Teasing Georgia

Pretty Jessica

Scarborough Fair (new to me but loving her unique blooms)

Abraham Darby

Versigny

Lovely roses in a beautiful garden Dave,... you should post these more often... I especially like the way you've done that 'Versigny' rose, in particular...

I've also got 'Scarborough Fair'... liking it very much now, after a slow start..

Ditto to Marlorenas thoughts. Love to see the rich in bloom bushes, as well and the lovely close-ups

Great roses! Some day I will hopefully grow Evelyn and Versigny...

Wow beautiful! Yikes my VERSIGNY is still a little thing in a pot. I might have to re-think where to put it!!

Dave , your garden is magnificent!! I have a few questions of you have time .

How old is eden ?

Is spirit of freedom one rose or 2 ? Do you get good rebloom and have you been cutting it back instead of letting it climb ?

You have beautiful roses !

Lovely roses Dave! I'm glad spring has brought you some beautiful blooms.

Ann

Thanks, everyone! I expected Versigny to be shorter and debated on whether to prune off all the growth or grow it as a short climber. I chose the latter and it's done well.

Lilyfinch, My Eden is 3 years old. I purchased them as a grafted 5 gallon plants at a local nursery. They had one 12 foot cane and a few 8 foot canes it's first year. My White Eden was the same. I've heard they can be slow to get going but that wasn't the case here.

That is actually 3 SOF grown in a group. It is upright with quite stiff canes, not to mention incredibly prickly. I can't imagine growing it as a climber. Cane hardiness is comparable to Teasing Georgia for me - I have to prune it down to 2 - 2.5 feet each spring.

That answered my question about 'Spirit of F.', and prickly to boot.

Wonderful close-up of 'Eden'. Didn't know 'Versigny' would grow like that. Your shot of 'Pretty Jessica' is the first one to make me want her. Great roses.

edited in: your plants get cut down by winter and ours by repetitive droughts. Our record rains have changed well-behaved annual reseeders into tall monsters and doubled the bloom on spring shrubs.

Looking good! I like how you have included overall shrub shots. I love seeing beautiful blooms, but It's nice to see how they grow as a whole.

A few more recent ones to share:

Munstead Wood, Princess Alexandra of Kent (both hit pretty hard by deer), Claire Austin, and The Fairy (potted). Teasing Georgia to the left.

Up the path a bit

Rouge Royale

Crown Princess Margareta

Happy Child

You have a beautiful garden, Dave!

More lovely roses and I love that clearing in the wood where they seem to be enjoying life..

Oh boy oh boy !! I love that path so much ! You have a gorgeous garden I do hope you'll keep sharing more with us . So so beautiful!

Had to come back and ask about the pilgrim . How is it for you? Do you get good repeat ? How large is it ? I smelled it at a nursery and it was the perfect rose scent to me . But if I squeeze any more climbers here I need good rebloom !

Do you highly recommend it ? Have any full shrub photos ? Sorry for bombarding you :)

Dave, what in credible roses and that winding path, perfection

The Pilgrim was new last spring and so a bit limited on what I can share. It was very underwhelming it's first year - more so, I think, than any other bareroot rose I've grown. It did give me 3 flushes (sparse) and by the end of the season it was about 9 feet tall with thin, flexible canes. I think it would make a good climber or pillar rose for that reason. It is narrower than TG. However, I am growing 3 together, growing them as one shrub. Being its second year it will get summer pruned as my others, as needed. I like love the color - pure yellow center, although it does fade. Good fragrance, too. Disease resistance is above average so far - not TG but still good.

Wow, what a beautiful and inspirational rose garden! It feels so peaceful and harmonious. Love to take a long walk through your garden. I have a few questions too. How far do you space the roses? Do you have any support for the tall Austin roses? It looks like the trees cast a good amount of shade over your roses. Yet their blooms don't seem to be affected by them?

Thank you, Karen. I live in a forest and on a slope - a odd area to have a rose garden. However, the clearing in the center of my yard gets sun most of the day and part of my garden is part sun only - especially early and late in the season - but this benefits some varieties as it protects them from the hot afternoon sun.

I space the varieties about 5-6 feet apart but I have learned some varieties need more - Crown Princess Margareta needed much more room and so she was moved to a larger space in a new part of the garden this spring.

No supports are used. Planting in groups seems to help but the "generously deadheading" and summer pruning helps keep the larger ones in check.

Thanks Dave for your responses! Your spacing of the roses is done so well and thoughtfully that it showcases the Austin roses very nicely.

Exquisite! So much beauty. I love the arbor with Eden on it. The charming little path with DA's is so pretty. Well done!