had a short amount of time to spend at the gardens, so unfortunately I didn't get to take my time recording the roses, or taking close-ups like I tend to love; but I figured it was best to try to capture the feeling of the gardens rather than of individual roses. I hope that this gives you a sense of just how overwhelming and beautiful the gardens are when in full bloom.


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There was also an area for purchasing roses to take home:


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And fields of roses which I assume were used for propagation:


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Visit the entire gallery here:

http://www.robertmealing.com/photography/my-garden/david-austin-roses-in-bloom/

It was so great to see all of the roses in bloom. There were dozens that I have only read about over the years, but had never seen (or smelled!) in person, so it was interesting to see some of the roses that I expected to love turn out to be disappointing, and to see others that had never interested me in pictures suddenly seem incredibly desirable.

I think my tastes in roses are changing as well. I tend to love the "deeply cupped" look, and the "peony-shaped" ones... and almost always prefer pinks and solid shades. This time however, I was really attracted to roses that showed more mixed colours and especially ones that looked like faded photographs.

I loved Jubilee Celebration, the scent was unbelievable.. similar to Jude the Obscure, but with more raspberry hints and a strong "wine" flavour... amazing! Jude himself was incredible, as always, it's been a year since I smelled his delightful scent, and that is a year too long! Lady Emma Hamilton also surprised me with her scent and dark, rich foliage. Lilac Rose was incredibly appealing, having a very dusty, ancient look to the blooms that reminded me of something from a Victorian parlour, and also a very good scent. Princess Alexandra of Kent is really something: huge flowers, good scent, good shape, and a fantastic mix of shades of pink.. really a stunner.

I'd love to go back another time to take the "rose porn" shots that I tend to prefer, focusing in on the unique beauty of individual roses, hopefully I'll have another chance this year. Nevertheless, it was a real treat to get to see the gardens in full bloom, and I hope you enjoy the photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: David Austin Gardens in bloom

Comments (29)

  • veilchen
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you so much for sharing that! It is my dream vacation to someday visit DA Roses.

  • carolfm
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful photo's, Robert. Lovely garden. Thank you for sharing your visit with us. Did you happen to see Munstead Wood blooming in the garden? I have a new plant and really like it so far. Of course, time will tell if it likes my climate or not.

    Carol

  • mendocino_rose
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would so much have enjoyed walking through with you. I'm glad you took the garden shots. My favoritie thing is the big picture, the garden rather than individual roses. Thank for sharing this with us.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ha, more Austin rose jumble!!! Really nice pictures, Robert, thanks so much for posting these! All the roses you mentioned above are among my favorites, although I don't know Lilac Rose - one never hears about it, so I wonder how it would perform in the garden. Also, if you don't have William Shakespeare 2000 yet, you should really get him. And also Munstead Wood and Sharifa Asma. All of these are terrifically scented. So ... did you take any potted roses home with you?

    Andrea

  • the_bustopher z6 MO
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you much for taking the time to do this. I would like to see the place myself also. I like the pictures where you have some of them grown as pillar roses and on what look like umbrella trellises along with the arbor arches. The white one looked very nice. I wonder if it was Claire Austin.

  • zeffyrose
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nice to see you posting -----I love the pictures of the whole garden---I'm not familiar with Lilac Rose---I will check it out.
    Thanks for sharing this with us-----
    Florence

  • patriciae_gw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, beautiful...thank you

    patricia

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What an incredible rose garden. You can tell the roses are superbly grown; they're all bursting with blooms. I know this is a long shot, but can you by any chance recall the dark pink rose behind the statue in the second shot? It is so gorgeous.

    Ingrid

  • rosecorgis
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fabulous pictures! I want to go right now!

    The corgi in the rose garden photo is perfect -- pretty English corgi trying to be so good on a sit stay. I love it.

    Debbie

  • le_jardin_of_roses
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What is the rose in the fourth photo? It looks like maybe Tamora, but not sure. Maybe Jude???

