'Bishops Castle' rose
Crazy/frantic getting ready to host a garden club meeting last week. The garden club meeting was on the 15th (everyone seemed to have a good time); Les the Koi died on the 16th; gardening/recovery on the 17th, now it's Sunday. Flowery photos from the past few days. Callistemon 'Little John':
Hunnemannia:Pennstemon 'Harlequin Magenta', a purchase of some months ago:Astroemeria 'Rock n' Roll' is subsiding for the summer:
'Souvenir de la Malmaison':
I moved the megastore Clematis 'Ramona', another recent purchase, into a larger pot and let it climb up a "Jackmanii Superba' Clematis for now. No buds on 'Ramona' as yet:'April in Paris' sweet pea:
'The Endeavor' rose:'Tropical Thunder' in a darker color range than normal due to May-Gray:'Rouge Royal' by the gate where it can be closely admired:Clematis 'Etoile Violette':Clematis 'Perle d'Azur' by a different gate, where it can be closely admired:
TB Iris 'Thorn Bird':
An unusual color, hard to place in a landscape. Looks decent with the blackAeonium:I moved the large, empty blue pot between a Salvia and Lavender 'Provence' I like it there:Urn fountain area:Rose 'James L. Austin':
Tall growing seedling Pentas, grown from a cutting:'Sweet Madamoiselle' rose with Salvia 'Mystic Spires Blue':Aloe pseudorubroviolacea:Foxglove, grown from seed last year, flowering this year. A few seedlings have appeared for next year:'Molineux' rose, weighed down by its flower:Lotus hirstutus, thriving in hot, dry conditions. This plant is close to 3' across and just a few inches tall:Rose 'Snowgoose':Clematis 'Arabella':Cordyline 'Festival Grass':Hibiscus 'Chateau Versailles':Rose 'Queen of Elegance':Rose 'Earth Angel':
Festuca 'Elija Blue':
'Tropic Thunder' rose again, with Ladybeetle:Happy, flowery May to all! I fell asleep several times doing this. Too much to do.
Your roses are looking splendid ! I'm always jealous when you show Souvenir de la Malmaison. I had miserable luck with it-but weather has changed since then , maybe I should try again.
ReplyDeleteSDLM is not prolific but always seems to have least one or two flowers constantly, and they are always perfect.
DeleteBetter late than never on your bloom report! As always, your roses are putting on a stellar show. The 'April in Paris' sweet pea is the only one putting on a decent show so far in my garden. My Lotus hirsutus is also thriving and I'm thinking of moving a couple seedlings to fill empty spots but, given its eagerness to spread, I'm a little nervous about that. I don't usually like roses with variegated petals but I love that 'Tropical Thunder'! The pale bearded Iris is also compelling.
ReplyDeleteI was really overwhelmed for a while not to mention Boris issues. Pressure hopefully will ease off now.
DeleteI don't get a lot of Lotus seedlings and they are easy to ID and pull. I usually pull the whole plant as soon as it starts looking ratty and let a new one in some other place grow instead.
I'm not a huge fan of variegated rose flowers either, but I like that one.
I plant sweet peas in the same places every year and they seem to be bigger and better every year. Perhaps that is one plant where crop rotation is to be ignored?
P.S. Sorry about Les :(
ReplyDeleteThanks. He was 24" long and 20 years old, which is a pretty good lifespan for a pet fish. Not sure what happened--no obvious issues. Hana is fine and hungry as usual.
DeleteSo many beautiful garden happenings. I was going to say 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' was my favorite item in this post, but then as I continued on down, all the other Roses caught my fancy, too. Your Roses (and photos of them) always enchant me. So sorry for the loss of Les. Sounds like you had a crazy, busy week. Hope you can relax a bit for a few days.
ReplyDeleteI'm finally recovering! It took a good while. SDLM is a real gem. Amazing it's been around since--the 1830s? That's a long long time for a rose.
DeleteSo sorry to hear about Les. Even fish can become part of the family especially if you have had them for a long time. We have one left of our original 5 who (now 15 years old at least) is now blind and has a distinctive hump on one side but he(?) carries on. Your garden is stellar: all those glorious roses and clematis. What a perfect time to host a meeting. I do love that unusual iris. So many of the newer cultivars are a bit garish. This one is elegant and understated.
ReplyDeleteCondolences for Les! I can imagine your garden club was absolutely gobsmacked by your roses, nobody does them better!
ReplyDeleteThanks. We miss him. Not sure that Hana does--he would push her around a bit.
DeleteThe roses were past peak because of the heat wave the week before, but there were some good ones left.
What's interesting is what visitors really get interested in--never what you expect they will--many more comments on the Acer 'Oshio Bene' than I expected. It does look really good this year.
DeleteOh, the pressure of hosting a garden club!!! I'm certain there were tons oooh's and aaah's. All the appreciative comments make the crazy frenzy worth while.
ReplyDeleteToo sad about Les... I didn't realize Koi lived so long or got so huge; testament to the good care it received from you.
Astroemeria 'Rock n' Roll', possibly my favorite Alstroemeria. I may try it in a pot (because I don't trust them to behave well in the ground).
Chavli
People seemed to have a really good time--that was enough for me.
DeleteKoi can live longer than that but 20 is good for alkaline water. They do better with a pH of right around 7. Ours is consistently 8. The champion koi in Japan get close to a meter long and their skin is so beautiful like a custom car paint job you can't believe they are real fish.
'Rock n Roll' does spread though it seems slower than non variegates. I think a pot is a good idea for it. I like it most without the flowers--it looks like a mini-hosta!
I can imagine how busy you were hosting a big group, I'm sure everyone was impressed with all there was to see!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted it to be at least somewhat worth seeing. The plants came through for me!
DeleteYears ago, that Alstromeria 'Rock n' Roll' was everywhere. Now that I want one, it's nowhere to be found.
ReplyDeleteI can send you a chunk if you like.
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