Category: Roses

A Few Suggestions to Stay Healthy

On By SCLMRoseIn #HelpfulTips, #motivational, #stress, Roses1 Comment

By: Rosalinda Morgan

Author, Saving Wentworth Hall

Here are a few suggestions to stay healthy. I’ve been practicing healthy habits since I’m in my early 40s, and it shows because, at this last quarter stage of my life, I have no health issues and do not take any prescription drugs.

Dementia is one issue affecting the elderly. As you get old, you seem to forget things. Losing your keys is a minor sign, but if you keep forgetting something or forget what you said constantly, you should begin to worry. Walking, doing the crossword puzzle, cooking, and reading keep your brain active. I read a lot, write quite a bit, and am an editor of two quarterly newsletters. Exercise or any physical activity will increase your brain’s protective proteins and lower your risk of developing dementia. I also take time to garden – taking care of my 60 roses and plenty of annuals, perennials, and shrubs. 

If you are a couch potato and watch TV for more than four hours, you will likely have a blood clot. Sitting too long in front of the computer will do the same thing. Stand up, do something else. Stay away from the screen. Take a break every 30 minutes from your computer to increase your blink rate. Staring at your computer screen makes you blink less, leaving your eyes dry and itchy. Focusing too hard on the screen can cause headaches, fatigue, and blurred vision.

You only have one set of eyes, and you should protect them. Eat yellow and dark leafy vegetables high in lutein and zeaxanthin to help protect the eyes from damages that could lead to vision loss. I take PreserVision eye vitamins to supplement my diet. Studies also show that taking 7,000 steps five days a week can lower glaucoma risk by 73 percent.

Be selective with the food you eat. Eat food that helps lower your cholesterol. Avoid foods high in saturated fat because they will raise cholesterol levels in your blood. This excess cholesterol builds a waxy substance on the walls of your arteries and reduces or blocks the blood flow to your heart.

Have a positive outlook in life. Look into the brighter side of things. Stop worrying about things you can not control.

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses. Here is one for you!  

Celestial Night – a floribunda. Beautiful and fragrant!

Super Food for Better Health

On By SCLMRoseIn #HelpfulTips, #PositiveThinking, #stress, Rose Gardening, RosesLeave a comment

By: Rosalinda Morgan

Author, Saving Wentworth Hall

Let’s start the New Year with a goal to stay healthy and avoid catching the virus. Let’s begin with healthy food to sustain us in this challenging time. Here are some of my favorite superfoods for better health.

  1. Broccoli – It’s loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, vitamin K, and folate. Steam until it’s bright green and just tender. Some people hate broccoli, but it is the best vegetable around. Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a spritz of fresh lemon juice if you like. When my kids were young, most of their friends hated broccoli, but my children loved them. They told their friends, I cooked the best broccoli. The secret: I sauteed them and sprinkled some soy sauce, pepper, ground garlic, and onions, adding a little water until it was bright green. That was simple, and the kids loved it.
  2. Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes are nutritional superstars. They are loaded with carotenoids and are a good source of potassium and fiber. Toss sweet potato wedges with a bit of olive oil and roast until tender and lightly browned. I remember growing up snacking on just boiled sweet potatoes. Plain!
  3. Leafy greens. – Don’t miss out on powerhouses like kale, collards, spinach, mustard greens, and Swiss chard. These stand-out leafy greens are loaded with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and fiber. Saute in olive oil with minced garlic and season with ground black pepper and red wine vinegar.
  4. Garbanzo beans are rich in protein, fiber, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. But garbanzos (chickpeas) stand out because they’re so versatile. Look for no-salt-added varieties in cartons. Add a handful to your tossed salad, or stir them into your vegetable stews, curries, and soups. I sauteed them with some onions, and they were delicious.
  5. Mangoes – A cup of mango supplies roughly 100% of a day’s vitamin C, a third of a day’s vitamin A, a decent dose of blood-pressure-lowering potassium, and three grams of fiber. I miss those yellow ones that grow in the Philippines. Those are the best!
  6. Avocado – Another tropical fruit that I love. Avocado is a rich source of several B Vitamins, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and potassium. Avocados also contain phytosterols and carotenoids, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are good for the eyes.
  7. Watermelon – It’s a heavy-weight in the nutrient department. A standard serving (about 2 cups) has a third of a day’s vitamins A and C., a nice shot of potassium, and a healthy dose of lycopene, all for only 90 calories. And when they’re in season, watermelons are often locally grown, which means they may have a smaller carbon footprint than some other fruits.
  8. Wild Salmon – Fatty fish like salmon, which are rich in omega-3 fats, may help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. And many types of wild-caught salmon are more sustainable than farmed salmon. We have salmon once a week. I sprinkle some herb and olive oil and bake them for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F.

