Here we are at the end of this initially promising but ultimately dreadful year. At the start of the year most of us thought we could see the light at the end of the Covid tunnel, but gloom and doom still prevail with each successive news cycle. I feel a little more optimistic than I felt last December because I'm now fully vaxed and boosted, but it's not the same as it was in past years when we could go wherever we chose and speak to whomever we chose without taking precautions and experiencing possibly unnecessary suspicions. Oh, well. Sorry about waxing philosophical. Back to gardening.

I've made a start on pruning the roses, but as a night owl, I'm hampered by these short days. By the time I wake up and wait for my arthritic wrists and shoulders to start working properly, I have only a few hours to work in the garden, and pruning requires daylight. By 5:00 pm it's impossible to distinguish dead or dying wood from healthy growth. I have to get moving on this, though, because the growth nodes on some of my roses are already producing lovely little red leaves and several roses are in bud, preparing for another flush of blooms.

The thumbnail photo for this month is Winter Sunset, a Buck shrub.

Winter Sunset comes all too early. You have chosen a rose that makes it seem less depressing; I love the color.

It's time to vote in the photo contest. Choose your three favorite photos in each category.

https://garden.org/apps/photoc...

So many beautiful photos! However, there were some I had seen here that I had hoped to vote for that weren't entered.
Can we enter other people's pictures for them?

No, we can't, but I know what you mean.

Lady of Shalott new and old blooms



Roald Dahl new and two days later




Jude the Obscure


The Endeavour


Cafe is struggling


Boscobel


Charlotte


Evelyn

Wow, wow, wow! You really brighten up our winters, Lola.

Lola your roses are spectacular. I tried growing Austin's in the past on both the south shore and north shore of Long Island without success. Last Spring I decided to purchasing Lady of Shalott from K and M Roses. Their roses are grafted to Fortuniana rootstock which is suppose to be NOT suitable for my climate. It grew well and made it through the winter. This spring it was smothered with beautiful flowers. I think this Spring I will order another Austin from K&M nursery after seeing your beautiful roses.

I mainly grow Austins but there are a couple of others as well. I love the informal, billowy quality of the petals and the way most of the blooms shatter rather than hanging there like limp dirty dish cloths spoiling the look of the fresher buds and blooms.
Wollerton Old Hall


Chaucer


Ambridge


Boscobel


Windermere

I may do a series of photos of the same blooms from bud to death to document how long the blooms last and whether they detract from the overall look of the plant whilst in decline if there is any interest in such a project.

I'm interested in seeing the series. Bring it on!

Lola, I am sure that project would be of great interest and help to people considering a possible purchase. I will be reviewing your Austin photos. I have to avoid roses where the petals are situated very tight together (Windermere). With the high humidity we have here, the blooms will ball.

Jubilee Celebration


Sharifa Asma


Princess Charlene de Monaco


Kathryn Morley


Belle Story


Leonardo da Vinci


Desdemona


Bathsheba

I decided against chronicling the life of one bloom because there were too many variables so I did different blooms at the different stages instead. This is Renae. The buds open at different times so there can be lovely pink buds and faded white blooms on the same truss. Then there are faded white blooms with brown spent ones which takes away from the overall effect. The crispy brown petals easily crumble in your hand but to get rid of them in this way is time consuming because you have to pick them out from the good blooms on the same trusses. If anything happened to Renae I wouldn't bother replacing her.

Lola, your blooms are gorgeous! I see what you mean about Renae.

Here are some pictures from my garden that I took yesterday. A lot of my roses are gone; about 30%. They have been replaced by native plants requiring less water. They also can put up with the heat my garden generates much better than the roses did. I have such a small garden that the white vinyl fencing just throws off reflected heat like crazy as does the cement in the patio, walkways and driveway.

No new additions to the rose garden this year. I did move a couple of roses around and if they don't make it, they won't be replaced (the person digging them up didn't get enough of the rootball). I did trim them down and threw them into dormancy so we shall see if they make it or not. Half of one plant is already growing new leave but the other half of the plant is doing nothing. It may have died. I am keeping fingers crossed on this one. The other one seems to be doing fine.

I am not sure that the Schön Ingeborg I got from Peter at Freedom Gardens is going to make it. I forgot that he takes off all of the leaves when he ships. Our weather here is still so warm (low 70's F). If it breaks dormancy, the tiny leaves will freeze if we get a hard frost. It is in a pot but is pretty much not doing anything at the moment. Can't tell if that is good or bad. It just doesn't look very happy right now. Again, if it doesn't make it, it won't be replaced. If I decide to move to a house with a bigger yard, then I might order it again. We shall see.

Munstead Wood (looking all dark and beautiful!)



OK, lost my internet and almost lost this post. Hope I can continue and show you a couple of my new native plants.
Seaside Daisy



Tidy Tips

This is Pat Austin. She begins with bright orange buds that, once open, fade graciously until the petals fall. I really like the look of the softer apricot blooms becoming the backdrop to the newer, more vibrant ones which push their way forward. The limp, faded blooms remind me of crumpled ballgowns so I find them charming but I can understand not everyone feels that way about them.The petals drop nicely on their own but they also fall into your hand easily if you want to take them off that way. There are no brown dead blooms that hang around which really pleases me.

An illustrated rose chronicle! Thank you!

Lola, thank you so much for demonstrating the various bloom stages of Pat Austin. Can you tell me how is the petal substance? I have found the thicker the petal substance, the more tolerant the flowers are to high temperatures. Your photos are outstanding - you really know how to capture the unique characteristics of each rose.

Margie, the petals are fairly thick and rubbery. I have two Pat Austins in different spots and the one that gets no reflective heat keeps her blooms better than the one in the photos which is against a north-facing wall (so in full sun all day down here) that is painted barn red.

LolaTasmania said:Margie, the petals are fairly thick and rubbery. I have two Pat Austins in different spots and the one that gets no reflective heat keeps her blooms better than the one in the photos which is against a north-facing wall (so in full sun all day down here) that is painted barn red.

I have only one more thing to say, "SOLD!"

Palatine will begin taking orders for bare-root roses tomorrow morning (9:00am EST). Place your order early. Some roses sell out in mere minutes.

https://palatineroses.com/root...