Ingrid, your roses look so happy now! As always your scenery is spectacular. I have learned so much from your postings and other hot area gardeners' posts. I am new to a hot area and I am ordering Teas and Chinas after seeing yours. I probably can't grow Limonium Perezii but I am looking to try (when I find some). I'm trying drip newly too and it is so much easier than hauling a hose or watering cans around. I have had some clogged emitters and stuck valves occasionally with the new watering system so my husband and I are working the kinks out. You don't have that problem with no emitters and I can see how your system could really help without that hassle. Sheila

Beautiful! I wish mine looked half that nice!

Ingrid, the water is waking them up, and that's wonderful. But I'm also looking at the background in your pics, and I see how the surrounding landscape is. I've said it before but I'll say it again -- don't be dismayed at how what you have compares to what you envision. Compare it to your surroundings. You've created an oasis of beauty.

So....now that you have the drip irrigation going, may I recommend collecting coffee grounds to bulk up the organic matter around your roses? Considering your rocky soil, the grounds should have no problem filtering down and bringing nutrients to the roots. It's free for the taking.

:-)

~Christopher

Thank you everyone. Brittie, that's too funny! I'm sure you've made great strides since then. Sheila, are you close to the Rogue Valley Nursery? That would be really exciting for you, although a bit dangerous too. I wish you great luck with teas and Chinas; you can't really go wrong with them. Nik, it's true, I live in what is close to a desert environment and really should count my blessings instead of moaning about what I don't have. The coffee grounds are a great idea and I keep meaning to do it; only laziness is stopping me. Considering what it seems to have done for your garden, I can't think of a better advertisement.

I'm so pleased for you, Ingrid. Your roses are not only blooming their heads off, but they're so leafy as well.

Trish

Yes, Ingrid, I am 15 miles from Rogue Valley Roses. This is dangerous. I refrained from going after a Fall 2014 visit led to 24 roses, then the next Spring visit another 24 or so. I'm hoping to get things settled in and growing past the baby phase. I'm amazed how fast everything has grown and all bloomed this first year here. I was afraid to go back after my March 4th, 2015 pickup for the Spring flush six weeks later at the RVR they invited me to, for fear of what would happen. Thank God my husband helps with hole digging or I'd be dead by now. I had some rose scorching and heat stress as things are getting established. Record temps for the third or fourth summer here, although I've only been here one year. They were very nice there and I'm going to go see their spring flush 2016 for sure. Their roses are doing well at my home and theirs (judging by the web photos). I'm also taking our family coffee grounds out to the roses daily as Christopher suggests. Sheila

I pick up daily from Starbucks. A typical haul will fill my wheelbarrow. Sometimes it's only 2/3 as much on Sundays.

:-)

~Christopher

They are so lush & happy looking Ingrid--congratulations!

And Christopher, that's a wonderful--and apt!--comment. It IS a lovely oasis of beauty, created with a lot of love, no doubt. How wonderful it must seem to birds & other animals to stop by.

Ingrid--if you have no emitters, then are you using weeping hoses? I need to set up drip, even have the hoses, but am intimidated by figuring out pressure, fittings, etc. Your photos are inspiring.

Oh, Ingrid - what a transformation! So happy for you.

:-)

..it appears to have worked wonders so far... keep up the good work... I'm sure you must be delighted with the results..

Water! It is one of the absolutely vital ingredients all living things need! LOL Looking good Ingrid. I'm thrilled for you!

Jack

Ingrid,

May I ask for the names of the roses in the pictures? If they can thrive in your environment surely they (ahem..) can survive in mine. Thanks

Aw, you are all so wonderful! Blue girl, I'm not using weeper hoses. They are drip hoses, but the little hoses coming off the main big ones are open at the end, with no emitters. It seems to work fine without the emitters and it's actually easier to push the ends of the hoses under the mulch and into the soil. Since the garden for the most part is completely flat there is no problem with figuring out pressures or anything.

We try to supply food and much-needed water for the bees, birds and animals in this harsh environment. They form a large part of the enjoyment of the garden for us.

Jack, you're so right, water is life. I'm not sure that fertilizer is even needed as long as there is organic mulch under the roses. The dead roses, leaves from the roses trees, soft prunings and kitchen waste all go under the roses. I do think coffee grounds would also be a good addition and have resolved to make that effort. I'm certain that much more could be done to improve the soil and increase bloom, but that's more than I can handle physically, and I'd rather enjoy the garden than be a slave to it.