So there you have them. Always remember, you are what you eat. I’ve been practicing good eating habits since the ‘70s, and it shows. I’m very healthy, have no health issues, and do not take any meds.

Aside from eating healthy, stop and smell the roses to keep stress at bay. Here’s a beautiful rose for you:

Nicole – An award-winning floribunda growing in front of my house in New York.

A Rose (Brigadoon) and a Tip for Healthy Living

On By SCLMRoseIn #PositiveThinking, #Wednesday Wisdom, Rose Culture, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

Early stage of bloom

Later Stage of Bloom

Class: Hybrid Tea

Year of introduction – 1992

Registration Name – JACpal

Parentage: Unnamed Seedling x Pristine

Hybridizer: William A. Warriner (United States, 1991)

Introduced in the United States by Jackson & Perkins Co.

This winner of the All America Rose Selection award in 1992 is categorized as a pink blend, a description that says nothing about its real color, a creamy blush spreading from the center into deep pink coral. At times, it looks like coral-orange with cream reverse. It’s wonderful seeing it changes color as it opens from bud to bloom.

Brigadoon has moderate, spicy, fragrant blooms produced one to a stem, and are best up to the halfway stage where the bud is perfection itself. As the flower opens, it holds its shape but does tend to drop the immediate central petals – something that will only bother an exhibitor. As a flower for decoration, it is a real eye-catcher. The bush is vigorous, upright, medium-tall, about 3’ and 28” wide, and well-branched with semi-glossy deep green, dense, leathery foliage that can be pretty large in cooler climates. The long, pointed, ovoid buds unfurl to double (35-40 petals), large (5” across) to high-centered, reflexed bloom form, and blooms in flushes.

Brigadoon can be grown in USDA zone 6b and warmer and used for beds and borders, as cut flower or container rose. For spring pruning, remove old canes and dead or diseased wood and cut back canes that cross. In warmer climates, cut back the remaining canes by about one-third. In colder areas, you’ll probably find you’ll have to prune a little more than that. It requires spring freeze protection but can be grown in the ground or in a container. In a container, it requires winter protection.

Tip of the day: Eat lunch outside – When sunlight hits the body, production of the neurotransmitter serotonin increases, which can make you feel happier, more alert, and more energized. (Be sure to wear your sunscreen!)

An Easy-Care Rose (Knock Out) and a Motivational Tip for a Memorable Life

On By SCLMRoseIn #MondayMotivation, #PositiveThinking, Low Maintenance Roses, Roses1 Comment


Knock Out® Roses, the easy-care roses hybridized by Wisconsin-born William J. (Bill) Radler, won the All-American Rose Selection (AARS) award in 2000. The Knock Out® Rose, Radler’s first commercial success, has broken all records for sales of a new rose. Today, the Knock Out® Rose is the most widely sold rose in North America.

The Knock Out® Family of Roses is highly disease-resistant roses, easy to grow and bloom repeatedly and profusely from spring until frost with healthy foliage that does not need the chemical spray program. Blooms are fire engine red in cool weather and cherry red in the summer months. The foliage is dark green and leathery with a burgundy hue. They are low-maintenance roses with a bloom cycle of about every 5-6 weeks and continue until the first hard frost. All of the Knock Out® Roses are self-cleaning, so there is no need to deadhead. If unpruned, The Knock Out® Family of Roses can easily grow more than 3-4’ wide x 3-4’ tall in two years. A once-a-year pruning (to about 12” above the ground) in early spring (after the last hard frost) is also recommended for maximum performance. The Knock Out® Family of Roses is winter hardy to USDA Zone 5 and heat tolerant throughout the entire U.S. They thrive in almost every area of the country.

The Knock Out® Family of Roses can fit into any landscape. Plant them individually among shrubs, annuals, and perennials in mixed beds and borders, in large groups to create a colorful hedge or along a foundation to provide a bright border.

The Conard-Pyle Co./Star® Roses is the proud distributor of all members of The Knock Out® Family of Roses. Bill Radler was the 2008 recipient of the Great Rosarians Award for hybridizing disease-resistant roses, particularly the Knock Out® family of roses. He has been leading the way to develop new disease-resistant roses for American gardeners. Bill Radler has revolutionized the way we think of roses. With the creation of The Knock Out® Rose, many say he single-handedly brought rose genetics from the 20th Century into the 21st Century.

