Beautiful blooms, Ingrid, even with the heat. Duchess of Albany is new to me, lovely bloom and color.

Ingrid, absolutely stunning. Those flowers are gorgeous! How do you get such healthy foliage with the drought going on?

Your garden is beautiful even in the drought, Belinda's dream, bishops castle and duchess of Albany are beautiful and healthy looking too. Thanks so much for sharing!

Beautiful garden!

They're beautiful, Ingrid! Please don't stop taking them or sharing them!

So pretty! I, too, am amazed at your foliage as well as the overall shape of your plants. Also, envious of the shapely and clean fingernails ;)

I love the abundance of spring's roses but confess I am able to appreciate the beauty of individual roses better later in the year when things tend to slow down.

Duchess of Albany and BD are just lovely! Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful, Ingrid! Aren't you thankful for crepe myrtle standards? Marvelous little "trees" and what else gives such great color when it's brutal out and requires virtually nothing from you? Your photos are actually better because of when you snap them. The light is better and fewer things wash out so badly. Thank you for posting them! They look a LOT better than anything here right now. Kim

I appreciate your photos too. This is a year of small blooms for me. Some are small because they are so young, but most are small because of the heat.

Sammy

Your garden is beautiful, Ingrid,even in drought and heat. I'm going to have to get me some crape myrtle trees, for sure...A question: how did you decide on placement of those cypress trees ? They look pretty young still. I would like to add a couple to my garden, and have been posting around looking for info about how far away from roses these trees must be placed...

Ingrid -- Everything looks lovely, I'm glad you can enjoy some blooms, they look healthy. I so hope you get rain soon!

Remember when you thought about giving up? I don't think the weather and drought will get any worse and here your garden is looking beautiful. What a lovely shot of the Duchess of Albany. I agree with Kim about the Crepe Myrtle standard. They're always doing their best at the worst time of summer.

Ingrid,
You and your roses are such survivors. I always look forward to your picture postings and am always amazed at how beautiful your garden looks no matter the circumstances.
Hoping all in need are blessed with rain soon!

Just the pick me up I needed....Beautiful

Your generous and sincere comments have overwhelmed me, and I'm so grateful to everyone. You are just the kindest group of people.

A few months ago I was in a funk because the garden really looked sad, and I couldn't imagine how I would get through the long, hot summer. The situation wasn't going to improve unless I came up with ways to make it better and I believe I've had some success.

First of all, I moved three roses that were doing poorly to more shady spots and all three are doing much better now. I added more mulch and rabbit droppings soaked in water to the roses. Although I hand-water, I also began to spot water roses that still seemed dry (and there were many) by putting a hose that dribbled water under the rosebushes and leaving them there for several hours. What I think may have been the deciding factor was mounding up the soil around each plant so that the water could not escape. Naturally, some animal(s) searching for snails destroyed most of the mounds but I built them back up again. Sadly, the snails have almost all been eaten, but at least the destruction of the mounds has been greatly reduced. Hand watering tends to flatten them also so it's a constant process but I've seen quite a bit of new growth come up since I began this process. Three or four roses that seemed like a lost cause have come back to make new leaves and blooms, Mme. Cornelissen and Kronprinzessin Viktoria von Preussen among them. That seems like a huge victory to me. All this has been a lot more work for me, but when I see the results it's more than worth it to me. As my garden thrives, so do I.

The Duchess of Albany is a sport of La France and for several years I've nursed along a few miserable sticks, and the first two or three flowers I can only describe as ugly. With the above regimen of care, it's improved considerably although still small, but at least it finally gave me a gorgeous bloom.

bart, the cypress trees flank the top of the driveway, and form the entrance to the garden area. I bought them as 1-gallon plants about six years ago and they're now about 16-18 feet tall. The bush to the left of the left one is Bermuda Kathleen, and the cypress and rose are less than 6 feet apart. The one on the right has a newly planted buddleia about four feet away and it's been putting out new growth since I planted it.

Kim and Pam, you are so right about the crape myrtles. In addition to the standard I have two bushy ones in the back and they look so green and healthy in spite of getting very little care and not much water. If all else fails, I suppose one could have a crape myrtle garden.

Ingrid

Ingrid, you just made lemonade from the box of lemons summer and the drought delivered to you. There are many things as colorful as the crepe myrtles which will flourish in this heat and with as little water. They just aren't as "romantic" as the roses are. Ya done good! Kim

Absolutely beautiful!

Lovely garden Ingrid. Each plant looks like an oasis in a desert.

So happy to hear that you've managed to find some great new ways to help your poor drought-stressed garden survive and flourish, and that both you and your roses are starting to thrive again as a result!

I've found the dribbling hose thing to be an excellent method too, if water restrictions allow it, since it delivers water deep, deep down to where all the little feeder roots live, without washing away all the precious nutrients from the soil; also it takes very little effort and no complex/expensive equipment. And, like you, I'd mound up a little barrier to make a sort of trough around each rose to keep the water in place, preventing it from running away off hard or hydrophobic soil and going to waste. I usually had to remake or repair the barrier each time I watered (just with the side of a boot or a little hoe-like pushing implement I happened to have - no idea what it's called or what it's meant to be for!) but I really didn't water that often, so it was no hassle...

I'm not really up to gardening at the moment due to health reasons, but I love seeing and hearing about what everyone else is doing, and to sharing, albeit vicariously, in your challenges and triumphs. Only a teeny bit jealous...

Comtesse :-)

Wow! Looking at the pics, I didn't know there's a drought going on until I read further, they are just so beautiful and healthy looking. Here's hoping rain comes really soon to all the parched gardens and lawns.

Ingrid, as always, your garden is beautiful. I know that your heat and drought cause you much concern. Still, the photos you share of your garden show that it is such a lovely place. I hope it brings you much enjoyment. That Duchess of Albany bloom is just breathtaking! What are the plants in the first wide view? I think I recognize Mutabilis up against the wall.

Just gorgeous pictures Ingrid, and we're grateful that you continue to share your photos with us. I'm particularly amazed by the reblooming iris! I would think that these would only rebloom in cool fall and spring weather, but you have a real accomplishment to see the reblooms in 104 degree temperature. Whatever you're doing - keep up the great work, and keep the faith in your gardening!
Cynthia

Thank you kindly, Kim, and everyone else for your nice comments. comtesse, I see that you've discovered the exact same process and understand it perfectly. Like you, I often use the edge of my shoe or a hand trowel to keep the barriers in place. I do hope that you'll soon be up to gardening again.

meslgh, you're right of course about the large plant against the wall being Mutabilis. Smaller roses in front of it that you can't really see yet are Emily, Dr. O'Donel Brown, Souvenir du President Carnot, Reine de Violettes, Wild Edric, Bonica, Pink Rosette, Madame Dore, Poulsen's Pink, The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild, No. 92 Nanjing and Madame Cornelissen. I hope that by next year they will have filled out and bloom, and make this front garden the showpiece that it was meant to be.

In the front, it's Souvenir de la Malmaison on the right, with La France next to it and Potter and Moore behind La France.

One of the nice things about gardening is that there's always something to look forward to, to perfect, to change, and to keep you engaged in the whole process.

Ingrid