The magic of Summer begins with sun-kissed days that close with dazzling sunsets and balmy nights. Summer moves on and accelerates quickly into a flurry of activity; end-of-year parties, Christmas festivities and shopping, holiday plans, and catching up with everyone we value most. Simultaneously, the temperature soars, and the anticipation of celebrating with family and friends is an enticing part of living in Australia.
Paradise and shade are close relatives on a summer day.
While all the activity of December heightens the anticipation of end of year celebrations, the garden too flourishes, with burgeoning growth. The English and French lavender are abundant under the white roses, soft white salvias bring pollinators, catmints, thyme carpets and other perennials are filling any gaps. There are pots overflowing with succulents, white pelargoniums, and thick brilliant green maidenhair ferns. The herb garden has come to fruition too. I can’t quite believe these are the same plants as the tiny seedlings I planted only a few weeks ago. All are hugely welcome additions after the slow start in our cool climate garden.
A garden only takes a few hours each day but adds weeks of pleasure to one’s life, but the responsibility looms large. It can be challenging to juggle summer celebrations with looking after a new garden. I’ve been away for short period through December, so returning yesterday to find everything lush, flowering and not burnt and parched was a joyful relief.
“Nature soon takes over if the gardener is absent.”
Hobhouse’s Rule
Promises, promises, promises, every morning, I tell myself I’ll do that today but at times I leave garden tasks too late in summer. Only because I’m not keen on working in the garden in the heat. So, lately it is the bare necessities that get done. I don’t feel guilty though, summer gardens are the reward, the time to observe and enjoy the fragrance, growth, colours and just focus on watering and weeding.
Hydrangeas are out in perfect form in the gardens of our country town. Observing them come into perfect form has sparked some new ideas of where I could plant more. As time moves on, there will be opportunities to fine-tune the garden. I can already see ways to make improvements through small changes. Especially now that I’m more aware of the climate, and as I view other plants growing in people’s gardens. The possibilities are endless, and I have a much wider plant palette available than before with calmer conditions and much sought after shade.
As summer moves in it is a chance to watch, to wait and to listen
One of our stunning climbing roses, Mme Issac Pereire has succumbed to Red Spider Mites most likely due to inadequate watering. It has been growing well in a very large pot positioned in the corner of the courtyard but unfortunately it was not far enough out to catch the rain. After a cut back and treatment it appears to be showing signs of recovery, and I’m very grateful. It was one of the few larger rose plants I moved from the rural property so it would be a shame to lose it.
“In summer, the song sings itself.”
William Carlos Williams
Spider Mites
Spider mites thrive in dry, dusty conditions. They are tough and hard to get rid of. It is far easier to prevent infestation by keeping hydration up. Spraying water from the hose upwards onto the underside of the leaves may help removal or spray with organic oils like Eco-Oil or Eco-Neem.
You might have come across a rose that looks discoloured or the foliage looks parched, scorched or dry. On closer inspection you may find tiny spiders on the underside of the leaves sucking all the nutrients out. These are Red Spider Mites, and if the infestation is severe there will be spider like webbing on the rose plants as well.
Deadheading Roses
Once summer begins and the flush of Spring blooms has finished deadheading is a necessary job if you want to continue to enjoy an array of roses all season. By removing the spent roses on each rose plant when they die off, will encourage the rose to keep flowering. On the other hand if you want the red rose hips, do not deadhead the roses, but wait for the hips to form in Autumn.
There are two stages to deadheading roses.
The first is, on each cluster of roses, pinch off any finished blooms just below where the base of the flower joins the stem. Leave all the rest of the buds and roses until they too have finish flowering.
The second stage is like a summer prune. When all the roses have finished cut the entire top of each stem just above the first leaf with five leaflets. Then when completed cut back any lanky or over tall stems to balance the rest of the rose plant. This will keep the shrub in a nice shape.
Rosa Pascali Wiki Media
Todays roses are Pascali, Grand Nord both are cut flower additions to the white garden.
Rosa Pascali is a Hybrid Tea Rose bred by Louis Lens in Belgium, 1963 and introduced into the UK by Dickson Nurseries, into the USA by Armstrong Nursery, and in Australia by T. G. Stewart in 1964.
Pascali was introduced intoFrance by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1965 and called ‘Blanche Pasca’.
The Pascali Rose is a tall erect rose with clear white and ivory reverse blooms that are large, spanning as much as 12 cm across. The tough petals of Pascali are high-centred and the blooms open slowly on long single stems and have a mild scented fragrance.
The parentage is Queen Elizabeth x White Butterfly. The Queen Elizabeth 11 rose has a distinctive, high-centred bloom form that goes towards the Pascali rose’s classic shape, perfect as a specimen or cut flower rose.
Known as The World’s Favourite Rose in 1991 when this rose was inducted into the Rose Hall Of Fame. Rosa Pascali has won many awards, including the Portland Gold Medal in 1967, the All-America Rose Selections award in 1969. Rosa Pascali has the registration name LENip.
Rosa Grand Nord is also a classic shaped Hybrid Tea of purest white that ages to a soft buttery cream shade in the centre. Also a tall rose Grand Nord will grow to 130 cm and is said to flower prolifically over the entire plant. Grand Nord is a Delbard Courture Collection Rose bred by George. Delbard in France, in 1973. It has few thorns, mild fragrance, glossy foliage and grows upright with clustered flowers.
The seed for Grand Nord was also from Queen Elizabeth Rose and the pollen from Virgo and Peace. Rosa Grand Nord has the registration name is DELgrord. I look forward to the blooms of these two stand out roses in the coming months.
What I make of my garden depends upon how close I stand to it.
Alliums are gracing the garden this week in various stages of opening. I love them. They stand like tall beacons of light amongst the greens and are quite comical as they pop out of their onion skins.
Alliums are bulbous perennial plants also known as ornamental onions. They form part of the Alliaceae family. Alliums flower usually in late Spring and have unique round flower heads that stand above the foliage on tall thin stems. The flower heads consist of many tiny star shaped flowers ranging in colours from white purple, pink, red, yellow, and blue. and white. They prefer a cold winter to flower usually in clumps.
Well, it is nearly Christmas and I hope my garden survives a few more days of neglect as we take time out to usher in the festivities and the New Year.
“Then followed that beautiful season… Summer…. Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Happy Christmas to you all.
What is meaningful, beautiful and brings you happiness; I hope it will be yours this Christmas and throughout the coming year.
Header Image is Rosa Father of Peace
Content Di Baker 2024
Images Di Baker or as cited
May you have the gladness of Christmas,
Ada Henricks Larsen 1888-1975
Which is Hope;
The spirit of Christmas,
Which is Peace;
The heart of Christmas,
Which is Love.
