As usual I have an infinity of work, but with the happiness of the whole fall and winter ahead of me to accomplish it. We've been planting. I want to clear the propagation beds out at least somewhat, so I can start some new plants, and I need great numbers of shrubs in particular for the Allée, to use the overly ambitious name we give the tractor road that runs from the house down to the paved road that climbs up to our little settlement. I need to order roses and shrubs, too, but so far have found my will to do so paralyzed, I don't know why. We also need to buy lots of standard ordinary shrubs--privet, photinia, shrub honeysuckle, possibly others--from the local nurseries, but only after All Souls ("Tutti i Morti"), November 2nd, the day Italians place on the graves of their loved ones vases and pots of chrysanthemums and other fall flowers which the nurseryfolk are busily preparing now. After that's over, they'll begin stocking for autumn planting.
I was out yesterday on the lower part of the Allée (or Viale), working in an area that hasn't had any attention for a couple of years. This area is bounded north-uphill by our neighbors' field; there's a strip of land, then the Allée itself. In this strip there is first a long hedge of bland shrubs marking the property line, then below that, roses, mostly ramblers, alternating with Italian cypresses. Below that again, now abutting on the Allée itself, I have another line of plants in mind, but that's for later. We have a supply/labor problem this fall. Our usual supplier of old hay has a big, profitable job cutting firewood and can't bring the hay until he's finished that; we can't hire our usual help to dig if we don't have hay for amendment. So, for now, we're stuck, but fortunately there's time. I also want to order two or three yards of sand this year, part of my ongoing struggle to get Tea roses to grow in our soil.
So, the hedge and the line of cypresses and roses are both incomplete, and that's part of what we're planting this fall: I want to finish them. Yesterday I was tidying up the roses. 'Futtacker Schlingrose' makes a nice, freestanding large shrub on which I found a fair amount of dead and old growth that had to be cut out. Next to it, too close, is some kind of Ayrshire or Sempervirens rambler, I think. I was given cuttings of a bunch of these years ago, Ayrshires and Sempervirens, and got them hideously confused, adding to what I think was some original confusion in their identities. I never have sorted them out since, but they grow here and there in the garden. They're lax, thorny, rambling, vigorous plants, with handsome foliage, much given to tip-rooting and so forming great thickets. I had meant to move this one, but I think it's too late. I cut out old growth and shortened some canes, and cut some of the tip-rooted shoots to the ground. They're handsome roses indeed, but a job to control. 'Ayrshire Splendens' is an example of that group that can be found in commerce; 'Félicité Perpétue' and 'Adelaide d'Orléans' are Sempervirens ramblers. They're a tangle in my mind.
The next rose up is likely 'American Pillar': that was the guess of the woman who gave me the cuttings of it. "AP" suffers from cane girdler damage, but soldiers on all the same. It, too, has tip-rooted. The Wichuriana ramblers are some of the best for our conditions, while Multifloras are in general more susceptible to cane girdler and sunburn. Whether they simply suffer more both, or are rendered more susceptible by growing in heavy clay that doesn't suit them, I can't say. Possibly "AP"s Setigera heritage makes it more susceptible, too, to cane girdler and sunburn than most Wichurianas. It has terrible soil to contend with. These roses are rooting into the area where the hedge is supposed to go; I mean to leave the roses and plant the hedging shrubs where I can make a hole (if some is good, then more is better....sometimes), then just let everything grow together. Roses are valiant plants.
Above "American Pillar" is an Italian cypress, and above that again is another Wichuriana rambler, of the 'Dorothy Perkins' tribe. I forget where this came from, and even what color the blooms are. These are roses I some years never even see in bloom. They flower late, when it has gotten really hot; the Allée down from the house is very steep, not much treed, and looks straight into the sun. Next year mere curiosity to see the results of my work may pull me out for a look; also, we're planting trees on parts of the Allée, though they'll take some years to get big enough that they supply shade. We've planted a lot of figs the last few years: its easy to dig suckers from the many local plants, and they're heavily foliaged, supply fruit, and grow fast.
We need to add several Italian cypresses, which serve to define the Allée. They're handsome trees, at once rustic and aristocratic, quickly supplying the height our garden, which started out as starved fields, so badly needs, and they're among the best trees in our poor soil. Marvelous. I make no attempt to keep the grass and weeds cut in these beds most of the time, though I'm tidying them now so I can see the condition of the roses. Most are fairly innocuous. There's one kind that forms substantial clumps. Anything, just about, that can grow in these conditions is welcome to come and increase the life and quantity of organic matter in the soil. The clumping grass is even rather handsome, keeps the sun off the bases of the roses, and if it makes the beds look like an overgrown meadow rather than a garden, well, that's fine. I like the meadow look, and it's what I'm aiming at here. I'm hoping that all this cleanup and planting will show positive results in a year or two.
5 years agoMelissa Northern Italy zone 8 thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
5 years ago
Melissa Northern Italy zone 8Original Author