Naked in the Roses: Progess on the Map

Monday, January 18, 2010

Progess on the Map

Just a brief note to keep you up to date on what's been pruned. We've nearly finished with the modern HT and Floribunda beds in the lower corner. Progress has been slow as we've weeded this section as we prune.

The rain today is fierce, and beyond what I can tolerate and still see what I'm doing. More tomorrow. Once this section is completed we'll prune some of the collection pots and then move to the opposite upper corner, proceeding on the old Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, and continuing right down that side of the garden through the old repeat-flowering roses.

1 comment:

Angel GardensJanuary 21, 2010 at 6:34 AM
Gregg,
Enjoying your blog. I am wondering if you might be in a climate that is a little colder than my North Central Florida climate.We did just have 3 weeks of freezes in a row, many nights in the low 20's. This was very unusual for us. But we generally wait until Feb. to prune roses so that more freezes won't affect the cut stems before that. How do you feel about this? I realize you have too many roses to wait any longer,(I have 500 in the ground and 1500 in containers)but I am wondering if you feel it is necessary to wait until the main winter freezes are over before pruning (for most people)? I am asked about this all the time and I am not sure how I feel about it either. I used to think it was better to wait.
Thanks for clearing up the myth about the fungus not laying over on the dead leaves! That was huge. We also use lime-sulfur as a dormant spray here in the South. I alternate between that and Copper with less spraying every year due to too many roses to keep up with. I also like to kill as little of the microbes as possible, as I feel they are the real Army. Thanks in advance for your answers, Pam
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Preserving a Garden of Old and Rare Roses—Can it be Done?

Preserving a Garden of Old and Rare Roses—Can it be Done?

In my garden I grow over 4000 rose plants of all classes and types. Like a museum of roses, the garden tells the story of roses from the most ancient to the most recent. But, unlike a museum, it is a living organism, always growing through cycles of bloom and renewal. Along with the roses live gophers, hummingbirds, pigmy rabbits, the occasional deer, and a host of other life forces—some welcome, and others not. The garden and its collection of rare roses are known by many rose lovers around the world, and have been shared with other gardeners and gardens for the past 26 years. Today it stands on the edge of disappearing, and in this blog I hope to share with you both the peril that threatens it and the effort that has begun now to preserve it.

The Friends of Vintage Roses
A garden is a temporary thing, it is often said, destined to disappear with its creator. But I do not agree. A garden is an idea that once experienced lives in the minds of those who can imagine it. It belongs to no one and to everyone. Once I understood this my garden began to live. It has lived for many years now in the minds of those who have visited it, and those who have only imagined visiting it. It has the power to elevate all of us to Cloud Eleven.

Roses are powerful life forces, pulled from the imaginations of artists over many centuries of human existence. They speak to us, and if we listen and can hear them, they have much to say. They transcend their creators, their admirers and their custodians---they transcend us and inspire us. Their powerful sway bore fruit in a gathering of people who wanted them and heard them calling---the Friends of Vintage Roses. This scattered group began to coalesce about a decade ago one May in the garden I had built. These people have pulled together once again for the roses to keep alive a vision, a dream and an inspiration. Their hard work and pragmatism account for the survival of so many beautiful beings, and they work now to spread the word, the joy and the delight of old roses.