Saturday, May 29, 2010

Everything's Coming up Roses!

The heat and humidity earlier this week made me melt, but the roses LOVED it. It was just the thing they needed to burst into their full glory. I love roses in the garden. These days, I’m partial to the shrub roses. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Hybrid Tea roses and the Floribundas, but I don’t love digging the trenches in the fall and burying them so they can survive our cold, cold winters. Shrub roses are hardy to our zone and don’t need a lot of fuss and muss.

I mentioned Sir Thomas Lipton in an earlier post. I can’t remember how I stumbled on this one originally, but I loved it immediately and love it still. There are three in my current garden.

Rosa Magnifica is the second hardy shrub rose in Auntie K’s garden. Bright fuchsia blossoms re-appear all season. I have planted this rose in many gardens of “non-gardeners” and they’ve all survived. I have three of these as well.

Morden Blush was a new addition last year, and it’s a keeper. As is Crown Princess Margrethe (an English rose). Graham Thomas, another English rose, has been struggling, but is making a comeback. The rabbits ate the canes down to the crown, so I had to put a cage around it. I thought I’d have to start over, but noticed a small green shoot last week. So, we’ll see how it goes. Last year, I inherited three unidentified shrub roses—all of which are in full bloom now.

And, I do have Rosa Julia Child, a floribunda, in honor of my grandmother. (They both cooked with a lot of butter.) I don’t bury it, but did use a cone last winter. It worked well.

If you like roses, but have avoided them because of the fuss, try a hardy shrub rose. You’ll be glad you did!

Check out this great list of hardy shrub roses from the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

3 comments:

Donell said...

I love the English roses. I'm hoping to put in a couple of climbers from David Austin, so if you have any advise, that would be great.

Also, do you know what the roses at Hennepin are?

We really should get together.

GardenGoddess said...

Hi Donell,

I'd love to get together! I don't know what the roses at Hennepin are, but can find out.

I'm excited for your David Austin additions! They're fabulous roses, and the names are great, too! (I would cover them in the winter the first year -- especially if they're out in the open.) Do you have a color scheme going for your garden? Graham Thomas is a climber (yellow family). Gertrude Jekyll is a climber in the pink family.

GardenGoddess said...
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