Notes from a Rose Garden 2021...

Marlorena

This is a small garden, kind of U shaped, with several small areas within the whole, all a bit different.. No grass, very dry in summer often with long periods of drought..  I like to photograph and share plants, so for a few weeks, if anyone is looking in, hope you find something of interest..  I take too many pics for gallery threads..

I have 75 roses, 18 Austins, 14 Clematis, an arch, about 8 obelisks, and trellis supports..  This is a no spray garden, I don't worry about aphids or black spot, my main issues are leaf rolling sawflies, and pollen beetles which swarm until August... they arrive from the oil seed rape fields around here and I cannot wear anything yellow in the garden as a result.

I also cope with field Horsetail weed, but I've got used to it as it's undefeatable..
I'm not a designer, and I love clashing colours..

This is my Dry Garden.. it goes unwatered except for new plantings.. it has a Central, South and North bed.. it's about 60 feet long, reclaimed from the road, sandy, hard core rubble and stones.. soil down there somewhere..


..the Central bed today...

I use Stipa gigantea as a focal point, one of my favourite plants.. it towers over everything else..

Helianthemum 'Fire Dragon'.. 


..more to follow...

Marlorena

Central Bed.. Berberis 'Admiration' with yellow Erysimum 'Golden Jubilee'.. this plant is so easy to propagate, I just pinch off bits and plant them, they all take 100 percent..

North Bed.. Berberis 'Bagatelle'.. I wish I had more of this plant..

.few roses thrive in such hostile conditions, but 'Mme. Antoine Mari' does well.. staked due to this gale prone region.. capable of double this size in growth.. I prune it hard..

North Bed.. Halimium libanotis.. I  just love this plant for May flowering, especially good in the mornings before strong sun gets on it..

Marlorena

..also in the Central bed is Geranium 'Matt Frei', which is ground cover for 'Lady of Shalott', a rare Austin that does well in these conditions..

I like rounded balls of foliage, and this Aster frikartii 'Monch' I think looks nice right now.. flowers mid summer..

I have this Divide border backed by railings, it separates Dry from the Pebble Beach garden.. the soil here is deep and  moist, seedling Foxgloves do not grow where the grass is, on the Dry, but separated by just a few inches, the change in conditions is rather extraordinary..   Geranium clarkii 'Kashmir Purple'.. Geranium mac. 'Bevans'..

..looking towards the Pebble Beach garden, underplanted with Brunnera 'Jack Frost' and Tulip 'Lady Jane' in Spring..  the Alliums are 'Mt Everest'.. I don't like them too much..

..along this Divide is one of my few variegated plants.. Griselinia 'Bantry Bay'.. a little tender it gets burnt in the winter but soon recovers.. I love its foliage..

Marlorena

..this is the Pebble Beach garden, very hot and dry on the right.. shady on the left.. silver leafed plants seed in the gravel..

..narrow path through the Beach area.. the rose is 'Eustacia Vye' which has taken it's sweet time to get going for me..

..on the shady side is Clematis 'Daniel Deronda'.. I lost some of this to 'wilt' during the frosts..

..also on the shady side is a favourite clematis 'Souvenir de Capitaine Thilleaux'.. just coming out now.. 

..on the hot sunny side is 'Desdemona' which started it's bloom cycle yesterday..

Fire

I had no idea low growing, mat forming erysimum or tiny berberis existed. Is the Bagatelle very spikey? Thanks for all the knowledge you are sharing.

Marlorena

@Fire
..thanks for looking in...  yeah it is spikey, lots of small thorns, but I just love the colour..  I did have 2 of them but a car ran over one... hazards of roadside planting..

Fire

Good to know it's a thing. I will go for low growing Erysimum "Constant Cheer" for a community bed. It's just the thing! Thanks for that.

gjautos

Its beautiful. Questiin if I may. How quickly does your stipa gigantic grow? I planted one this year, its was purchased in a 3L pot, and so far is only around 24 inches tall. 

Marlorena

@gjautos
..a 3L pot is a good size to start... I found in the first year it only produced a couple of flowering spikes, but it does establish quickly to form a 3 foot spread of grassy foliage.. wait till the 2nd year, it's a fabulous plant that deserves centre stage..

@Fire
I don't know 'Constant Cheer' so hope to see that from you later on..

Marlorena

.. still on the Divide with deep soil.. a better view of Allium stipitatum 'Mount Everest'.. now flowering well... I like the large grey strappy Spring foliage, which turns tatty at flowering time.. strong smell of onion but I quite like the flowers, albeit rather a brief season..



..this is the part shady entrance to my Pebble Beach garden, with both hot sun and shady borders.. roses are in each, I take no notice of shade, roses grow perfectly well there..

..from a cosy seat vantage point, I look across to a Rose Island Bed, via the potted Euphorbia x pasteurii 'Browns' seedling'..  there are 3 obelisks in the island bed, about 9 roses I think..  'Vanessa Bell' is centre point..

..on the Pebble Beach, sunny side, I now have this 'Silas Marner' rose from David Austin's..  it was in my Dry Garden bed but failed to thrive and almost died right back.. since the move it's doing really well and taking off now.. 

Marlorena

..shady side Pebble Beach... Brunnera 'Jack Frost' still flowering well.. roses visible will be 'Scepter'd Isle'... 'Commandant Beaurepaire'.. and somewhere is 'Nye Bevan' recently planted..  also 'Forever Royal' is there too.. all a way off blooming ..

Horsetail through Geranium 'Cambridge'.. I do remove these but I don't mind some of these shoots.. it's the asparagus like seed bearing stems I have to be rid of sharpish..

I got these Fuchsias from the Victorian Fuchsia nursery.. they do cut them right down which is a shame, and the pots were even smaller, I've repotted into slightly larger..
These are 4 Hardy varieties.... 'Colette Kelly'.. 'Prodigy'.. 'Thornley's Hardy'.. and 'Conspicua'..


... 4 of my Hydrangeas suffered badly this winter, they are in my Pebble Beach garden, and I appear to have lost my Salvia 'Amistad'.. kicked the bucket I should think.. no sign of growth..