Wild Edric, looking better in the cooler weather than a few weeks ago

International Herald Tribune

Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux looking very different from earlier in the year

The Ficus benjamina tree has grown very large lately

Aunt Margy's Rose

Baronne Henriette de Snoy

Scenic shot of the garden hose

Looking wonderful, Ingrid! You’re absolutely right I’m loving this cooler weather! It’s so nice to be able to spend time outdoors before dusk. I wish it would last until the rains come, as it makes everything so much easier.

I wouldn’t have recognized RJG from your photo. It looks completely different. I saw the picture before reading your comment underneath, and thought, “What rose is that? I don’t recognize it as one of Ingrid’s.” Wild Edric is looking happy indeed. I ought to climb the slope and deadhead mine with these cooler temps. It’s been so warm that I left some roses spent blooms to encourage them to rest, instead of trying to bloom. I always enjoy seeing Baronne Henriette de Snoy. I’m always drawn to it.

I’m glad to hear that you’re getting a reprieve from the rabbits. There must have been a population boom this past Spring due to the wonderful rain we had the Spring before. All those bunnies had plenty to eat, and the population rose. Nature has perhaps brought their numbers down to a more “reasonable” level. I’m glad things are looking up in your garden. You certainly deserve it. Lisa

Wild Edric is beautiful with the saturated colors, Ingrid. I like the wooden deck, is there an arroyo below it? The greenery and roses look wonderful.

Ingrid, good to hear your iris weren't eaten to death. And I'm glad the bunny population has lessened al bit. I wouldn't have recognised RJG either - extraordinary. As you know, I love your BHdS.

I was surprised, and a little worried, to hear you have a Ficus Benjamina. They grow absolutely monstrous here. They used to be a common pot plant, and some people made the mistake of planting them in their gardens. I've heard they can reach 100' high and as wide.

Mary, in my defense I must say the garden hose picture was taken by my husband. Men tend to be oblivious to these things, I mean what could be wrong with a little hose there? If you put your forefinger over the hose the rest isn't bad. lol

Trish, you're scaring me just a bit. The tree was already there when we moved in. Last year it looked really bad and was losing its leaves like crazy, so I put a garden hose there with just a dribble of water coming out. The tree cried hallelujah and exploded into growth. Now I'm having visions of it breaking up the concrete walkway and eventually the house foundation.

Tiff, Wild Edric is one of my favorite roses too although it was not a thing of beauty when it was hot. It would be asking too much of a rugosa for its blooms to love oven-like heat, but the rest of the time it looks and smells good, and as far as I know it's no longer available in the U.S.

Lisa, thank you, I'm feeling more hopeful now, and in part I know it's because it's cooler. The garden is actually still looking far from what it should, but I'm so looking forward to planting more things soon. Today I saw a squirrel eating a lupine, and the two anchusas have been partly eaten, but fortunately the cistus, salvia and lavender haven't been touched. I just need to outsmart these little beasties.

I agree with Mary! I especially like the roses cascading over your wall. How large does IHT grow for you? I really need a DARK red veering to purple that stays small. I had Barcelona, but it died while still in a pot and I have a hard time getting another. Noone seems to grow it.

The Tea ladies were not complementary about the BHdSnoy bush. I don't know what they mean yet, do you Ingrid? Your roses look beautiful. I know I'd love Wild Edric were he ever for sale. I hope my Aunt Margy's Rose can overcome her vicious rabbit attack and look like yours. Maybe the ficus shade could be a good thing. Is that possible?

Ingrid, I'm sorry to scare you. I hesitated about saying anything, but then thought I had to let you know. I've seen them grow pretty fast.

Sheila, I'm not sure what you mean exactly, but I did used to have the Baronne; got rid of it because the beetles just destroyed all the flowers (I think the soil it was in was very bad,making it very vulnerable). As is clear from Ingrid's photos, the flowers are very beautiful, and I loved the dark foliage. But the shrub did have a rather angular, not-very-graceful habit. Could this be what the "Tea ladies" meant? Personally I think such a defect could be superated; an Italian nursery states that the Baronne can go up to 3-4 METERS in height! one could grow it with support as a climber, and thus sort of "customize "the habit. If I ever try it again ,that's what I'd do.

