Got dirty and sweaty today

But it was wonderful! The day was beautiful, sunny in the 80’s and nicely humid. I got a little sunburned since I was working in the front facing south and the sun was hot.

A dear friend gave me a huge (maybe 10-gallon) ‘Belinda’s Dream’ last month. I took her home, because I dearly wanted her, but it seemed hopeless that I would be able to find a spot big enough for this girl. Or any spot really. The only possible spot I could think of was the one ‘Bow Bells’ is occupying, but it has a problem. It’s pretty shady. ‘Bow Bells’ handles it but doesn’t bloom a whole lot. So it was off to the Antique Roses Forum to ask my question. Should I choose to keep ‘Bow Bells’ or ‘Belinda’s Dream’? I got really good information from these rosey friends but was still undecided.

Then yesterday it hit me. I should keep both. The how was suddenly simple. I would put BD at the end of the bed next to the front sidewalk where the ‘Red Ruffles’ azalea is. I never put a rose there because it’s not as sunny as roses like. The sun doesn’t come up over the garage until at least 10 o’clock and it leaves behind the trees by 3 o’clock. (Correction: I believe I did have a rose there when I first planted this bed, but that rose is long gone.) In light of what my rosey friends had reported about their BD’s in shade I figured less sun would be a blessing in disguise. Four to five hours of sun would keep this rose smaller than she's capable of being, making her more comfortable in this six by six space, without much if any negative effect on bloom or disease. I was a happy gardener!




She was in bloom when I brought her home. Her blooms take my breathe away, and her fragrance is heavenly. Did I mention I’m really happy to have her?

I know she's nearly invisible, but she's big - at least three feet tall. She was pretty leafy when I brought her home, but we've had a freeze in the meantime, and many of her leaves have dropped. And most of the rest are damaged and black spotted.

The white blob is a rock that I paid $30 for. What can I say? In a state without normal rocks I have a thing for rocks. She has three feet of bed space to the left, rear and foreground, and more than that to her neighbor, 'Clotilde Soupert' to the right. I think she'll be fine. Eventually, BD will probably be five feet tall maybe more. I don't think the Walter's Viburnum to the right of her will be a problem, but I can move it a bit if it is.

On Tuesday I was in the Lowe’s garden department. Very casually I made my way to the rose table. Expectations were low, but the sign I was hoping for was there - $7.00. I rummaged among the dozen or so non-Knock-Out roses, many unlabeled, realizing there wouldn’t be one there for me. They’re always modern roses, and more often than not modern roses don’t appreciate my no-spray garden. There were three or four seemingly identical plants, but only one was labeled. It was ‘Hot Cocoa’. I met a couple there who were eyeing the roses, too. Kim and Derek and I chatted. Kim was admiring one of these plants on the other side of the table and was frustrated by the lack of a label. I told her it was probably ‘Hot Cocoa’ based on the one label. She was really taken with that rose, and why not? It was so healthy, had lots of leaves and lots of buds. Kind of rare for Lowe’s. I was so tempted by the rose I had latched onto, but finally, being the mature gardener that I am (cough, gasp), I put it back. Though I kind of remembered good things about this rose, my memory is not the most reliable friend to have. The next morning I looked up ‘Hot Cocoa’ on Helpmefind.com/roses. The words “very resistant” caught my eye, and I immediately got dressed and made a beeline for Lowe’s. The plant that I had been admiring was gone – probably to Kim and Derek’s garden, but I found one that made me very happy.

Now that's a $7 rose!! It may be grafted but I'm not sure. If it is grafted, the bud union was buried, and I buried it, too. So eventually it will go own-root.

I know you're wondering how I found room for this new rose. Well, of course, I booted another azalea. Not out of the garden though. They're both now residing at the back of the driveway bed. They were heavy buggers, even dragged on a tarp.

This photo doesn't convey her odd color. Definitely unusual by the standards of my pastel garden but also unusual by other people's standards. However, the russet color is growing on me.

You know how much I love foliage.

That's 'Quietness' on the left of HC and to the right is Ellie's rose, 'Stephen's Big Purple'. Not really visible, he's just a couple little sticks, but he does have a new leafset. I was beginning to get impatient for the swollen budeyes to do something. He gets no sun in winter because the sun is so low in the southern sky that the trees block it. 'Quietness' gets sun now and maybe 'Hot Cocoa' will, too.

As I stood admiring the finished planting I realized that the daylilies that are between HC and SBP are russet-colored, too. I think the DL's and these roses will be a good combination. You may have noticed a good bit of sand in the bed. Not to worry. I amended the hole wide and deep, removing four buckets of builder's sand and adding bagged garden soil (I like Scott's soil for sod), fine pine bark, composted cow manure, sulfur in the bottom of the hole for my neutral native soil, alfalfa, milorganite, bone meal, 3 or 4 bananas and their peels fresh out of the freezer, and a complete organic rose food. Composted horse manure and mulch are coming soon.

Today was such a satisfyingly wonderful day. It taught me a great lesson. Though the blues thrive while surfing the internet all day on my butt, they fly away and completely disappear after a day of working hard in a warm, sunny garden. I think I may be back on track. Whoopee!!!!!!!!!