Tip of the day: Focus your mind and find joy in the present. Our life is made up of moments. Moments that, if you fail to appreciate, will simply pass you by. You’ll miss the beauty of living in the here and now. And once gone, you can’t live them again. Create the most pleasing experiences by immersing yourself in each moment, and you will, in time, create some incredibly epic memories!

 

A Rose (April in Paris) and a Motivational Tip for the Day

On By SCLMRoseIn #HelpfulTips, #inspiration, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

 

Name of Rose: April in Paris

Class: Hybrid Tea

Registration Name: Jacprize

Parentage: ‘Pristine’ x ‘New Zealand’

Hybridizer: Dr. Keith W. Zary

Date of Introduction: 2007

This All-American Rose Selections Award winner and a Jackson and Perkins’ former Rose of the Year® features beautiful, pale, seashell pink, high-centered blooms edged in a deeper shade of pink. Substantially petaled, they last and last in a vase.

The pointed, ovoid buds spiral into 4½-inch blooms on sturdy, generous stems well-suited for cutting. Durable, they maintain their elegant appearance for a long time in a vase or display. An intense tea rose scent wafts from the flowers like an uncorked perfume bottle to be savored in the garden or vase. It reminds you of a spring romance in Paris.

The creamy blooms, typically borne singly, are produced in flushes throughout the season. It will grow to 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. The shrub is a dazzling showpiece in the garden. The dark green foliage sets off the light pink blooms. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn’t necessarily require any plants in front of it. It grows faster, and under ideal conditions, can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

‘April in Paris’ thrives in average to evenly moist conditions and slightly acidic, well-drained loam in partial sun. It will not tolerate standing water. This rose does not really like full sun, as the delicate petals will burn as the sun heats up during the summer. Make sure the plant has good air circulation, which promotes vigorous and healthy growth and helps prevent disease. During the summer months, a layer of mulch helps retain moisture, keep roots cool, and discourage weed growth.

Pruning is required in the spring, trimming the shrub to half its height or about 18 inches off the ground. Old canes and dead wood should be removed, and canes that cross each other should be cut. In warmer climates, the remaining canes should be cut by one-third. More trimming is required in colder climates.

‘April in Paris’ makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright growth habit, plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when roses are grown in a container, they may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag and may require more frequent waterings than those grown in the yard or garden.

Tip of the Day: Be romantic!

A Rose (Secret) and a Motivational Tip for the Day

On By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #amwriting, #HelpfulTips, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Rose Gardening, Roses2 Comments

Name of the Rose: Secret

Class: Hybrid Tea

Registered Name: HILaroma

Hybridizer – Daniel Tracy/E.G. Hill Co.

Date of Introduction: 1992

This exhibition quality pink blend Hybrid Tea is a winner of the All-America Rose Selections Award in 1994, Portland Best Rose in 1998 and the Gamble Fragrance Award in 2003. It is white with raspberry pink edges and is both excellent on the show table and garden display. It is a medium, moderately thorny, bushy plant with an upright habit, semi-glossy dark green leaves on long stems and produces lots of large high-centered blooms 4 to 6 inches across. It grows 3 to 5 ft tall and 2 to 3 ft across. Blooms come on single stem or in clusters of three or four. Blooms are double (30 to 40 petals) and tend to get larger in cool weather.

Secret is a generous performer giving blooms from late spring to early summer and repeats through to fall. It can be used in beds and borders and if you need lots of fragrant blooms to share with others, plant Secret in the cutting garden in threes so the plants look bushier. It has a strong, spicy fragrance. It is winter hardy and has good disease resistance. Who says modern hybrid tea does not have any fragrance? Secret can perfume a room with just one bloom.

Tip of the Day – Be around positive people who do positive things.

A Rose (Pristine) and a Motivational Tip for the Day

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Name of Rose – Pristine

Class – Hybrid Tea

Hybridizer – Warriner

Date of introduction – 1977

Registration Name – JACpico

Parentage – ‘White Masterpiece’ x ‘First Prize’

‘Pristine’ has the delicate look of porcelain, you’ll be tempted to feel the petals to see if it is real. The bloom is high-centered, double (30-35 petals), large – six inches across and somewhat ruffled. Most often, it comes singly on a long, thick stem although quite thorny, with large, dark green glossy leaves. It is a very vigorous plant and very disease resistant. It can be used for cut flower or for garden display. It has gathered enough trophies to be a favorite among exhibitors.

