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mattgrowsflowers

My first home-grown bunch, plus a climber question

Morning all, I hope you have a great start to this beautiful weekend.


I woke up at 6 am and couldn't fall back asleep--decided to get up and poke around in the garden. This led to me cutting a few flowers and then I ended up with this. I began this gardening hobby last summer, so this is actually my first bouquet I've ever put together with flowers that I've grown myself. It's made of Hot Cocoa and Imogen roses, Bartzella peonies, and Arizona Shades blanket flower. It's admittedly not fragrant, but it looks pretty at least. Does anyone else have Hot Cocoa? It's supposed to have a smell but I can't detect any. This is the single rose that has been in my yard for a few years, so it should smell by now I think.








I also have a few questions/would love some input. I planted a few climbers last summer (6 of them). I put obelisks up for the two that I planted early summer that have had more of a chance to grow. For the others, this is their first real growing season. I didn't put any supports in place for them. I plan on training them on obelisks as well. Can I wait until next spring to do that? Or should I get them contained within that now? I just think the giant, mostly empty obelisk looks silly on the two roses that I do have them on, but I don't want it to be a pain if I wait. Which leads me to my Zephirine Drouhin.





I have the ZD on an obelisk that is very close to a corner column for my front porch. After I put the obelisk up, I thought it looked odd sitting right below the pillar. I have read the ZDs can get pretty huge so I was planning on training it up the obelisk and then around the pillar (photo above). But I'm afraid this looks silly. Why not train the rose up the brick wall behind it and then on to the pillar? Well, I didn't really consider that because I'm not sure how I would train it on the brick wall. Any advice here is appreciated. Should I continue as I have it set up now, or should I get rid of the obelisk and train it on the wall somehow and then up the pillar?...


And finally, just a few more photos. My Gertrude Jekyll was one of the only grafted roses I planted and she is definitely out-performing everybody. She smells so freakin good.... Smelling her at the nursery is actually what pushed me to plant lots of roses. It was the first time I ever smelled a strongly-perfumed rose. After that I found out that roses were grafted, read up on the differences, and started to buy own-root. I am kind of glad though I have a few grafted (the Imogen's were grafted too) that are very vigorous and ready to be thoroughly enjoyed.



Teasing Georgia just started blooming and oh my gosh, she's stunning. I'm so glad I picked her. She doesn't have a scent yet but I know she will eventually. I picked a few butterfly blue scabiosa to make a bouquet with her because the combination to me looked like a match made in color heaven. Then I got to playing around with my camera and decided to sacrifice a few of the blooms for the sake of this photo (I used to be a photographer, so, I like to get creative).




Comments (14)

  • 6 years ago

    Beautiful!! What about a short trellis in front of the brick wall to bridge the climb to the pillar?

  • 6 years ago

    Keep doing creative rose photos and posting them. Your talent is amazing the the pictures are fantastic. Also love the pictures of the roses in your garden. I can tell that you are a pro photographer. None of mine every look that fantastic.

  • 6 years ago

    Wow! They're beautiful!

  • 6 years ago

    I agree a trellis looks better against the wall. instead of a trellis I also use a wire threaded through metal loops that are attached with silicone glue to the brick. You can buy it as a set.


    wow , I really want to grow scabiosas now. What variety is that blue one?

  • 6 years ago

    They’re beautifu!

  • 6 years ago

    Well, I feel relieved that you're pro photographer. Those pictures are magazine worthy. However, you're obviously a natural with flowers because your bouquet is fantastic. My little cutting of TG is just sitting, so I am going to show it your picture and hope it takes heed! Also, I have found it much easier to put the obelisk next to the rose and just train the canes around it rather that putting the rose in the middle.

  • 6 years ago

    I love scabosias. They're really hardy too. You have beautiful roses!!! I'm so glad you found us!

  • 6 years ago

    @Karen Lynn, thank you! And that is a better idea than the obelisk, I like it. I was wondering if there was a way to somehow pin the roses straight to the wall? It looks like Totoro might have a solution.


    @mmmm12COzone5, Thanks so much for those kind words. I will definitely keep sharing tidbits here :) If you are on Instagram and interested, I post photos more regularly there, same account name (without the PA z6 at the end): MainStGarden


    Thanks for your comment, @seil zone 6b MI!


    @totoro z7b Md YES, that is awesome, that's exactly what I need! What brand are your clips and glue/where did you get them from? I can't seem to find anything. The only solution that I bring up in an online search has to do with drilling into the wall which I really don't want to do.... And yeah, if you like the look you should totally plant the scabiosas, they are flower machines! Extremely long blooming. They are also compact plants, only about 12 inches wide, maybe just a little larger. And only like a foot and a half high at the top of the flowers, with a very airy look. So you can tuck them into places most perennials wouldn't fit. And in addition to this bluish purple they come in pinks and whites (as perennials) so should be a color to compliment or contrast with whatever you've got going in the bed already. As annuals there are a ton more colors too. Can you tell I love them, lol...


    @MV - 5b, Ottawa area, ON Canada thank you :)


    @Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley thanks for all those kind and encouraging words! That is an excellent tip about putting the roses outside the obelisk. That will make things a lot easier and I can definitely put the obelisk up next spring if I do that! Not everything is blooming yet but honestly the TG is my favorite so far. The first few blooms were very low and almost on the ground, hidden a little bit by the top of the bush/other foliage and I didn't notice them, I walked right by them....and then later in the morning I almost gasped when I finally did notice them. I think I may have actually gasped out loud, ha! She is still a baby climber but I'm glad to enjoy these few blooms anyway, can't wait for you to do the same!


    @rosecanadian I agree, they're so wonderful. I am going to try and grow a few of the annual varieties next season. I have already been poking around for seeds I'm going to try next year and the seeds are planted this year barely have their first sets of leaves.... Hahaha I think I have a problem now. Gardening seems to have taken over my brain..... Anyway, thanks for the sweet comments! I am glad I found this little community, too. The garden brain people :D


  • 6 years ago

    All great, but that last one is fantastic!

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I like the last one best also. Well that and the one from the original post.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    That's so amazing!! I love your arrangements!

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    @mmmm12COzone5 and @Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley, appreciate the comments! But oh no, all of my fussing with those tiny phlox petals was in vain. Haha only kidding. I agree with you both though, I particularly enjoyed that one because it looked to me like the bloom form of Westerland (classified as a shrub rose) has some polyantha in it when you look at them so close together like that. I still can't seem to figure out exactly what a "shrub rose" is. Like anything that isn't in another category somehow lands in the shrub rose category?

  • 6 years ago

    @pippacovalent sorry I missed your comment somehow, probably was typing my last comment up when you replied. Anyway, thank you!