Rose Garden in the Spring…..

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We’ve been working on this rose garden for two years and finally it’s taking flight.  The New Dawn roses are old, probably 15 years old, and lucky for us, they were far apart enough to set the seated arbor last year.  Most of the roses are varieties:  David Austin Roses, others I can’t remember having been transplanted from different parts of the property, and these patio roses that will take over the landscape and certainly a contained rose garden.

Though the patio roses don’t have much scent, the English roses do, and species like Graham Thomas and Madame Carriere on the side of the house and now 15 feet high, are highly scented.

Trying to grow grass between plants, but so far the only thing I have been able to grow under the roses is catnip.  I mixed blueberry (in pots ) with the border roses because they both seem to like each other.

Of course, this being Georgia, we have to contend with red clay, but ta-da!  Roses like clay…a mixture of good soil and clay.  The clay feeds into minerals the roses need.  I throw in coffee grounds and chicken manure from my 8 chickens …I don’t care if it is ‘hot’ .  After a few days it’s not.  Chicken manure and feathers are some of the very best rose food, and if you look at the ingredients of the most expensive rose food, like Osmocote… you will see this in the first few ingredients.

I need to find bee balm to plant within the spaces of the roses….it will help with pollination and hopefully will transfer to the veggie garden.  Last year, Fred bought one of those ‘get rid of your mosquitoes sprays….and overnight…there were hundreds of dead honey bees out there…around the flowering catnip plants.  I sat on the steps and cried.  This will never happen here again.  Catnip really brought the honey bees around…a precious and endangered pollinator.  I am trying to do everything I can to promote the pollinators.  Planted what I thought was butterfly bushes (stupid Home Depot) and I have yet to see any blooms.  I want to put a bee skept in the garden just to see if I can provide a home for bees.  But I don’t want to get stung. Nor do the cats…..

Lady Nyo

Fred’s hand around a Lady of Shallot…very sweet scented.

My beautiful picture

Blurred closeup of the New Dawn Roses…..they smell like Ivory Soap!

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Haven’t a clue why some of my pix are coming out on their sides…but this is a blueberry (potted) bush laden with blueberries, not ripe yet, but soon.  Rabbit’s Eye I think.

 

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, April 29, 2017

Tags: catnip., English Roses, Patio Roses, Rose Garden