a rose by any other name is stone fruit, & dessert

Can you tell what this frosted yellow flower is that is starting to show colour and now getting into full scented blossom? It still thinks it is 2015 and our mild wet weather has contributed to a range of ongoing flowers.

This selection of top ten Roses to grow as cut flowers has been chosen for their scent and the length of the vase life. If Roses are picked as the buds are breaking they will last at least a week and if they are picked fully open it will be several days.

Previously I have stuck to traditional names for bits of my garden. Veg plot, rockery, orchard (when I feel posh), rose bed, border, hedge and similar names have delineate what and where I was trying to grow.

It is mid July and the Roses have performed very well with an abundance of flower, scent and leaf growth. With the June flush over here are some quick tips to boost your Roses for the rest of the season.

I received a book for Easter entitled ‘Ornamental Shrubs for Temperate Gardens May Flowering’ by Edward Hyams. Since its publication in 1965 the botanic names of the odd variety may have changed (this is a continued source of annoyance to me as soon as I learn one Latin name it is changed into another). However the awe that spring blossom can produce may let me forget this minor issue.

Useful supports in the greenhouse

When I first started exploring roses, I thought myself to be pretty educated once I knew the difference between a David Austin and a Knock Out. And then I discovered a whole new world of

While old gallica and rugosa roses are largely trouble-free, other types of rose are often troubled with disease. Bred to bear large flowers over a long period, many are plagued with problems such as mildew, blackspot and rust. Traditionally, rose breeders and growers would treat their roses with fungicides to prevent or cure these diseases, so they weren’t considered much of a problem.

No other plant native to South Carolina has such fragrant and beautiful spring blooms and stunning fall color as the witch-alders. Fothergilla was named after Dr. John Fothergill, an English physician and gardener who funded the travels of John Bartram through the Carolinas in the 1700’s. These beautiful shrubs have been planted in both American and English gardens for over 200 years, including gardens of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

While the Christmas tree takes the front-and-center stage during this holiday season, supported by a cast of poinsettias, cyclamens, kalanchoes, Christmas cactuses, and amaryllises, hollies often find themselves relegated to wreaths, garlands, and candle adornments. Years ago, I learned from Fred Galle’s tome, “Hollies: The Genus Ilex” (Timber Press, OR 1997), that hollies were quintessential Christmas symbols extensively used for centuries in holiday wreaths and Christmas decorations. Galle wrote that in London in 1851, 250,000 bunches of English hollies (Ilex aquifolium) were sold and adorned houses, churches, street corners, and marketplaces. In some parts of England, residents retained the holly sprigs until the following year because they believed it would protect their homes from lightning strikes.

When I have garden tours, everyone asks what “that silvery-green tree by the vegetable garden” is—even many experts—because you don’t usually see it looking like a tree.And even though I know somebody changed its name, at first I answer, “Salix rosmarinifolia…I mean…” then stop myself, and get it right.The reason you won’t see this looking like a 15-foot-tall, 20-foot wide small tree is that as with other “shrubby” willows, regular rejuvenation pruning is usually practiced.“Will get leggy unless cut back hard periodically” is the kind of advice you’ll find in refer

SOMETIMES I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND ANDRE. We may have a special relationship, but we still don’t speak the same language.