Spring has sprung! Love the lushness!

Beautiful, Jackie!

Gorgeous, Jackie. Those Peace blooms look absolutely huge! Isn't yours a very old clone that is virus free? I was thinking it was there when you inherited the place. It's wowza!

fig_insanity: Yes, it is a rooted cutting I rescued from an old plant when the old plant was dying rapidly. The old plant was planted we believe in the 1940s or early 1950s, when my DH's grandfather planted a row of roses along the driveway. I just went out to look at it. At the moment is is covered with hundreds of large, clean, healthy leaves, but I did find 2 that had those yellow marks I recall as being made by RMV. However, it has been healthy all of its life (going on 10 years now), just getting some BS and rust late in the season, like probably all HTs which were hybridized in the first half of the 20th century. It is vigorous, and I know for a fact that instead of being the result of being cloned zillions of time in the past 70ish years, it has only been cloned once during that period. I personally think that is why it is so glorious.

Jackie

I wish some nursery would make an effort to re-introduce a vigorous clone of Peace. My two (from two different sources; one own root, one grafted) have never lived up to what I remember from my childhood, though yours surpasses even my fond memories, lol. Mine look like Peace, but just don't have that je ne sais quoi that comes from being rudely vigorous.

Some of your blooms look to be 7 inches or more across. They look more like peonies.

My first Madame Isaac P. in Austin. A wonderful Easter blessing. The scent is amazing

Bob - you are so lucky to be able to grow that rose! I had one, and loved the one bloom that opened, but all of the rest balled 100%, 100% of the time. I used to go out in the morning and try to pry the blooms open, but that got old fast. Must need a truly dry climate. Gorgeous.

Jackie

fig_insanity More photos of my Peace for you.

Jackie

I grow S.d. Malmaison with it. I have some balling and mildew on it, but Madame Isaac is free of both. Austin is hot and mostly dry. I gave up on Marie Louise and Fantin LaTour. They would ball up and then shatter in the heat - even in May. All of the bourbon roses do well for me including Variegata di Bologna.

Thank you, Jackie. THAT is how Peace should look...a delicate beauty that just happens to be rudely vigorous, lol. I'm always jealous of your roses, but this one takes the cake.

Jackie - I love seeing pictures of your garden. Your Peace is drop-dead-gorgeous!

Did you get any rain these past couple of weeks? By the time the "storms" got down to us the first one was only 40 mile/hour winds and yesterday's was just cloudy but blissfully cool. At least the Sierras got some snow to hopefully help out the water situation a bit.

Bob Atchison - beautiful Madame IP! I tried her years ago and she was just a pile of rust for me! Variegata di Bologna is my ultimate all-time favorite rose. I tried her too - unfortunately with similar results as Madame...would love to see some photos of yours.

Re rain, we got only some drizzles last week (.08 inches), but yesterday we got a half inch. We are supposed to have more chances of rain all of this coming week - we will see what happens.

Jackie

Happy Easter! And beautiful roses, everyone!

Madame Isaac: The scent….. The rich and decadent blooms….

Jackie, your garden is truly magical! I’m guessing neighbors flock to it on their walks. Are those dandelions? My daughter and I enjoy them and intentionally grow them in our garden.

Carol

Thanks, Carol. No, not dandelions - they are a ground cover daisy from So. Africa which does very well around here. Here is a blown up pic so that you can see the leaves. It spreads by runners, and we are careful to have it only in beds which are surrounded by the sidewalk, driveway, and the driveway next door.

Jackie

Thanks, Jackie, for the lovely photos of your charming garden. Your place has a grace and charm that only comes with an old, long-loved homestead. New gardens are pretty and hold such promise, but they lack a certain something that I crave, something that can only be found in old places like yours. But, all old gardens were once upon a time young, so that's where I must start.

Jackie, your not-dandelion looks like Arctotheca calendula, Cape Weed, from what I can tell. The photo of the leaves is a little blurry. Take a look at these photos and let me know if that's the right ID.

Cape Weed/S. Africa Dandelion

My ancient Madame Isaac and Madame Calvat roses, which I wove their long canes down and intertwined them, grew long the street and people would stop and ask about the scent. There were hundreds of blooms and there were four plants. They died during our horrible freeze and snow over a year ago and I have had to replant them. I used to love Reine Victoria but stopped growing it when it was stripped of its leaves and buds overnight by bugs. The flowers had a wonderful scent.

I love when gardeners create “public” gardens! Truly an example of making the world a better place for others as well as ourselves!

@jacqueline9CA and @fig_insanity Z7b E TN, the Arctotheca calendula (?) is delightful! I doubt it would grow well here, unfortunately. Even California poppies don’t like my soil/climate. I’ll have to stick to dandelions, but I LOVE the way the happy yellow AC blooms have covered the soil and filled the beds!

Carol

Another from last year of Archduke.

fig_insanity - I looked it up finally, and there seem to be a LOT of very closely related, but different plants. Mine has only yellow middles to the flowers, not dark ones. It is also perennial, at least here, and does not grow in neat circles, but in large mats, which it extends by sending out runners. I found one that looks like it called Arctotheca prostata, which is also called Cape Weed. So, I assume they are close relatives. Here is a pic of Acrtotheca prostrata which looks exactly like mine. It makes a very good ground cover, almost completely smothering grass weeds, but letting up Iris, and other taller So African bulbs like Ixia and sparaxis to grow.

Bob, I agree with Carol - sounds as if you and I have a similar idea about decorating the sidewalk with roses and flowers. People ask me "don't the walker-by take the flowers?". Well, there are so many flowers that if some do, I don't notice. What I do notice occasionally when I am out by the street is nice people taking photos, or telling me how much they enjoy walking by our house, or people with kids asking permission for the toddler to pick a flower. Of course I always say Yes, and the little kids are always delighted (we ALL should do our part to encourage future gardeners!).

Jackie

Malmaison

La Marne

I have several fountains in my front garden and a life-sized bronze of Diana with two hounds.