The Hildesheim Rose and a Motivational Tip for the day

On April 16, 2019April 16, 2019 By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #amwriting, #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 (Gemini) and a Motivational Tip for the Day

On February 26, 2019 By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #inspiration, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Rose Gardening1 Comment

Class: Hybrid Tea

Hybridizer: Dr. Keith W. Zary

Date of Introduction: 1999

Parentage: ‘Anne Morrow Lindbergh’ x ‘New Year’

‘Gemini’ is always a winner. It won the 2005 Members’ Choice Award from the American Rose Society. It also won the AARS 2000 award. It has all the qualities that exhibitors love – high-centered large blooms, 5”-7” in diameter, double (17-25 petals), and elegantly formed. It has a lighter tint in the spring and gets darker hue as it progresses through the season. The light pink color with a darker hue on the edges is so beautiful. No wonder it always captures a place at the Court of Honor of a Rose Show.

Gemini produces plenty of exhibition type blooms on a tall, bushy plant (4-6 ft high x 3 ft wide). Most often, blooms come singly on a long, thick stems with large, deep green glossy foliage. This rose looks great in the garden and in a vase. It also lasts a long time in a vase. If you have one space in your garden, try to get Gemini. It will capture your heart as it does most judges at the Rose Show.

Tip of the Day: Set short term and long term goals.

A Rose (Jubilee Celebration) and a Tip for a Happy, Healthy and Successful Living

On October 11, 2018 By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #amwriting, #inspiration, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, David Austin Roses, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

Jubilee Celebration

Rose: Jubilee Celebration

Class: Shrub

Hybridizer: David Austin

Date of Introduction: 2002

Jubilee Celebration was named in commemoration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. It has lovely rich pink blooms with tints of gold on the underside of the petals. The blooms are large, pleasantly cupped above an attractive glossy foliage and blooms continuously. The rose is very healthy, vigorous, 4 ft. x 4 ft. building up into a fine shrub.

The scent of the young flower is almost pure lemon zest, later becoming a delicious, fruity rose fragrance with hints of fresh lemon and raspberry. It is an excellent rose throughout the US including the challenging hot and humid climate of the south east. Winner of the fragrance prize and people’s choice in Glasgow, Scotland.

I planted my one plant in a raised bed. It gets plenty of morning sun and shade in the afternoon and seems to be happy where it is.

Tip of the day – Commit yourself to constant self-improvement.

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

Rosalinda

A rose (Rosa Rugosa) and a Tip for a Happy, Healthy and Successful Living

On October 2, 2018 By SCLMRoseIn #amwriting, #HelpfulTips, #inspiration, #motivational, Low Maintenance Roses, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

Rosa rugosa

Rosa rugosa roses are very attractive plants but prickly, heavily armored with unforgiving thorns and noted for its wrinkled or rugose foliage. Rosa rugosa produces an abundance of flowers in almost any soil, from heavy clay to beach sand and is a rich source of vitamin C. Rosa rugosa blooms for a long period of time and bears either single or double blossoms with wonderful fragrance. After the petals fall, the plants produce rose hips of a deep red-orange. Rosa rugosa are extremely hardy, except maybe in the most northern gardens. They can be planted in a row to serve as a dense, impenetrable hedge. They are disease-free and rarely bothered by insects. They are also useful in cosmetics and in food.

Rosa rugosa can sucker and spread throughout the garden. The Rosa rugosa’s sprawling characteristics can be useful in keeping steep banks stabilized. If you live next to the water, it is useful to hold banks against erosion. Rugosa roses thrive on ocean mist and sandy soil to beautify many coastal settings. Rugosa roses are underappreciated because it lacks the show quality of hybrid teas but they are tough plants.

Here is a list of some of the rugosa roses currently available.

Alba – white, single, 6 ft.

Conrad Ferdinand Meyer – Mid-pink, double, 8 ft., train as climber.

David Thompson (Explorer series) – Medium red, double, 4 ft.

F.J. Grootendorst – Medium red. semi-double, fringed petals, 6 ft.

Hansa – violet-red, double, 6 ft.

Henry Hudson (explorer series) – white, double, 3 ft.

Jens Munk (Explorer series) – Medium pink, double, 6 ft.

Linda Campbell – medium red, double, 3-5 ft.

Magnifica – dark red, full, 6 ft.

Martin Frobisher (explorer series) – Light-pink, semi-double, 6 ft.

Max Graf – pink blend, single, 2 ft.

Nova Zembla – white, double, 8 ft.

Sarah Van Fleet – medium pink, semi-double, 8 ft.