  • blendguy
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks to everyone for looking, I'm glad to share the photos with other rose lovers.

    veilchen, it really was remarkable. The gardens were just so beautiful. I really enjoyed getting to see and smell all of the roses I've been dreaming of for years and to finally see them in person. You should definitely go on vacation sometime, and it you plan the timing you could also visit Mottisfont to see the old roses!

    Carol, I did see Munstead Wood... surprisingly, it was much more common around the garden than WS2000, which I mistook it for a few times. It is a really lovely rose, it seems to hold that richer colour better than WS2000 which can sometimes turn pretty hot. It's hard to comment on things like disease as the entire garden was nearly perfect (I can only imagine the spraying program they must have). It's also hard to tell much about the shape of the bushes as most seemed to be planted in groups as Austin tends to suggest. I did think to myself that if I were looking for that colour again, I might be very tempted by Munstead Wood. Let us know what you think!

    Pam, I'd love to have you there with me too! Of course, your garden is incomparable, and one think that rather disappointed me was that there were virtually no companion plants... I guess they've run out of room for anything but roses!

    Hi Andrea, I've not heard much of Lilac Rose either, it was never on my wish list. Austin writes, "Fine, large blooms of lilac pink on a short, bushy shrub. Needs regular sprays to keep it healthy. Very strong myrrh fragrance." , so I suspect it is one of the roses that is being culled, and apparently for good reason! I used to grow WS2000 in California, and loved it, now I might have a hard time choosing between it and Munstead Wood (why choose? grow both!). One of the goals of the day was to find a Sharifa Asma to see and smell, as I've always heard good things about her scent... I liked it very much. I was at the local garden centre yesterday and found a scraggly bush in the 50% off lot, so brought it and Strawberry Hill home with me. We didn't pick any up at David Austin's because we went by train up to relatives and then drove to Austin's from there, we would have had to carry them back with us on the train and already had our hands full with the Megan (the corgi) and our luggage. I was strongly tempted to bring two back with me, and out of the ones they sold there I would have chosen Jubilee Celebration and Princess Alexandra (although, I don't have a Jude here, and miss him terribly, so would have possibly chosen him instead, or in addition to, so probably good that we took the train!). Like me, you obviously favour strong scented roses, which would you recommend? Have you tried The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild? I'm growing it here and I love it! I'm also growing Scepter'd Isle, but planted it bare root and hasn't bloomed just yet (this week I hope). I was delighted to smell it at Austin's... it was strong and lovely (but then, I like myrrh, as well as the fruity scented Austin's and the old rose scented ones).

    Bustopher, I don't remember seeing Claire Austin growing on one of the trellises, but I do remember from the last trip seeing small bushes planted to do so. I can't imagine they would have grown that tall already. The two times I've seen Claire Austin I've been struck that she is more lemony yellow than I would have thought from the descriptions, and that her scent was weaker than I would have hoped. Of course, it could have been just the time of day.

    Hi Florence! Beware the Lilac Rose apparently, as mentioned above it seems to require spraying according to Austin, and if HE says that... it can't be a good sign. I hope I haven't enabled anyone! Or perhaps, someone who owns it might confirm or deny the horrible rumours!

    Thanks for looking Patricia! I'm glad you enjoyed them.

    Hi Ingrid. Sorry, I have no idea. I realised I was racing the clock and had to just ignore the plates unless I was particularly interested in the rose itself. Too bad the plate isn't visible in the photo or I might have been able to read it in a higher res version. If I go back again this year, I will be sure to check for you.

    Debbie! Another Rose and Corgi lover! That's our beloved Megan, who is now 12, but still loves to go out on adventures with us. They let her ride the train and buses here which is great. She sometimes will sit on my lap and look out the window as we ride along, and often when we pull into a station the people waiting will see her and wave. Amazingly, corgis seem to be very rare here! I guess people associate them with the Queen and for some reason don't want to have them themselves? I've been told constantly how rare they are to see anymore, and in almost a year of living here I've not seen another. I hope that when we decide to get another, we can at least go to Pembrokeshire and find a breeder! Corgis are amazing dogs!