The tapered bud opened white to creamy petals blushed with light to medium pink on the edge of the petals and displaying orange-yellow stamens in the center. Fragrance is light. Habit is quite tall and spreading, from 4 to 7 ft. tall and 3 to 6 ft. wide. It tends to spread its canes sideways so prune it to inward-facing buds to discourage sprawling. It blooms continuously throughout the season. The best location for this rose is in the back of the border. Good companion plants are pink flowered plants and some blue stately delphiniums. For regions with harsh winter, it requires winter protection.

Tip of the Day – Keep your desk and work area neat and clean.

Until next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda

A Rose (Sunshine Daydream) And A Tip For A Successful Living

On By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #amwriting, #HelpfulTips, #motivational, Rose Gardening, Roses2 Comments

Sunshine Daydream – 2012 AARS Winner

After two years going through the toughest tests in their test gardens across the country, the All-America Rose Selections had a winner for 2012. The 2012 only AARS winner is Sunshine Daydream hybridized by Meilland International and introduced by Conard-Pyle Co./Star Roses.

Sunshine Daydream is a butter-yellow grandiflora with lighter edges and an ovoid bud form that turns into cup-shaped flower as it opens up. It is complemented with dark green, glossy foliage on a round and bushy plant, 5-1/2 ft tall and up to 4-1/2 ft wide. Sunshine Daydream has a large flower size with about 25-to 35 petals and blooms continuously from spring to late fall. Disease resistance is excellent including blackspot. It has no fragrance.

For a great flower color and bloom production, Sunshine Daydream surely is a winner to all rose lovers and gardeners. Sunshine Daydream’s sunny color will brighten any garden. I planted one in front of my house and it is the only yellow rose in that flower bed.

Tip of the day – Never invest more in the stock market than you can afford to lose.

A Rose (Eyeconic Pink Lemonade) And a Tip for a Healthy Living

On By SCLMRoseIn #amwriting, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Eyeconic Roses, Hulthemia Roses, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

Pink Lemonade
Photo Credit – Conard Pyle/Star Roses 

 

Registration Name: ‘SPRolempink’

Type: Hybrid Hulthemia

 

Eyeconic™ Shrub Rose is another new breeding breakthrough in the rose world introduced by the Conard-Pyle Co/Star Roses. After many years of attempting to cross modern roses with Hulthemias, (a species-type roses originating in ancient Persia), rose breeder Jim Sproul finally succeeded. The Hulthemias are a once-blooming species with a characteristic red blotch. The Eyeconics™ capture the blotch, but everything else about these roses is modern, from their rebloom to their pleasing small, shrub-like habit to their disease resistance. The bushy 3 to 4-1/2 foot plants are filled with dark green, very glossy foliage that sets off the 2- to 3-inch, ruffled, non-fragrant blooms.

Eyeconic™ Pink Lemonade is light pink to melon rose with a darker red ring surrounding the inside of the petal that is typical of the Hulthemia hybrids. The bud form is small, ovoid open melon-pink with a red ring maturing to shell pink with the red turning to a purplish eye. The medium size bloom is cuplike with an average of 8-10 petals, 3 ½ inches in diameter. The plant is prolific and blooms continuously for months with blooms in cluster of five blooms per stem with dark green, very glossy foliage.  It is a breakthrough rose, coming from a breeder, Jim Sproul who has been working more than 20 years on Hulthemia hybrids.

Eyeconic Pink Lemonade has an excellent habit and self-cleaning. The plant is compact, bushy, approximately 3 ft. tall by 3 ft. wide. This ultra-vigorous shrub is a carefree addition to any garden. Unhappily, there is no fragrance.

 

Tip of the day: – Laugh a lot. Laughter is the best medicine.

 

Until next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

 

Rosalinda

The Hildesheim Rose and a Motivational Tip for the day

On By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #HelpfulTips, #inspiration, #motivational, Rose Lore, Roses1 Comment

 

Hildesheim Rose 2
Photo Credit – Wikipedia

I hear it all the time that rose is difficult to grow and yet the Hildesheim Rose, (Rosa canina commonly called dog rose) is estimated at approximately 1,000 years old. It is said to be the oldest rosebush in the world. It is the one climbing the wall of the apse of the Cathedral of Hildesheim in their courtyard at Hildesheim, Germany. It is a symbol of the city of Hildesheim and its prosperity. According to the legend, as long as the rose keeps blooming, Hildesheim will not decline. During World War II in 1945 allied bombers destroyed the cathedral yet the rose not only survived the bomb attacks but it grew new shoots just a few weeks later and soon was growing strong as ever. It has withstood war, drought, pestilence and poison gas to bloom serenely every summer against the Cathedral wall.

