Quietness Rose ~ The Elegance of Good Breeding

Quietness Basking in the Summer Air

Quietness calls to my mind what the last well bred lady in history would be; elegant, gracious, unfailingly polite, unerringly correct, all in the company of her more vulgar and ill mannered neighbors. No matter that she is crowded and elbowed about by garishly dressed and forward, grasping folks in her spot in my garden, like gaura and phlox, she maintains her place with a dignity that is forever charming. Her clear pink cheeks are fresh and bright in the driest of summer weather, yet never despondent or pouting in the torrents of the summer monsoons. When she is finished with a blossom, she discards it without fuss, daintily and cleanly, careful to make no extra work for others, even for the resident drudge and manure hauler of the garden, (me). She is sparing with her fragrance, which has been sometimes strong and clove-y, but at other times nonexistent, still,  I love her very much. Going on her fourth year now, she continues a delightful Quiet Queen of my garden, growing and thriving without demanding attention, but drawing every eye none the less to her graceful presence.

I am glad that Dr. Griffith Buck had a passion for breeding winter hardy roses. I believe the deceptively fragile pink coloring of Quietness is possible in my harsh climate because of it.

Quietness ~ Ever Well Behaved ~ Even When Shoved About

Of Course,  Quietness is a  Gracious Hostess

Quietness ~ Humbly Sharing the Spotlight With Common Folk

Quietness ~ Unbelievably Gorgeous
(You May Click To Enlarge the Above Photos)

Grocery Store Minis ~ "Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul"

A Sunny Yellow Mini ~ Over a Decade in My Garden

When I find a cheery little miniature rose at the grocery store, it beckons me ~ "Take me home! I'll reward you every day!"  I have very often succumbed to the Sirens cry and have found a happy outcome in every case. Even if for some reason the little fellow never makes it into the garden, the pleasure it affords us is well worth the small outlay. Having a fresh and colorful little rosebush to enjoy,  LONG after the tub of ice cream I gave up to buy it, would have been gone, is a good feeling. It is a friendly reminder that things are growing and blooming somewhere, even in my zone 5 winter, and that I have a lot to look forward to when spring comes and the ground relents. I am reminded of the charming Medieval Persian poem:

"If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,

And from thy slender store two loves alone to thee are left,

Sell one, and with the dole

Buy Hyacinths to feed thy soul."

"Feeding the soul" is a good policy, especially in times of extra stress, and I have some minis in my garden that are over a decade old that were purchased in leaner times, (rescued, I should say, as they were very tired by the time I brought them home),  for a dollar at the grocery store on sale after Mother's Day. Even at full price, a little five dollar pot of roses usually has 4 or 5 plants in it, that can be charming until they're finished blooming, then potted up separately and enjoyed, given as gifts, or planted later in the garden. There's always a place for them!

I think, too, that having these little fellows so readily available, really helps to feed a passion for gardening in susceptible ones, and some who go in to the store thinking only of their box of Cheerios come out with a potted mini and a dawning love of growing beautiful things. Nothing feeds a budding hobby like small successes, and as hobbyists are the ones mostly supporting the serious folks who grow for sale the named and rare and antique varieties of  roses that we more involved gardeners so love, I believe that it's a good thing for the industry overall. I will continue to enjoy bringing home these wonderful presents to myself and my family!

From the Local Grocery Store, Grown by Masson Radium Springs Farms, New Mexico

Pretty and Healthy

From Sprouts Last Year, Beaming at the Foot of Jude the Obscure

A Trader Joe's Purchase, a Parade Rose Now Thriving in the Rock Garden

Sweet Red Grocery Store Mini Among the Dianthus

Another Parade Rose Among the Petunias

One of the Dollar Minis From Over 10 Years Ago, Still SO Happy in the Garden
 (You May Click To Enlarge the Above Photos)

Chicago Peace ~ Reliably Cheerful

Chicago Peace ~ Always Charming and Delightful

Chicago Peace gave us so much bright pleasure this past summer. It is a bush from our earlier days here; we've probably had it about 10 years. It actually gets quite a bit of afternoon shade, as it is on the north side of the house, but that doesn't seem to slow it down or fade out its brilliant coloring. Though it has little fragrance to me, its stunning coloration, vigorous, disease free growth, and happy disposition,  more than compensate and it is very well worth growing in our garden. I bless the Chicago gardener who found this sport of Peace in his garden and gave us this wonderful rose.