    Hi Le Jardin, yes it's Jude... stunning as always. One of my favourite roses I've ever had the pleasure to meet.

    Here's a parting shot of Princess Alexandra of Kent, they had this rose planted in many spots throughout the garden, and I can see why, she's a real scene stealer.. nice plant, huge flowers, strong scent. Definitely on my wishlist.


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    Thanks everyone for looking and leaving the nice comments.
    robert

  • le_jardin_of_roses
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Robert, thank you for the photo's and I also want that Princess in my garden. Just curious, what made you move from CA to the UK?

  • bebemarie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    How wonderful to get to see so many scenes of Austin's garden. Thanks very much Robert.

    Hope to make it there someday.

    Great that you get to live in the UK. Also a dream of mine.

    Diane

  • albertine
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm another Corgi and rose person - I've had two in my life that were wonderful dogs. What kind of dogs were you seeing there?
    Too bad about the Lilac rose - the color you described sounded like a have to have.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ingrid, It's a bit hard to judge by the picture, but I think this could be Lady of Megginch or the original Wisley (discontinued). I guess you or Robert (or I) could contact DA (send them the URL of this thread) and ask?

    Thanks for this, Robert! I actually grew TIMF in North Carolina for a season or two and really liked it a lot. I should have picked it again here instead of Alan Titchmarsh/The Huntington Rose, whose flowers always kiss the ground on their long bent canes, and look just unexcitingly mid-pink to my humble eye. Some sort of tea scent, nothing to write home about either. Rebloom has so far not been good, but maybe the plant needs more sun. I know that some people others like this rose a lot, but somehow I still can't warm up to mine even in season 3, as vigorous as it is. I think you just got one too, didn't you? I hope yours will be more delightful. If you feel you need another one, just swing by and take mine. I'll be happy to put The Ingenious Mr Fairchild in its place. ;-)

    My favs among Austin's strongly scented ones are (minus the myrrhy scented ones since I don't like this scent with one exception):

    Gertrude Jekyll. Does superbly in my no-spray garden - blooms a ton without fuss and is very healthy and vigorous without getting too lanky, unlike in the US.

    Sharifa Asma

    Jude the Obscure

    Lady Emma Hamilton - you really need to try this one, scent is similar to Jude, but more complex fruity and perhaps even stronger, more delicious!

    Summer Song - what a color, what a scent (bananas!). Repeat has been slow so far, but the blooms last well and are just incredible in their color!

    Young Lycidas, wow color and shape, and wow perfume (see my thread on Chelsea II). Very short plant.

    William Shakespeare 20000. It really doesn't get anymore exquisitly beautiful than this.

    Golden Celebration

    The Prince

    The Dark Lady - superbly sweetly perfumed here but not so much scent in NC, go figure. A bit of a BS magnet though.

    Prospero

    Munstead Wood - incredible black-red color and velvety substance with superb scent, see my comments on my Chelsea II thread - but you've seen it at the show and DA anyway.

    Radio Times - a bit similar to Sharifa, but doesn't stay quite as strong and delicious, veering more toward tea in the end.

    The Alnwick Rose (very sweet raspberry, yummy) bloom shape is exquisitely geometric, a bit like a water lily, and color is a glowing pink, love it!

    Evelyn, our diva, of course

    Abraham Darby, very fruity

    Princess Alexandra of Kent, nice mix of classic rose with fruit and tea

    Jubilee Celebration, nice and fruity

    Rosemoor, one of my latest discoveries. Very small and charming flowers in large clusters on a vigorous but well behaved and extremely healthy plant with beautiful matte blue-greyish foliage. The blooms have noticeable patches of different shades of pink and are often a bit irreguarly but cutely shaped, and the scent, while only medium in strength, is, just like the rest of the plant, very different and distinct. It's old rose with some sort of most intriguing pointy note, perhaps a bit powdery, hard to decribe, but very refined. Looks like a superb bloomer.