Ingrid, as you have no emitters, I guess you use a smaller diameter polypipe than your mainline, we call that spaghetti irrigation here in Australia, varying diameters of say 1/8in to 1/4in.

Looks beautiful Ingrid. We've had such a dry and hot summer and some days it seems like all I did was water alllllll day. Luckily we didn't have a water restriction but high water bills. Sooooo thankful for the few rain showers we have had. Judy

Yes, David, you're exactly right, we do have "spaghetti" lines, very much smaller than the main line; it's actually the 1/8 inch one. I thought everyone who had a drip system used those. Perhaps that's where some of the misunderstanding comes from, with comments that it's a lot like standing there and using a hose since I said we weren't using emitters,which of course is not at all the case. I'm glad you brought this up since I assumed that all drip systems had the skinny little hoses. I must say that my system is idiot-proof and the results have been great. The latest area to have been connected, which was only three days ago, already shows new growth on the roses. One rose there, the climber Annie Laurie McDonnell, has steadfastly refused to grow at all, and it now has three or four little shoots! I don't know if this system only works on a flat surface, but to me it seems the easiest one to use, no emitters to clog up, and these thin lines can just be covered with leaves or mulch instead of having to bury them, although I suppose at some point we might bury the big main lines.

Prettypetals, I know exactly what you mean about all that watering, although I had to do it in the evenings since I can't tolerate the sun or heat, which meant my husband had to pitch in too. In the summer it's a daily chore, although now we're actually restricted to two days a week, except that fortunately the drip system can be used any time. I can't tell you what a relief it is to not have to say to myself "Oh gosh, time to water again".

You saving water? Roses look great.

Pressure compensating emitters can be used on slopes. You might also be getting a boost on your plants from the recent rain from TS Linda.

Did you get any rain today or yesterday?

If you used emitters of the 1 gallon/hour type then all you would have to do is insert a timer, pressure reducer, and a back flow unit. After modifying your present system with the emitters, etc you could forget about the watering as it would take care of it self. Just make sure you keep the emitters above the mulch etc and it will last for years. Adjust the timer for more or less water.

toolbelt, to tell the truth I like turning on and off the different areas (we have six different areas divided by pavement/walkways), and I like having the spaghetti hoses under the mulch which is where you really need the water. I'm low-tech and we almost never travel so the basic system we have suits me perfectly. Thanks anyway for your advice.

hoovb, we got NO rain from this last system, which stalled about a mile from us and utterly refused to move any further. We did get rain from TS Linda. We're actually not under any specific water restrictions in terms of how much we can use, but we can only water Monday and Friday. That, however, doesn't apply to the drip system. We should have a water bill any day now which will tell me whether we're using too much water with the drip system, and will adjust accordingly. I generally go by how hot it's been, because the radiation is fierce here, and the roses really suffer.

It looks great. Truly an oasis. I bet the roses and the desert smell amzing together, especially at night.

Yes, the heat has been bad. 90F or close to it predicted through next weekend now. :(

It's 93 today here and not much change in the forecast for at least the next ten days. Even the lizards' tongues are hanging out.

I suspect your "no-emitter" system is a REALLY good thing. Without the little emitter-thingies, there is much less worry about the system clogging up due to minerals.

A guy at Home Depot told us years ago . . . "Low-Flow toilets in Camarillo are a plumber's worst nightmare." That is doubly true of drip systems with emitters.

Lol @ your "messy pavement". Yes, my garden is very green and very full of weeds, but your pavement puts mine to shame :)

roses look smashing!

So glad you approve, Jeri, and since we have a lot of minerals in our water that was our rationale also. Best of all, the roses like it and it's their opinion that counts!

Thank you muscovy. Unfortunately the pavement, while useful and convenient, soaks up the heat like nobody's business and radiates it back onto man (or woman) and roses alike.

Very true Ingrid. I try to use that to my advantage in my garden here, because it doesn't get very hot. I'm sure it's a whole different ballgame at your place :(

sun_sky-sand, I'm terribly sorry that I overlooked your question. I've just now gone back to this thread in order to find a certain bit of information, and for the first time noticed that I had accidentally overlooked your query about the names of the roses.

The one against the house wall is Aunt Margy's Rose, and the ones on the other side, when looking toward the white butterfly bush are Miss Atwood (apricot), Carefree Beauty (which you can't see because it's a small, young rose, Le Vesuve, Rosette Delizy and then another Le Vesuve. The roses that are in the same row but not in the picture are Belinda's Dream (after Miss Atwood), Mrs. B.R. Cant, Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux, Mlle. de Sombreuil and then another Mrs. B.R. Cant.