Lovely, lovely, LOVELY Roselee. Thanks.

Very pretty, the roses are beautiful.

Those gnomes are cute and so innocent looking in the daytime.

Beautiful Roselee :). Love the roses and for someone that "Doesn't like roses", I am sure managing to collect a few of them! I may have to look for that Gruss Achoooo one :)

Kristi

Thanks for your comments folks!

Kristi, the name of that rose does sound like a sneeze ... hahaha!

I posted the picture of the insect above poised on the rose petal and got this reply:

Posted by hortster (My Page) on Tue, Jun 8, 10 at 19:31

This is a good one, most likely assassin bug. Comes up frequently. Chomps on those we would rather not have in the garden.

Hi Roselle, Beautiful. Inspired by your roses I subscribed to the Houston Rose Society to learn more about growing roses locally. There were times when I bought plants without paying much attention to what kind of rose it is but now i am learning more through this forum. Thanks much for sharing.

Sigh.....I have emailed Weston Gardens to see if they have the Achoooo in stock and also an EarthKind rose named Penelope that was absolutely breathtaking in the rose trial garden at the Demonstration garden this year.

The trial roses are not watered, deadheaded, fertilized or in any way altered or "helped" by humans. They are planted and left on their own other than maintaining the mulch in the beds. It has been so interesting to see which of the earthkind roses perform the best. Detailed records are made each month on the health and appearance of the roses. It's a great project but dang it......"I don't like roses". LOL, I'll be the only gardener I know with a garden full of plants that "I don't like"!

Kristi

Very pretty, Roselee. I really like the first rose and phlox. It won't be long before you will have Brazilian Buttons to share with all your garden friends. Ha!Ha! Don't worry, the ones you don't want are very easy to pull up.
Jim

I was thinking the same thing about the Brazilian Button, Jim.............and they ARE easy to pull up except when they are in the cracks of the concrete. Just ask Lin, who tried and tried to get one here at my house, and we finally just gave up. It grew, bloomed beautifully, but decided one year was enough.
Your garden is beautiful and looks so healthy ........as compared to the many bugs and worms infesting my area.

So Brazilian Button Bush is one of those kind, huh Jim? Well, some of us with oak/rock/deer need plants that that ... LOL!

Ibheri, I really enjoyed attending the meetings at the local Rose Society here in San Antonio. I met some very good friends there. Most rose clubs, even though formed mainly for hybrid tea rose exhibition, have members who are primarily interested in shrub and antique roses. You might want to seek them out.

Kristi, there is just something about having roses in a flower garden that adds a certain elegance and warmth, even if you don't like them, at first, that is. They 'grow' on you!

Carrie, I'm surprised myself that I don't have more bugs. It seems that after a few years of mostly organic gardening the good bugs are keeping the baddies in check. I don't even have thrips right now, and plus they say that organic fertilizer builds healthier plants that are able to develop strong defenses again bug attacks. Not that I don't have a few. Squash bugs have already killed the squash plants. I should have used row covers. Next time I will.

Oh, don't misunderstand, Roselee. I like my Brazilian Buttons. Just giving you a heads up that it is prolific.
Jim

Okay thanks Jim. I was kind of wondering where I should place it and even if I should plant it out at all. Does it get bushy? Do you happen to have any pictures of it handy?

I definitely resemble Roselee's remark! Yep, I'm the one who actually wants invasives, spreaders, and "nuisance" plants.

Roselee, checking my files, I only found pictures of single blooms, nothing that shows the plants form. Yes it does grow into a small bush. I only have it in one bed. It comes up kind of late. I usually leave 2 or 3 plants and they will pretty well fill in the mid height level in that bed.
Jim

Thanks Jim!

For anyone looking for Gruss an Aachen rose there is a sport, Pink Gruss an Aachen, aka Irene Watts, that is very good! It's just a little darker pink and looks like the original Gruss when it first opens for a longer period of time.