    Othello has a knock-out damask perfume with sumptuous flowers, but my plants in the US always became unruly monsters after June, so maybe skip this one.

    The myrrh: Fair Bianca's perfume is very complex and refreshing, with myrrh being just one component. I really liked this rose a lot when I grew it in the US, it was nearly always in bloom and quite healthy. But I've heard that it can lack vigor. Definitely a candidate for a pot.

    Well, if you like myrrh, check out The Ambridge Rose or Gentle Hermione (the latter looked great at the Chelsea Show, but I don't grow it). Tamora is extremely myrrhy and of a lovely glowing apricot-pink, but my plants were mega BS magnets in NC. Completely defoliated without very regular spray. So I don't grow this rose here.

    Andrea

  • carla17
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Robert, what a wonderful opportunity for you to enjoy beauty and fragrance. Thanks for sharing your photos. Corgi makes me miss my wonderful Eddie. I hope you're doing well.

    Carla

  • jbfoodie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Robert, fantastic photos! Oh, how I wish I could be there. Hopefully, one of these days I will make the trip. You have hooked me on Munstead Wood. Unfortunately, I must wait until it is released in the US.

    Are there any perennials growing among the roses? From the pictures it looks like only roses are grown in the Austin gardens.

    Megan is so cute. I think she looks a lot like my Maggie.

    Joanne

  • aliska12000
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great thread! Thank you for sharing the photos.

    Why was Wisley discontinued? It doesn't do well for me but not ready to sp it.

  • seattlesuze
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Robert, what a thorough and lovely way to see the gardens. Thank you so much for posting to share these with us. I have to add a couple more Austins to the garden now...just contemplating which to choose. I'm so enjoying your adventures in England.

    Sue

  • beth.iflorist
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Robert, thanks so much for posting these! What a lovely collection of flowers of great color.Thank you for this lovely tour around the garden- enjoyed it so much!

    Here is a link that might be useful: beth

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Aliska, Wisley is a major major BS magnet, and that's why. Pity, because the flowers are magnificent in color, size, shape and perfume (very strong citrus damask), and rebloom is very good to excellent. Mine in the US and here in the UK have been doing well, but they tend to defoliate, rebound very quickly, defoliate ... especially here in the UK since I don't spray anymore. But I'll keep mine.

    To my great disappointment the new Wisley 2008 can't hold a candle to its predecessor in terms of beauty and perfume (mild tea), and it also drops its petals about as fast as Heritage. It's got nodding and small albeit cute flowers of nice formation on bending, thin stems. It has none of the original plant's prowess and looks, but it is a lot healthier. O well.

    I'll post pics of Austin's recent additions on a separate thread soon.

    Cheers,
    Andrea

  • aliska12000
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, Andrea. I got a decent bloom out of mine for the first time this spring (3rd year for it). I've not noticed BS being any worse on that than some of the others. See if I can find a photo.

    I should sp 2 there but am holding off with Wisley. I didn't consistently get blooms like this or a magnificent bush covered with them, but I am thinking about spraying for BS. I've lowered my expectations for my roses considerably and will try to feed them better, winter protect some/as many as I can, and water.

    This time of year after the first flush, only my 2 Charlottes are the best rebloomers, others do off and on, so I cut them all back and will keep the buds off until about first week in Aug. Then maybe I will get a fall flush. Maybe not. I couldn't take the beetles any more, have too much else to worry about than picking them every day in the heat. Then if they come back and go after the bushes or something else badly (it was just getting started here), I'm spraying with Sevin and figure with no blooms, it's not as bad a menace to the bees as it would be otherwise.

    {{gwi:275568}}

  • blendguy
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi le Jardin, we moved here for several reasons.. my partner is English and had a career opportunity, I wanted the chance to go back to school, and we have family here. I've always loved England anyway, so I was actually more excited than my partner! I love it here.

    Hi Diane, thanks for looking at the photos, I'm really glad you enjoyed them.

