Roses looking good

My Heritage rose bed is looking glorious at present. Long canes drip with beautiful blooms on the ramblers and the bushes are plump with buds and blooms. With something around 300 roses in this circular area the perfume is divine. Growth has been so luxuriant that I have to fight my way into the inner circle. My imagination works overtime and I see myself with sword in hand slashing my way into the centre to find who knows what hidden treasure!

Over the other side where my rainbow of roses are, growth has been much slower and it is only this past week that the buds are opening and revealing the beauty i have waited all winter for. The white Hebe hedge planted behind them is in full flower at present and with the groundcover of silver lamium it all makes a lovely picture. If anyone would like to come and see the roses, drop me a line, and after you have made a pledge not to comment on any weeds, blackspot, white scale, fungal infection, etc etc we will arrange a time. I love sharing the pleasure i find in gardening. And if you find that seeing the roses does not fill you with bliss as it does me then you may like to walk the Labyrinth or sit a while down by the waterfall overlooking Wattamalla Valley, or visit the ruins ....

p.s. Actually I have used Listerine administered with a toothbrush on any white scale infections on the roses and it seems to have worked pretty well. I also smear the pergola posts with vegemite from time to time to attract the lacewings which feed on the aphids. (No I don't spray my roses.)

There is something about roses that is so intoxicating!

I will have to try the Listerine and the vegemite LOL. But yes, I also spray nothing on the roses and if I occasionally see aphids, I smile and think lady bird dinner. A few of mine have some blackspot, Graham Thomas for example, but with each bush loaded with hundreds of opulent and glorious blooms, who can see a leaf with some black spots. I just ignore it. In this valley we are so lucky with the quantity of birds and bugs and they can keep it all clean. I can still remember my joy watching the tiniest little finches hopping through the crepuscle hedge on my front verandah picking at this bug and that. But if you spray, then this wonderful army thinks ...Ooh not a nice garden smells of insecticide so I will go somewhere else.

I was at The Heritage Rose Society meeting today, held in a glorious garden of one of the members in Wildes Meadow, and there was a rose absolutely covering a double shed and then some! It was enormous and glorious. It was Wedding Day and was truly stunning. Actually everywhere you looked there were roses roses and more roses. And stunning trees, beautiful shrubs and some very unusual plants. It was sheer delight to be there and I have come back to my garden with fresh eyes and new ideas!
The Heritage Rose Society is a very friendly group of rose lovers who meet on a regular basis throughout the year, usually in members gardens. I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves roses. You don't need to have any prior knowledge of roses at all. Just drop me a line if you are interested and i can give you details of the next meet.

Wish I could have been there but I was working.

Maybe what I need is a Wedding Day on my horse shelter. I know something else is usually sold as Wedding Day - do you know what this substitute is and having seen the real thing, would you hold out only for that?

I wonder if Steve and Sue have the real thing? I wil have a look on their web site http://www.rosesandfriends.com.au/