English roses? Do roses really have nationalities? Certainly there are species roses that originate from a particular area or region of the world, like Rosa chinensis from China. But hybridized roses? Not really. So where does the term “English Rose” come from and what does it include? There is no formal designation by the American […]
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Lizards are definitely good for the garden. These easy to identify inhabitants, with their dry, scaly skin, four legs with clawed feet, and long tail, are generally six to nine inches long. You might find them basking in warm, sunny places or scampering around rocks, brush piles or other small, confined areas, fences and buildings.
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“A rose is a rose is a rose” is lovely poetry and evokes visions of wonderful blooms. Today, when most people think of a rose, they have a vision of a hybrid tea, roses they see in a florist shop or spilling out of a vase. Their classic high-centered beauty epitomizes the rose, and as
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You may have heard the term old garden rose, but what exactly does that mean? The category of Old Roses (OGR) can be confusing. The working definition of OGRs are classes of roses that were known before 1867. The category of Old Garden Roses was created in 1867 when the first hybrid tea rose ‘La
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The ethereal green lacewing is one of the more recognizable garden “good guys.” With its slender pale green body, delicate gossamer wings, and immense golden eyes, it gives the appearance of a fairy prancing on garden leaves rather than the aggressive predator that it is. Lacewings, also called aphid lions, are natural enemies of several
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Rose of the World; th’ embroidered Tuscany;The scented Cabbage, and the Damacene;Sweet Briar, lovelier name the eglantine;But above all the MuskWith classic names, Thisbe, Penelope,Whose nectarous load grows heavier with the duskAnd like a grape too sweetly muscadine.V Sackville-West, The Garden, 1946 I couldn’t agree more with the noted gardener Vita Sackville-West. Let me introduce
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If you’re adding new roses to the garden this season, buying bareroot plants offers you the widest selection at the best prices. You may get these at a big box store where plants are usually wrapped in plastic, or at your local nursery where they may be “dug in” – loosely buried in some sort
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Just what are species roses? They are wild roses that have developed on their own without help from us humans, and within the genus Rosa. There are an estimated 150 – 200 types of wild roses in the world, some supposedly having been around for more than 30 million years. All are native to the
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The holidays are behind us and now is a good time to start your winter pruning. This is the brief period of time when roses in Marin go into semi-dormancy, and the best time to prune repeat blooming roses and a lot of other trees and shrubs. If you’re new to pruning, or simply want to
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Roses have been around a very long time – there are fossils of roses dated 35-40 million years ago that are thought to originate in Asia. The oldest identified rose is Rosa gallica, commonly called the French Rose, that can be dated back as early as the 12th century B.C. From early times, many varieties and
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