    Hi albertine, Yay! Another corgi fan. I've had two as well and they really spoil you for other dogs (although, there are many others that I love as well). We see a lot of Jack Russells, Greyhounds, Westies, occasionally an English Bulldog or a Bull Terrier. There are also some type of herders that I'm not familiar with that remind me of skinny versions of Australian Shepherds. If I ever see Lilac Rose looking lonely at a garden centre, I'll probably go ahead a pick her up anyway, but she's not something that I'm going to seek out, there are far to many recommended roses to get first!

    Andrea! We really have to meet up, I think you might be my soul sister! :) I picked up Mr. Fairchild and Alan Titchmarsh together last autumn, the first to roses that I purchased here. I have mixed feelings about A.T., like your', mine tends to have such heavy flowers that they go right to the ground. On the other hand, there are so many of them! For a first year rose mine must have produced 30 or so roses so far this year. I noticed that if I let the branches hang, like pegging I'm getting new shoots popping up and already there are buds on them too, so I'm just going to let him do his thing and see how it goes. Mr. Fairchild, by comparison, has been less vigourous; but I much prefer the flowers, scent, and bush shape. I really like this rose.

    Wow... going through your wonderful list:
    I grew Gertrude in California and didn't really like her. I smell some scent, but my nose doesn't register the scent that everyone else raves about. I had the same problem with Comte de Chambord, so I guess I'm just not wired for that group. Shirifa is in a nice pot, I am hopeful. Jude I adore, I'll have him again soon. Lady Emma Hamilton really surprised me at Austin's, not my colour, but I loved the scent. Summer Song is totally out of my colour range, I wish I had smelled it though.. bananas!?! I really liked Young Lycidas, it is one that needs to be seen in person to really get the subtlety of the colours, and yes.. WOW, what a scent! Love WM2k, so so about Golden, but love the Prince. This is one of my favourite photos of him from my California garden:
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    I saw Dark Lady and Prospero for the first time this trip, both nice but undewhelming. I really liked Munstead Wood. Also saw Radio Times for the first time, it was nice but didn't bowl me over. Now, I had the Alnwick Rose high on my list, but was disappointed in the scent! I chose Sceptre'd Isle over it this year during my small bareroot purchase, and had been wondering if I had made the wrong choice. The way you describe it though, I really out to love it, so maybe it was just the wrong time of day, or I had been overwhelmed by other scents. I grew Evelyn in California and I liked her delicacy very much. I've yet to meet Ab Darby, isn't that strange!? Princess Alexandra and Jubilee are the two top on my list right now, I'll keep my eye out for Rosemoor. Gentle Hermione is the other bareroot I ordered this spring, and she just had her first flowers this week. I like her, and true to Austin's word, she held up beautifully in the rain this morning, and even held water in her cup through the whole day without falling over or apart. I used to grow Tamora as well, but in California it was a rust magnet, I swear it was nearly copper coloured by the end of the season.

    Thanks for sharing your list, it's helped reassure me about several choices that I'm interested in. Here's a shot of Tamora and Evelyn:
    {{gwi:224150}}

    Carla, it's so kind of you, thanks for the good wishes. Here's a hug for you... (((Carla))).

    Hi Joanne, it's nice to see you! Apparently they have redone the "Lion garden" and will grow roses with perennials, thank goodness, as much as I like roses I much prefer them mixed with other roses. Mottesfont is still the gold standard for me. Megan thanks you, and sends best wishes to Maggie.

    Hi Aliska 12000, thanks for looking, and good luck with your Wisley, ultimately, it really comes down to each of our gardens, what does poorly for David Austin might be a gem for someone else. That's a lovely photo!

    Hi Sue, thanks for your good thoughts, they are much appreciated.

    Thanks Beth!

    Cheers everyone! I'm delighted that you have enjoyed these photos.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ahhhh, superb photos, Aliska and Robert!

    Robert, yes we should meet, that would be fun!

