Roses again at last...
Two bushes in the rose border have begun blooming: Crown Princess Margareta (upper left) and St. Swithun (lower left).
As so many of the roses were beginning to put out new growth, I went ahead and gave them a feeding a couple of weeks ago, rather than trying to keep them quiet till summer is over. This has been a very mild August so far, and the out-of-turn feeding seems to have been a good idea. I have yet to get the shrub roses transitioned well between our very hot summers and a good autumn bloom cycle, so of course I'm trying to get it right this year... and am very relieved to watch a sudden flurry of roses on these two, at least!
To keep with the soft colors, I've used Artemisia x "Powis Castle" and Pennisetum setaceum rubrum. Even the Artemisia is ready to be cut back for the season!
The vase is one of my handbuilt pots in unglazed earthenware.
My yesterday's attempt to photograph the vase of roses was a disaster - not a single usable picture - so I waited for another try this morning - hence the delay in posting. Now, being Tuesday, here is this week's Tuesday View as well.
Overall, the South Border looks a good deal more refreshing than it did this time last month! In addition to plenty of Catharanthus, the quieter Eremophila hygrophana has plenty of flowers again. Unlike E. maculata "Valentine", this much smaller shrub has rarely been without a flower, but it has been pretty sparse through the hottest part of summer. Now it seems to be recovering.
Kalanchoe x "Pink Butterflies" has done surprisingly well. I hardly expected it to last the summer, but it seems to be thriving.
Toward the bottom of the border, the color comes from Pennisetum setaceum rubrum and, behind it, Perovskia. Even the Perovskia had me worried for a while this summer. Not now! I think it makes a wonderfully soft blue mist behind the other plants, though I've certainly violated all the garden design height rules as the Pennisetum is actually the taller of the two when in bloom.
The miniature roses need a deadheading; I'm not sure I can keep up with them!
And here is a friend watching me from beneath the Pennisetum. It has taken three years of gardening for the lizards to grow this tame! I'm rather proud of my friendly lizards; when we moved in, they would skitter away between one breath and the next. Now they wait and watch me, sometimes scuffing around for bugs in the dirt as I stand there looking. I love the way they help bring the garden to life.
Having combined two of my favorite memes, I need to add my thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting In a Vase on Monday, and to Cathy (also!) at Words and Herbs for hosting the Tuesday View! I rarely combine posts like this, but I was so glad I got a second batch of pictures for the vase. After all, it's the first set of roses as the year cools a little! I hope you can see the difference in my South Border pictures. Plants and gardener alike are enjoying the late summer in the garden!
Weather Diary: Fair; High: 105 F (41 C)/Low: 79 F (26 C); Humidity: 12%-46%
Write a comment
Kris P (Tuesday, 22 August 2017 22:06)
Your arrangement is beautiful, Amy. Your roses put mine to shame - and I don't have to contend with temperatures of 105F!
Cathy (Wednesday, 23 August 2017 01:37)
Your roses look gorgeous with that silvery grey foliage to set them off! The view looks so full of growth now, and I agree about the Perovskia being a nice background feature. That Pennisetum is fabulous. (I know, I say that every week, but it IS!) We haven't had lizards for a couple of years now and I do miss them. The last couple of seasons we have had mice in the rockery instead... not such nice gardening companions!
Loree / danger garden (Wednesday, 23 August 2017 10:36)
That arrangement is stunning, the perfect vase too! Glad your weather is improving, and I'm quite jealous of your lizards. Seeing them is one of my favorite parts of visiting Arizona.
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Wednesday, 23 August 2017 20:31)
Thanks so much, Kris! The roses are requiring a lot of experimentation, but I think maybe I'm getting the hang of bringing them back out of the summer doldrums. Hope so, anyway! ;-)
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Wednesday, 23 August 2017 20:39)
Cathy - Oh my, I certainly would rather have lizards than mice! I totally agree about the Pennisetum; it blooms over such a long period too - really invaluable through the summer doldrums here. By the way, I'm thinking about switching my Tuesday View in the near future. It's been so useful for filling out the South Border, I think maybe I'll try it on the recalcitrant East Border!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Wednesday, 23 August 2017 20:44)
Loree - Thanks so much - being able to cut roses seems like a promise of better weather to come, though the past two days have been more like the usual August stuff! I've worked hard to convince the lizards that I'm safe to be around; what astonishes me is that they do seem to learn from one generation to the next...
Cathy (Thursday, 24 August 2017 03:50)
St Swithun is such a good match for CPM and the artemesia is a great backdrop for their soft colours. Love the last shot of the pennisetum
Eliza (Thursday, 24 August 2017 15:05)
Your roses are heavenly in that arrangement. The Pennisetum adds such dash!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Friday, 25 August 2017 11:58)
Cathy - I was very pleased with the combination. CPM and St. Swithun are growing right next to each other in the border, so it makes a good twosome there also :) Thanks so much, Cathy!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Friday, 25 August 2017 12:02)
Thank you so much, Eliza! It was heavenly to be able to cut some roses again at long last - a promise of better weather to come, I hope! I've really loved using the ornamental grasses in arrangements :)
David C. (Saturday, 02 September 2017 13:43)
This arrangement is stunning, and then some. So is the context.
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Sunday, 03 September 2017 18:45)
Thank you very much, David! You can see why I love this place... Hope you're having a great holiday weekend! :-)