Pierre de Ronsard (Eden rose) weeping standard

It’s rolled around into autumn and finally the end of the heat here in Perth and I still have one last post to go using photos I took last spring.

This is my Pierre de Ronsard (or Eden rose as it’s called in some parts) weeping standard.

I bought this from Roworths nursery in Landsdale. 

They have this cracker example in their carpark. This photo was taken around January or February I think, so blooms aren’t all that prolific, but the shape of it had me pulling my wallet out and asking ‘how much?’

Pierre de Ronsard is one of those rose varieties that take a few years to mature into a prolific bloomer. The maturity of it when I bought it meant that I only had to wait a couple of years for its flowering season to extend through to autumn. Up until then it didn’t flower past Australia Day (at the end of January).

This year it is starting to take on a good form as well.

In sadder news, however, the tally of deaths at the end of this summer is 5. I bought a couple of fuchsias (love them) last spring that didn’t make it; lost a couple of natives (a grevillea and a dwarf tea tree) possibly from old age - I hear some of them are short-lived; and my silver birch which is very sad.

One of the first trees I planted, after 8 summers it has passed away… now I’ve got to decide if I can do something with that lovely trunk or remove it and start from scratch.

Ahhh gardening. It has its ups and downs. Best wishes for yours.

Hedges

Two-tone hedge in a nursery in the Adelaide Hills

It’s still summer here in Perth and still hot, although (surprise! surprise!), we’ve had some decent rain recently and for a week or so it was very cloudy and warm (well hot really). I was expecting powdery mildew to become the order of the day, but no, following that everything has put on new growth like you wouldn’t believe.

Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis Indica) Hedge

And a close up of the spring flowers

I’m still running through photos I collected in spring. This post actually has photos that are several years old, but as the heading suggests these are photos of hedges that I haven’t grown, just seen.

Heart shaped hedge at Melville Roses, near Kalamunda

I love the formality of hedges although I personally only have one along the edge of my driveway, a lilli-pilli called Tiny Trev. It’s looking a little relaxed at the moment. In the past I have lost plants (and my first hedge) after pruning in hot weather so I avoid it now and hold off till the weather cools down. I tried taking photos of it but they aren’t turning out well so I’ll leave it for this post.

Rosemary hedge

These photos are taken in the garden of a medical centre near where I work. It has a very formal aesthetic with a lot of hedges and ‘Iceberg’ roses everywhere.

Unknown flowering hedge

I love it and had ideas of basing my front yard design along the same lines but my yard layout doesn’t really suit the straight line divisions required for a formal look and I had to give it away.

Plumbago hedge (it only works well where it gets afternoon shade)

I still dream of an all-white rose garden and I may yet plant an all-white rose section somewhere as an area opens up due to the death of a plant. Some Australian natives are fairly short-lived and I’ve had a couple of deaths this summer.

Gardenia hedge

Happy Gardening!

Sue

Meet my new roses

Here it is, the start of a new year and with it the start of some really hot weather here in Perth and around the country. Temperatures have passed the 40°mark (that’s close to 110°F – whew!) and leaves and any flowers are well scorched. Luckily, at least in blogging terms, I still have some photos from spring to show you. So without further ado… come and see my new roses for this season.

The first one is Lavender Pinocchio. Look at those beautiful smoky tones and exposed stamens.

The flowers fade to pink with age. A floribunda rose, this rose has already been a good performer, flowering fairly continuously since spring.

The next one is a rose I bought which was mislabelled. I actually wanted to buy another Belle Story so I was disappointed, however it’s been a strong grower and put on a heavy flush of flowers in spring.

I’m thinking it has to be an English rose. Could it be Lilian Austin?

This is hybrid tea, Atomic Blonde. It has only put on this one flower this season.

This is the second time I have planted a Jude the Obscure, this time in a much milder position. It looks like a much stronger plant and has put on a decent number of blooms.

I created a new garden bed especially to add the next two roses. After reading my neighbour’s guest post I had to have Moonbeam and it has proved to be quite a prolific flowerer, with two good flushes so far.

And I also bought Martine Guillot (a name I absolutely massacre every time I say it). 

This rose has been on my wish list since seeing it in an Australian House and Garden magazine a couple of years ago. 

It seems to be growing strongly but has only had one flush of flowers.

Apart from that, I also bought a climbing Duchesse de Brabant and some other repeat favourites.

Happy Gardening!