    I should add that Rosemoor btw is not that strong in the scent department, but very unique. I'm surprised to hear that you were so underwhelmed by some of the varieties and didn't get much scent out of them. Maybe it was just the wrong day or so. The Alnwick Rose really has a very delicious perfume and looks great too, I think. The Dark Lady is a bit of a sprawler but with the most pompous flowers and good scent (here), and Prospero is relatively small, but so pretty, I think.

    Did you see and smell The Prince? He really reigns the purple department and the scent is of absolutely terrific old rose. Needs good food, but is worth it. Your lovely photo of WS2K actually looks a lot like my Prince!

    Aliska, I know that Japanese Beetles can be a huge problem - I have to confess that while I lived in NC, I also sprayed with Sevin once or twice a season when the beetles were about to munch my roses completely to the ground, petals gone, leaves gone, just big clusters of black glistening beetles, yuck. The birds wouldn't touch them.

    It's good to know that your original Wisley behaves disease-wise. Maybe zone 5b helps. We were 7b in North Carolina and here in England we're 8, with both climates being on the wetter side. Today it was between 80-100% humidity and temps around 80F here in Cambridge (UK), extremely stuffy and unpleasant, tons of thunderstorms and heavy downpours just like North Carolina in the summer. In other words pretty ugly weather especially since noone here has air conditioning, most shops don't have it and my office doesn't have it, never mind our house. In this regard things were much easier in the US where one could usually flee into an air conditioned place. So most roses that were BS magnets in NC are also BS magnets here, although in general my roses are a lot healthier here. I would have never been able to grow them without spray in NC and here they look pretty good without spray most of the time. But I also stayed away from a few BS magnets at least, like beautiful Tamora.

    Regarding Wisley again, he needs a good and regular amount of feeding to perform and rebloom well. Only then does he get covered with those many clusters of heavily petaled blooms. And with plenty of fertilizer he also rebounds better from his BS attacks.

    Andrea

  • blendguy
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You're right Andrea, that was indeed The Prince. I love that rose, even though he didn't bloom a lot his flowers lasted forever, the colour and scent were fantastic and worth the wait. I also grew William, and adored him as well. I'd be delighted to have either in my garden again, and now would throw Munstead Wood into the mix as well.

  • aliska12000
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Rosemoor is the one I'm planning to sp, but I think it might be too damp for it and can't set down nice roots because of a French drain next to it or it just got off to a bad start. It did bloom this year, but didn't impress me, didn't even know it was an Austin. See DA site has Veilchenblau, didn't know that was an Austin either or maybe it's not.

    Thanks about the photo. Wasn't planning to post it until it was mentioned here.

    Didn't see any JB's today, the whole thing could change, but it's a relief to be able to tend to other chores. I have enough perennials now to take up the slack a little, nothing like a rose though, so maybe a rest would be good for the roses; they weren't going to do much in July here anyway.

    We had flocks of brown think they were some woodpeckers but could be mistaken. I'd see them on lawns, maybe up to 50, eating something. Now I wonder if they were eating grubs that were just near the surface. Now they have completely disappeared as have the crows. Odd. Maybe West Nile got the crows, and maybe the resident owls scared the woodpeckers away. Absolutely, the birds won't touch the beetles, but if somehow they could eat the grubs (think they're usually too deep), that would solve a lot of it.

    I'm going to have some nice lily blooms soon, so that is a consolation, one I counted 21 buds.

    I held back the recommended dose because Mills Magic is expensive, so think I'll give the roses another feed while they rest, wish I'd written down when I did it. I think it might be a good product, not sure yet.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Robert, yes, definitely get Munstead Wood.

    Aliska, give Rosemoor another year or so or move it to a better location. Mine was not too impressive in its first year, but this year it's been blooming its head off. A very charming plant.

    The classic German rambler Veilchenblau (German for Violet Blue) is not an Austin, although DA carries it like a lot of other older classics and OGRs. It doesn't repeat so keep that in mind. I saw it at Peter Beales's Chelsea exhibit, and it is certainly very pretty, but I preferred (and bought) the fairly new Beales rambler Purple Skyliner, which is very very similar to Veilchenblau and just a bit softer and bluer in its colors, i.e. less reddish purple, and it repeats! See pics on my Chelsea thread I. It looks terrific in my garden. Not sure if you can get it in the US, perhaps via Ashdown since they're linked with Beales. Try to take a look at it!