Scabrosa – mauve, single, 6 ft.

Sir Thomas Lipton – white, double, 8 ft.

Therese Bugnet – medium pink, full, 6 ft.

White Grootendorst – white, full, 6 ft.

Tip of the Day – Strive for excellence, not perfection.

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

Rosalinda Morgan

A Rose (Eyeconic Lemonade) and a Tip for a healthy Lifestyle

On September 14, 2018 By SCLMRoseIn #amwriting, #inspiration, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Eyeconic Roses, Hulthemia Roses, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

Class: Hybrid Hulthemia

Registered name: ‘PRolem’

Eyeconic™ Lemonade is bright sunny yellow rose on the outside with a ring ranging in brilliant deep pink to red eye inside of the petal. Eyeconic™Lemonade has excellent plant habit, very bushy and slightly larger in size than Eyeconic™ Pink Lemonade. It grows about 4 ½ ft. height and 4 ½ ft. wide.

Eyeconic™ Lemonade is ultra-vigorous, blooming heavily over 3 seasons with blooms in clusters of 3 to 5 blooms per stem complemented with dark green, very glossy foliage. The bud is of medium size, pointed and bright yellow developing into a self-cleaning 4-inch cup-shaped bloom with an average of 10-12 petals. It has a great flower power, blooming continuously with non- fading yellow blooms much stronger than most other yellow on the market. It has a very slight fragrance.

Eyeconic™Lemonade is a breakthrough hybrid hulthemia rose, coming from Jim Sproul, a breeder who has been working more than 15 years on Hulthemia hybrids. Eyeconics™ roses are perpetually blooming, self-cleaning, highly disease-resistant roses with “eyes”. The pioneering efforts of Harkness and other rosarians have resulted in the creation of the hybrid hulthemia by breeding the beautiful species Hulthemia persica with garden roses. Closely resembling a wild rose (to which it is almost certainly related), Hulthemia persica has a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and it is this spot that rose breeders wanted to hybridize.

Tip of the Day – Get a good night’s sleep. A lack of good sleep can contribute to obesity, injuries, depression and chronic diseases.

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

Rosalinda Morgan

Drift Roses – A Great Rose for Small Gardens

On July 22, 2018 By SCLMRoseIn #amwriting, #inspiration, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Low Maintenance Roses, Rose Gardening, Roses2 Comments

Drift® Roses are a cross between full-size groundcover roses and miniature roses. A combination of toughness, disease resistance and winter hardiness with a manageable size and repeat blooming characteristics make Drift Roses the perfect plant for small gardens and containers.

Introduced in 2006 by the same company, Conard-Pyle Co. who brought us the Knock Out Family of roses, Drift Roses have been tested extensively under diverse climate conditions and are hardy to Zone 4. Like The Knock Out® Family of Roses, Drift® Roses are virtually maintenance-free and bloom almost continuously from spring to frost. The bloom cycle is about every 5-6 weeks.

Drift® Roses are low growing plants about 1-1/2 to 2 feet in height spreading to 3 to 4 feet wide with show stopping color and very attractive glossy foliage. They are great landscape plants providing colors for borders, perennial beds, hillsides for erosion control, foundation plantings and entryways. They are highly disease resistant which should appeal to busy gardeners.

There are 9 varieties: Apricot Drift, White Drift, Sweet Drift, Coral Drift, Pink Drift, Red Drift, Peach Drift, Lemon Drift and Popcorn Drift. Drift Roses are sold at independent garden centers and big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes.

Tip of the Day – Don’t procrastinate.

Until next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda

A Rose (Rosa banksiae) and a Tip for a Happy, Healthy and Successful Living

On July 7, 2018 By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #amwriting, #inspiration, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Rose Gardening, RosesLeave a comment

Rosa Banksiae

Class: Rose Species

Syns: R. banksiana, Banksian rose, Banks’ Rose, Lady Banks’

Cultivated since 1796

Rosa banksiae is one of the best shrubs for a wall and in a few years will reach the top of most houses. It produces an abundance of pretty small roses with the sweetest fragrance you can imagine. The flowers are borne on last year’s wood and so it is well-advised not to prune in the spring. Only dead or useless branches have to be trimmed. The date of introduction is not known but the double white form was first described in the Botanical Magazine for 1818 as Lady Banks’ Rose and one of the sweetest of roses. It has also been known as a native of China and had been introduced in 1807 by William Kerr. The double yellow was introduced in 1824.

Definitely not for the small property, this vigorous species rose offers a spectacular spring show in warm-climate gardens that can accommodate its rampant growth habit. There are four different forms of R. banksiae, varying by flower color and flower form.