Krista, there is no arroyo beneath the deck because we live on a hillside, and the land keeps sloping down to the road. There is a (almost always) dry steam bed quite far on the other side of the road.

Baronne Henriette de Snoy, while having lovely flowers, does have a quite ungainly habit. It's a sparse, open bush with thick stems and branches, and would look worse if it didn't have the thickly branched and leafed Mme. Antoine Mari practically leaning into it. I keep it there in spite of the fact that the flowers at any time of the year here have few petals and quickly look very unsightly in even the slightest heat. You might say one bush supplies the blooms and the other the leaves! It's unfortunate because MAM has loads of buds and blooms at all times and would be a sight to behold if the flowers were even remotely acceptable.

The previous owner planted a palm tree which make great nests for roof rats right against the house,so that had to be removed, another unsuitable tree in the front yard we had to take out because it was buckling the concrete, and now we have this pesky ficus. Trish and Comtesse, I so appreciate your warning me about the ficus. It must be at least 15 years old if not more and it's amazing that it hasn't done any damage yet, but I suspect one reason was that it didn't get enough water. Once I began watering it regularly it just shot up. Also, it's planted at the top of an incline which slopes sharply down on the side away from the house, and I imagine it had to put down long and deep roots on that side for the tree to maintain an upright stance. The concrete walkway is less than 2 feet away from the tree, and it shows no sign of buckling. It would then have to traverse at least 10 feet of planted ground and another three feet of concrete before it reaches the house. We'll be watching the tree carefully, but frankly we hope we'll be dead before all this happens. I'm going to starve it of water again in the hope that this will hinder its propensity to grow ever larger.

Ingrid and Bart, That must be what the Tea ladies mean regarding BHdSnoy. I have not observed that yet here, but the plant is less than a year here from RU. Mine still looks rounded and bushy. I bet I'll like it just fine when it gets ungainly. I'm still at that thrilled anything is still alive stage. I've gardened my whole life, but this hot gardening is new and the Tea roses are so special I'll probably never shovel prune one. Not than anyone would do that to BHdSnoy anyway.

Interesting roses as usual... I'm surprised 'Wild Edric' does so well for you, I wouldn't have expected that...

Your rocks atop the mound in picture 3 fascinate me...the shapes it's taken on.. this time I see a huge snake with its mouth wide open, about to gobble up a dead deer... can you see it too?...

I think we grow Ficus plants in our bathrooms here, I'm sure I used to have one...

We had a rabbit overpopulation here maybe 10 years ago, when everything including poisonous shrubs were mowed down by them.. We had to be careful driving since every so often one would jump out in front of the car. The coyotes were happy, too. Then tularemia came and that year I was afraid to go out in the garden. It completely wiped out the local rabbit population. It was several years before I saw another rabbit.

That sounds as though in the final analysis there is nothing much I can do to save the garden in the long run. So far there are plants the rabbits won't touch and at least for the present I'll plant multiples of those until that no longer works. I'm learning that in the garden it's only today that counts and the pleasure I derive from seeing all those bare spots filled with interesting plants is considerable. Most of the ones I have or will be ordering are beneficial for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds so it's a win situation for everyone.

Marlorena, I can see what you're talking about in regard to the rock formation, but I've decided that instead of a deer it's a a giant turtle and it's too big for the snake to handle, which makes me feel a lot better than your scenario. No tragedies allowed here!

Turtle sounds better... I think it's my Native American interests from the past catching up, I used to look at rocks to try and see what they saw.. as they often gave them strange or amusing names...

Do you often sit at that table and chairs on the deck?.. it always looks so calm and inviting... maybe it's usually just too hot for tea... iced?...

Maybe they sat there on Tuesday when Ingrid started this thread, but I bet they’re not sitting out there today! It’s turned hot and miserable again:(