In the words of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns, O my luve is like a red, red roseThat’s newly sprung in JuneO my luve is like the melodieThat’s sweetly played in tune. Red roses have long been associated with love. It is hard to look at a deep red rose and not have it […]
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The word soldier can evoke images of militant, aggressive, tough, warrior like beings – hardly something you’d want to have in your peaceful garden, right? If you’re referring to beetles however, you absolutely DO want them – lots of them, helping you combat unwanted garden visitors (the insect type of visitor that is). While the
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Do you ever notice when walking through a rose garden or nursery that there are more pink, red and white roses than any other colors? The majority of old roses fall into these color classes and have been used most often by hybridizers. There are very few naturally occurring yellow roses, and it is believed
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If it seems like there are more pink colored roses than any other single color, you are not imagining it. Rayford Reddell says in his book The Rose Bible, “I probably imagined that … pink wasn’t a masculine color – foolish reasoning. As for the pink aversion, well, it helps to know that more great
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It’s March and hopefully this winter will be coming to a soggy close soon. Harbingers of spring – daffodils blooming, cherry and plum trees putting on a spectacular show, and deciduous plants begin bursting with new life – including loads of blemish-free green and mahogany-red foliage on roses. Along with this explosion of growth come
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Does the color apricot bring to mind warm summer days, soft colors, and fuzzy textures? Abundant fresh fruit from the tree? Descriptive terms like light orange, soft pastel peach or pale sunset doesn’t really capture the warmth of the color. The American Rose Society (ARS) color classification uses apricot & apricot blend to cover a
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When you see a rose, what’s likely the first thing you do? Take a sniff? That’s a pretty common response to roses. Yet, when you put your nose up close, you may find a trace of a fragrance, but often not a very strong one. There are a few reasons for that – first, it
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Thinking about adding some new roses to your garden? Bare root season is the BEST time to do so – more varieties are available, and prices are generally lower. Check out Tips for Choosing the Best Garden Roses before you start shopping; it’s a good idea to do a little homework and identify varieties that
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It would be hard to find a more colorful rose than ‘Sheila’s Perfume’! Classed as a floribunda, this rose is more similar to a hybrid tea in bloom form and shrub structure. The classic shape of the buds on long stems with often single blooms make ‘Sheila’s Perfume’ perfect for cutting. In the vase you’ll
Dr. Griffith Buck was a professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University and was an excellent hybridizer of modern roses. His main goal in hybridizing was to breed roses that were able to survive the harsh winter temperatures of -26F without protection. Of course, along with that were disease resistance, repeat bloom, good flower form