There are several mythical explanations of the origin of this rose. The most appealing story is that of Emperor Louis who became separated from his men while out hunting for deer. Night was falling and the snow was blowing fiercely about him as he hung his crucifix on a thorn tree, knelt and prayed for help. Worn out from his exertion he curled up in the snow and slept. The next morning, he awoke to find his crucifix hanging from a rose tree in full bloom. And through the leafless forest he saw his men walking toward him. In thanksgiving he built a chapel on the spot. The chapel grew in size until it became the great Cathedral of Hildesheim against which the rose still blooms.

Tip of the day – Don’t miss the chance to ask your grandparents questions before they die. They are a great resource of valuable life lessons but ask before it’s too late.

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

Rosalinda Morgan

A Rose named after Our Lady of Guadalupe and a Motivational Tip for the Christmas Season

On By SCLMRoseIn #amwriting, #HelpfulTips, #motivational, #Wednesday Wisdom, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

IMG_3220

 

In the Rose Gardening World, Our Lady of Guadalupe is a lovely pink Floribunda with 25 petals. Our Lady of Guadalupe Rose blooms are complemented with reddish green leaves and very healthy. It is prolific bloomer and as good if not better than Knock Out roses in my garden.

 

When it was first introduced, only Jackson and Perkins carried it for a while with part of the sales going to a charity. It is such a lovely rose in the garden. I had two bushes planted in the middle of a formal garden with six roses on the same bed. On one of my Ice Cream Socials at my garden in New York, I showed the rose to the priest who was attending the Ice Cream Social. I also had two American Beauty roses, the priest’s favorite rose on the bed and two Brother Cadfael roses, another pink rose. The priest decided to bless the bed and the whole garden.

 

The following winter, we had a very harsh winter and lo and behold, the roses in that bed all died except Our Lady of Guadalupe. I then replaced the four roses with John Paul II, Brother Cadfael, Glamis Castle and Tess d’Urbervilles. When we had the Ice Cream Social again the next year, Fr. Burns was back and I told him the story. He could not believe it and told me he would tell his mother who loved to garden.

 

The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is Dec. 12. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico. Our Lady of Guadalupe dates back to the 16th century, when, according to tradition, an Aztec Indian named Juan Diego had a vision of the Virgin Mary in December 1531 who identified herself in Spanish. The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe generated the conversion of Mexico, Central and South America to Catholicism. Indeed, Our Lady of Guadalupe became an integral part of Mexican life and a central figure to the history of Mexico itself. The three most important religious celebrations in Central and South America are Christmas, Easter, and December 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Her appearance in the center of the American continents has contributed to the Virgin of Guadalupe being given the title “Mother of the Americas”. After the Spanish Conquest, Diego was one of the first converts to Christianity, according to believers. He was canonized in 2002, making him the first indigenous American saint.

 

Tip of the Day – Share your time, treasure and talent to help others.

 

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

Rosalinda

 

A Perfect Gift For Rose Lovers

On By SCLMRoseIn Motivational Books, Positive Thinking, Rose Care, Rose Gardening, RosesLeave a comment

Looking for a perfect gift for a gardener friend of yours or family members who love roses?

Look no further. “Stop and Smell the Roses” is just the ticket.

With the garden asleep for the winter, you’ll have roses to look at everyday. “Stop and Smell the Roses” welcomes you to my rose garden with a parade of roses in full color.

In addition to the rose parade, there are 101 motivational tips that will inspire anyone to make positive changes in their lives to make them healthy, happy, and successful.

Roses will cheer you up in the dreariest day of winter. They will uplift your spirits any day of the year. Even a single rose in a room will liven it up on dreary days. Since you can’t go to a rose garden in winter, look at the rose photos. The red rose on the cover will certainly cheer you up.

Place the book on your coffee table so you can see it everyday or the side table next to your bed so you can read about a rose or a motivational tip daily to inspire you into a healthy lifestyle.

You can order your copy at Amazon for paperback or Kindle or at Barnes and Noble for the hard copy. Do it now. Here is the link to Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Until next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

Rosalinda