    I've never tried Mills Magic, it's slush based if I remember correctly (so it may contain some heavy metals and other toxic stuff)? In the US I used, with great success, normal synthetic/granular rose fertilizer, plus organic fertilizer like Rose Tone (always both at once), and one or two good soakings with alfalfa tea per season (in spring and late summer), now that stuff made my roses leap! Admittedly, I haven't looked for alfalfa here in the UK yet.

    Andrea

    Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Skyliner

  • jljohnson740
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures!! I'm a beginner so I love seeing success!!!

    My Gertrude smells out of this world..however..I'm beginning to see why you either love or hate it! I've got blooms but some leaves are yellow and have some black on them...we've had rain for months!! I haven't sprayed it again as that seem to do more harm than good for some reason. I just prune and used fish emulsion and bone meal almost 2 weeks ago. Will keep hoping it survives...the fragrance is just too wonderful to give up!!

    Saw the first beetle today on my Scent From Above bush..eating on a bud the little disgusting brat!! Oh well..I'm going to wiat it out and then if they start to ruin all the bushes I will have to prune and spray leaves. Since it's my first season with so many roses...I'm wondering if I'll get through it without a heart attack!! They look sooo good right now. All I can do is wait and see and prune!! Wondering...does one spray the buds themselves?

    Anyway...I guess I can look that up...got carried away there...love the gardens and the dog is adorable!! I think I actually saw Crown Princess Margareta on an arbor...hurried through though...I hope mine will climb next year!! Great to see all of the beauty!!!

  • aliska12000
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    andrea:

    give Rosemoor another year or so or move it to a better location.

    I will, seldom hurry about anything except ordering another rose I don't have room for :-). Things are going to change dramatically around here because I have to have a huge tree removed in the back which will open up a whole lot more room in more sun. I will sorely miss the beautiful dappled shade I've gotten from that and like it's my friend, but it's gotten to be too much worry about dropping huge limbs.

    After seeing those Austins, I'm going to want more of them, and it will be delightful to have a real sunny area to have a little bed.

    The classic German rambler Veilchenblau (German for Violet Blue) is not an Austin

    I didn't think so but wasn't sure. I'm tired of mine already, it is a shade rose but hasn't done much for me. I did get Bleu Magenta this year and put it in a little sunnier spot (says for difficult places), and the photo I liked that better but it's a 1X, too. Purple Skyliner is really nice, love those clusters, thanks for the suggestion for that, must check zone.

    've never tried Mills Magic

    Got it from my rose club; once more around, it'll be gone and I can try something else. I don't have the patience to make alfalfa tea and it's hard to haul heavy stuff (still have to get a bunch of mulch and couple bags of topsoil), but would like to try the pellets + compost is always good, do have new supply of that now. I was using Pennington's, cheap, used it all up, didn't seem to do a whole lot. You're supposed to scratch all that stuff in. Well I don't any more, too hard on my back and moving the mulch, I just scatter it and what will be will be. MM may have done a little this year, too soon to tell, don't know what's in the stuff.

    jlj:

    I took fiendish delight in squashing the beetles I did see B4 I cut back with my fingers because I didn't have my soapy water. Doing that would have been unthinkable in the past. Yes, I washed my hands well afterwards. Sometimes I dip them in the bleach bucket after handling icky stuff or chicken so it gets under my nails, silly.

    Most of mine except east side are pruned back now, put some finishing touches on a couple this afternoon to try to shape the bushes better. I got a lot done today, sawed some dead branches off my lilac, cultivated and weeded a little, watered spots where it's hard, load of laundry, odd jobs. My back went out again 2 days ago so I was hobbling around, but it was enough better today I just got to work which is very lucky because it can go up to 2 weeks or more and very painful.