Chicago Peace ~ Demurely,  Glowingly  Lovely 

Chicago Peace ~ Unbelievably, Neon-ly  Brilliant!

We  See our Garden Out of the Dining Room Through Chicago Peace

Chicago Peace ~ Bursting With Energy and Light

Chicago Peace ~ A Vigorous, Eager-to-Please Bush

Chicago Peace ~ Way Beyond Pink

Chicago Peace ~ Still Bright at Twilight
(You May Click To Enlarge the Above photos)

I Love Abraham Darby

David Austin's Abraham Darby ~ Brilliantly Reflecting the Western Sun

Abraham Darby ~ What a charming fellow! This is a beautiful, strongly perfumed, David Austin rose that I am enjoying growing  in my garden. I have an older plant that was purchased from Jackson and Perkins about a dozen years ago, and a 3 year old from a little Heirloom Roses band. The older plant had been ordered in great excitement and planted in as much, then neglected while I raised children and dogs and earned money and so forth; when I found my garden becoming important to me again I could not remember the name of the older bush. All I could remember was that I thought it had a man's name. As Abraham Darby, famous, perhaps to folks who study the Industrial Revolution, was not famous to me, I had forgotten it. With my renewed interest in growing roses, and my new purchases flourishing, I realised that my old friend was indeed Abe Darby. YAY!  I am very glad to have 2. I am really enjoying them!

Abraham Darby 

Abraham Darby ~ A Back Blossom, Happy in the Shade

Abraham Darby ~ A Strong, Delicious, Smother-Your-Nose-With-It Fragrance

Abraham Darby ~ Pretty in Bud

Abraham Darby ~ Nonchalant About the Storm Clouds 

Abraham Darby ~ Flying Over the Garden

Abraham Darby ~ Sweetly Attractive to Bees

Abraham Darby ~ Carefree and Frivolous

The Older Bush of Abraham Darby  ~ Consistently Peachier Than the Very Pink Newer Bush

Abraham Darby ~ The Newer, Pinkier Bush
 (You May Click To Enlarge the Above Photos)

                                          

The Therapy of Autumn

Autumn means the end of summer, of course, and of new things growing and blooming. Interminable winter stretches ahead for those of us in northern regions. Darkening days, cold, wet,  inconvenient weather, dangerous travel over icy roads; this is my mental winter view as the bright green and yellow days fold up forever behind us. I need the color and light and sunshine of fall to remind me that every season has its romance and beauty, and that the terrors of winter are going to have been larger in my imagination than in the reality of the congenial, cuddle-up cozy season that is to follow.

The Road to Winter



Red Sky at Morning
 (You May Click To Enlarge the Above Photos)



Daylight Savings Time is over now, and 6:30 A.M. is 5:30 A.M. I'm glad I was able to go out and enjoy this lovely autumn morning. It will be much colder for the rest of the week, so this is it!



Roses Ordered for Next Spring

Next spring I'll be adding some long longed-for roses to the garden. I have ordered some delicious minis/minifloras from Heirloom Roses: Overnight Scentsation, Flawless, and Moonlight Scentsation. All are purported to be fragrant. I am preparing to be amazed and delighted with fragrant minis. (We'll see.)

From Chamblees, I have coming 2 David Austin roses, Heritage and Ambridge Rose. Also, Peggy Martin, (the Hurricane Katrina rose) (3) for the fence between us and our south neighbors. AND and an Ebb Tide, AND a Seminole Wind, AND an Aunt Honey, a Buck rose, (the Buck Roses are great for our area) and a Belinda's Dream, an Earth Kind rose. (I want to see if Earth Kind includes the part of the planet that is in Chinle.)

For the back fence, I have 4 Aloha Climbers coming, also from Chamblees. I have ordered from both nurserys before and have been pleased.

With such to look ahead toward, I hope hope hope that the winter will fly past.

Above is Angel Face, a favorite, beautifully scented rose. A lovely bud from the now extinct summer of 2010. (Sigh)