Flowers are the music of the earth

Around the garden, hundreds of buds appear on the lush, dense foliage of the roses. Each day more blooms pop out, but after the recent rains and cool weather the process has slowed down. The weather is warmer now, and the first Spring flush is almost here. In some ways, it feels like waiting for an orchestra to begin. It is pretty exciting this year because we are always home and can see the development, and also, it is such a bumper year.

The season has all the beginnings of the best I have seen since the garden began. It’s not only roses, there are blooms everywhere from Strelitzia, Petunias, Gerberas, Baby’s Breath, Pelargoniums, to Sage, Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary, May Bush, and the Iris are all in bloom.

Blushing Pierre de Ronsard rose is part of the Renaissance-Romantica collection bred by Meilland France in 1987. The idea was to bring the timeless old-world charm to modern roses. It has been done beautifully with the Pierre de Ronsard rose, one of my first roses to bloom this year. The blooms are seductive, large and heavy. They open from a soft green bud to creamy white with a soft pink centre. At full bloom, pink dominates and sits along with glossy deep green foliage. The rose has a light tea rose fragrance and does last well as a cut flower. It will continue to reflower all season if dead-headed regularly.

All my Pierre de Ronsard roses are in large pots but it is actually a climber so can be planted by an arch or pergola and will grow to 300 cm.

Who was Pierre de Ronsard? He was a 16th-century poet born in 1524 to 1585 and known as The Prince of Poets, which adds a romantic sense to this magnificent popular rose. The World Federation of Rose Societies awarded this rose -World’s Most Popular Rose in 2006.

Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’
Robin Williams

Joseph’s Coat continues to dazzle with more blooms coming out each day. This rose likes extra nutrients and responds well to regular feeding that keeps the blooms deep red-orange colour. It is delightful. Yesterday, I added fresh potting mix to the three large pots these roses are growing in because when planted I was a bit short and topped up with the super mulch, whofulngdung then fed with sudden impact. I expect bright blooms for months to come in return.

The rich gold rose above is called Gold Medal and it is one of the first roses I planted in the garden. It was purchased from Treloar’s as part of a cut flower collection and always has beautiful large flowers. Gold Medal was bred by Jack E. Christensen in the US, 1982 and is a Grandiflora Hybrid tea. Because this rose is heat tolerant it is planted in the most exposed far corner of the main garden bed and has thrived.
Gold Medal is one of the first roses to come into flower each year and is very dependable with blooms all season, in a deep golden yellow with pink edges. Gold Medal will become a tall and bushy rose that is upright and almost thorn free with dense semi-glossy, dark green, foliage.

“Spring: the music of open windows.”
Terri Guillemets

Out the front on the archway, I’ve planted Jardins de l’Essonne. The description states this rose will grow to 100 cm tall and has a spreading habit. I found last year it was twice that size and very vigorous, so I replanted them to cover the archway even though they are not climbers. It has voluptuous blooms of rich cream and pearly white that stand out beautifully against the glossy green foliage. The flowers give the appearance of a stunning old world flower and already have reached the top. I’ve tried several roses on this archway but because they have to be in pots in this spot for one reason or another have not worked. So finally here it is a non-climber that actually covers the arch.

This one is spectacular called ‘Forget me Knot’. It was still growing in a pot, but it became so tall last year that I planted it into the garden from this season onwards. The first blooms are lovely, considering it has been transplanted but appears to be happy at the back of the garden bed, and it is already 150 cm tall.
Meilland International France in 2005 were the breeders of this rose introduced to Australia as ‘Forget-Me-Not’ by Corporate Roses in 2011. Also known as ‘Dee-lish’. It produces an abundance of beautiful flowers all season long. And has all the attributes one wants in an easy to grow rose; intense citrus rose fragrance that will spread across the garden; the blooms sit well on the shrub and are perfect for picking for inside. ‘Forget me Knot’ rose starts with that lovely bright maroon new growth turning into leathery grey-green foliage on a robust, hybrid tea bush.

Versigny is another delightful rose just out this week. I love the ruffled bloom form and the rich apricot colour. It is part of the Generosa ® Collection from Guillot/Roseraies, France and was bred by Dominique Massad in France 1992. The unique highlights are the intense salmon-pink coloured mass of swirling petals that will develop into a more cupped form.