Nurture; nur·ture a verb (used with object), nur·tured, nur·tur·ing.
“To help develop, help grow, nourish, sustain, to promote growth”
Nurture is the best word to describe my growing of Claude Monet and Nahema roses in my garden because these two roses, more than any others, have been taken care of quite diligently, with daily encouragement, care, and attention for some months.
“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece”
How have I nurtured these roses?
- Daily inspections to check for any signs of pests such as two-spotted mites, black beetles in the buds, caterpillars, or aphids.
- Taking action straight for problems by spraying with eco neem or other products for pest control.
- Checking for fungus or mildew caused by intermittent rain and applying eco rose or another fungicide.
- Regularly and sufficiently watering early in the morning.
- Keeping a close eye on the weather for signs of heat stress in the plants
- Feeding with good fertiliser like Sudden Impact and in between with seaweed products like eco seaweed, maxi crop or seamungus
- Vigorously spraying the Nahema rose with the hose because in my area, it is highly susceptible to spider mite infestation, and the high-pressure water will remove them.
- Make sure the roses are not suffocating from ground covers and have air and light
- Providing at least 6 hours of sunlight a day and protecting if possible, very harsh heat in mid-summer.
- Deadheading regularly.
Yesterday morning I was delighted to see the buds on the Claude Monet rose opening to reveal the stunning, multi – coloured flowers. Rankin roses describe Claude Monet as
“Delbard’s Claude Monet™ rose has soft pastel tones of pinks, yellows and cream which are casually splashed across each petal, just like one of Monet’s famous impressionist paintings. The blooms are large and double in shape, making Spring and Summer gardens come
alive with colour and form. This is a terrific rose that will blend beautifully with formal and informal mixed plantings”.
“Color is my daylong obsession, joy, and torment.”
The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.
Claude Monet was born in 1840 and lived until the 5th of December 1926. He was a master and founder of French Impressionist painting and world-renowned for his garden at Giverny, France. He has often been quoted as a lover of gardens and gardening and passionate about colour.
When Monet was a student, he met Pierre Renoir, Charles Gleyre, Frederic Bazille and Alfred Sisley. Together they started a new approach to painting, emphasising the light “en plein air”. Light broken up with colour and rapid brushstrokes of paint that we know today as French Impressionism.
My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature.“
JACdesa is the registration code for the Claude Monet rose. It has large blooms with white, pink and yellow stripes. The colours are quite bright or intense in our climate, although the breeders describe it as soft pink, pale yellow, dark pink, and cream. However, it is described Claude Monet is a stunning rose. The fragrance is distinctive with hints of lemon, pear, vanilla and peach. It will grow to 140 cm and about 100 cm wide in a rounded bush style.
“When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact colour and shape.”
Claude Monet and other Delbard Painters series roses are truly inspirational. I think that Monet would have been chuffed to know, as an artist so obsessed with colour, that this glorious rose was named after him. Walking around beautiful gardens and seeing the unique swirls of colour, on not only the Claude Monet rose or other painters series styles, but any rose, will recharge creative energy and give a quick fix of inspiration as it did in the past to Monet.
“I am only good at two things, and those are: gardening and painting. ”
Nahema, on the other hand, is my most difficult rose to date. It is in constant need of nurturing. I think I have spent more time on this rose than any other in the garden by far. It is only a coincidence, but Nahema is also a Delbard rose. Nahema was awarded the most popular rose sold in 2017-18 and evidently the most photographed according to Silkies Rose Farm.
“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
Romantic Nahema, I wish it would behave and not be so susceptible to spider mite and black spot. It has unusual leaves that curl and appear as if they are dry, but it’s just part of the variety. The blooms are superb in the softest, cupped, pale pink form with a gorgeous fragrance.
“What keeps my heart awake is colourful silence”
Nahema was chosen for an archway that is the front garden entrance because it is almost thornless and seemed a pretty option for a busy pathway. Nahema is versatile being a climber with few thorns, so it can be espaliered to a wall or planted as a pillar rose on a verandah post.
“Everything I have earned has gone into these gardens”.
Nahema is three years old now, and I’ve had to struggle to maintain it with several dark days of finding spider mites sucking the life out of it. Initially planted in a pot, the rose has almost grown to the top of the arch and over. The wind and hot, dry weather last year caused spider mite infestation that was especially difficult to get rid of.
Strong water sprayed from the hose across the foliage, especially the underside, seems to help keep the mites at bay. Constant checking is my main nurturing task and applying eco rose and eco seaweed regularly to keep the rose healthy, but sometimes I’ve had to use a pest killer like Yates Rose Shield.
Gardening is a balancing act between work and enjoyment. We want our plants to be healthy and pest free, but sometimes they are not. Gardening does require effort, and you are rewarded enormously, but It is difficult to relax and enjoy a garden if surrounded by weeds and unfinished tasks. This is every gardener’s predicament.
Header Image courtesy of http://claude.monet.giverny.free.fr/Monet_roses.htm
All content and images by Di Baker 2021 with the exception of the image below David Klein Unsplash
All Quotes unless otherwise cited by Claude Monet