· R. banksiae normalis is considered to be the “wild” form, with single white flowers.

· R. banksiae banksiae (also known as ‘Banksiae Alba’, R. banksiae alba, R.banksiae alba-plena, White Banksia, or White Lady Banks’ Rose) offers exceptionally fragrant, double white flowers.

· R. banksiae lutea (R. banksiae lutea-plena, Yellow Lady Banks’ Rose) is the most well-known form of Rosa banksiae in cultivation with small, fully double, bright yellow flowers that come in clusters. They are only slightly fragrant.

· R. Banksiae lutescens has single light yellow blooms.

All four have small, oval buds that open to clustered, 1-inch wide, rosette-form flowers, usually blooming in early or midspring to late spring. Slender, thornless canes carry semi-evergreen to evergreen, shiny, dark green leaves with narrow leaflets. They are rarely bothered by diseases.

All four forms of this specie rose have a vigorous, rambling habit and can grow up to 30 ft, so they’re usually used as 20 to 30-foot climbers. They need a sturdy support, such as a well-built pergola or arbor; they also like to scramble into trees. It is a great rose for zone 8 to 10.

I saw Rosa banksiae in Charleston, SC on my first visit there in 1989. We went on a House and Garden Tour and at one of the gardens we visited, ‘Yellow Lady Banks’ was growing almost to the roof of the house against the wall. We wandered along some tiny street and I saw ‘Yellow Lady Banks’ rose by the gate and I took the above photo. Fast forward to 2011 – when I joined the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society, I discovered the owner of that rose is one of our members.

Tip of the Day – Learn to be cheerful even if you don’t feel like it.

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

Rosalinda

A Rose (Peggy Martin) and a Tip for a Happy, Healthy and Successful Living

On June 25, 2018 By SCLMRoseIn #inspiration, #MondayMotivation, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Rose Gardening, RosesLeave a comment

Peggy Martin

Photo Credit – Chamblee’s Rose Nurseries

The Peggy Martin Rose symbolizes the tenacious survival skills of the rose. One of only two plants in the garden of its owner, Peggy Martin, to remain alive after immersion in 20 feet of water due to Hurricane Katrina. It is a ‘found’ rambler, virtually thornless, with a small prickle at the beginning of leaf growth, a profusion of dark pink blooms remontant after maturity from spring to hard frost. The entire story of its selection as a symbol of garden rebirth can be found in an article by Dr. William Welch at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/PeggyMartinrose.html.

The Peggy Martin Rose is very hardy, can survive a below zero degree temperature and is disease-resistant, fast growing, and after established will bloom again in the Fall along with intermittent flower flushes through the year. Every year in spring, The Peggy Martin Rose will show a spectacular display of flower explosion bigger and more spectacular than the year before. In the south, it stops blooming in the hottest months of Summer but up north it will bloom continuously. The Peggy Martin Rose is a very vigorous plant so give it room to grow to show its full potential. It is great planted on a garden entrance arbor or structure. It is not a once bloomer!!!

TIP OF THE DAY: Live your life so that your epitaph could read “No regrets”.

Until next time. Stop and Smell the Roses

Rosalinda

A Rose (Tournament of Roses) and a Tip for a Happy, Healthy and Successful Living

On March 20, 2018June 1, 2018 By SCLMRoseIn #amblogging, #inspiration, #MondayMotivation, #motivational, #PositiveThinking, Rose Gardening, Roses1 Comment

Tournament of Roses

Class: Grandiflora

Parentage: ‘Impatient’ x seedling

Hybridizer – William Warriner

Date of Introduction: 1988

This pink grandiflora of 25 to 30 petals is aptly named in honor of the Tournament of Roses, the famous parade of all times held annually on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California. Tournament of Roses is an AARS selection in 1989. It is sometimes classified as a hybrid tea because of the shape of its flowers although it is really a grandiflora.

Bloom size is 3.5 inches on long stem with light fragrance. The blooms have all shades of pink within them – deep pink in the center, pale pink at the edges, darker pink on the outside. Tournament of Roses blooms profusely in clusters of 5 to 7 blooms like a floribunda on a medium upright bush with glossy dark green leaves and large prickles. It is highly disease-resistant and easy to grow. It produces blooms well into the winter. Tournament of Roses is both an excellent rose for exhibition and garden rose with plenty of blooms to enjoy outside in the garden and to take indoors to enjoy.

Tip #39 – Don’t accept “good enough” as good enough.

Until Next time. Stop and Smell the Roses.

Rosalinda