Now, for you rose-loving people, what I’m about to say may be disturbing . I have had it with growing roses.
Does this mean I am removing all roses from my garden? Absolutely not! But I am sick and tired of black spot on ALL my roses, no matter what I do. Now, to be honest, some of this disease is my fault. I planted them in the wrong spot (no airflow), or didn’t clean around them well in the Fall (allows the fungus to overwinter) or didn’t spray them with my organic treatment at the right time ( I get busy and/or forget). However, there have been times when I did everything right and I still have the dreaded black spot.
So, what I have decided is SOME ROSES ARE JUST NOT RIGHT FOR DALLAS, TEXAS. Sorry, didn’t mean to shout…. and some are just not right for me. There, I’ve said it.
So. I am getting rid of the hybrid tea roses which have never been pretty and I’m sticking with the more hardy old fashioned roses; climbers, bourbons, rugosas, and miniatures.
This climbing rose (the two pictures above) is called Zephirine Drouhin (I’m a sucker for anything French) but you would be too if you could smell this rose. It is heavenly. A true rose smell, if you know what I mean. This Bourbon climber is a repeat bloomer and has been around since 1868. Isn’t that amazing?
This rose is called Baronne Provost. (I have seen this spelled Prevost also, but mine was spelled with an o. who knows?) Anyway, it is an old garden rose bred by a frenchman named Desprez in 1842. It has a strong rose scent and hips. I just love the way it starts out like a little pink cabbage. To me, it is the perfect cottage garden rose.
This one is a miniature someone gave me and it has several different colored blooms on the same plant (probably grafted that way).
Taking out the roses which were not doing well, will also give me some much needed space for vegetables.
But for all my whining and wailing, I do have a rose that I just dearly love. It’s the Peggy Martin rose. Some of you may be familiar with this rose. After hurricane Katrina ravished New Orleans, this was the only thing left in Peggy Martin’s garden. So, cuttings from her rose were sold to raise money for New Orleans. So, I bought one. Boy, am I glad I did.
This is one tough rose and I sure do love her.
fromgardentotable 