Autumn Backend Roses

Following my summer post Fine and Fantastic Fruiting Fungus I have been out in the local woods seeking these new pictures.

Get your bulb catalogues out and select your planting scheme for a glorious display next spring. Plant some bulbs just to cut for indoor flowers – the bunches will be superior to those you will pay na fortune for in the shops next year and you have the fun of growing your own.

Seed collecting can be addictive. You may quickly discover you are surrounded by drying stems and paper bags but all you need is enough seeds for your immediate needs.

This fleshy leaved Sedum Telephium Matrona is just colouring and clumping up in my garden. It is not as vigorous as Sedum spectabile Autumn Joy which can be come a bit of a thug if left unchecked.

From obenson flickr

I am miffed  that the Royal National Rose Society has gone into administration (May 2017). Originally formed in 1876 it owns land in St Albans but finds annual running costs onerous. As small compensation here are details about a couple of charitable red roses.

The Japanese poetic work, ‘Manyoshu’ published in 759 AD but written 300-400 years prior  selected 7 flowers for Autumn. This corresponds to the 7 Herbs of spring reported on an earlier post.

The dry weather has cause a lot of problems with moldew. (I should have said mildew but that is a Freudian slip I will leave in.) The worst affected in my garden is an early flowering clematis but this rose stem is not far behind.

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.

The Sedum or Ice Plants are providing a treat for the bees and insects in the garden this September. Many other plants have ‘gone over’ quite early this year so these Sedum blossoms will be quite welcome as a pre-winter energy booster.

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.

Mildew is a white powdery fungus that looks unsightly on these leaves. Mildew is a sign of stress in a plant and usually arises from damp air with poor circulation. It is prevalent in my garden now Autumn is here in force. It is of less concern in winter as the cold will take care of the current problem until next year at least.