Spring Rose Ramblings

last year

G'day Forum Folk,

It has been a while since I last posted, but I have some time on my hands just now and am "stoked" on what is going on in the rose gardens here in the South Okanagan. After two brutal winters, Mother Earth has deigned to give us a more "normal winter". All of the roses made it through the winter in superb condition. We have also had some significant rains in the past month. Even the less hardy Ramblers, "Goldfinch" and "Darlow's Enigma" carried good growth through the winter and will bloom for the first time in 3 years.

On the work side in the gardens, we are finished with spring cleanup, pruning, mulching and planting and replanting. We still have work to do with respect to structures for our maturing climbing roses and tweeks to irrigation. But the plan is in place and everything is going smoothly. The new roses from John's sadly lost collection in California are now going into their 3rd and 4th years and are looking happy and healthy. I very much look forward to the spring flush in mid June, it will be glorious!

This brings me to my primary pondering this spring, the fact that we did manage to import and plant many, many rare roses from John's collection and elsewhere over the past 5 years or so. It now all seems a bit serendipitous, or even fateful perhaps. I wander in the gardens and in my own yard and am amazed at the heirloom collection we have managed to create and now currate in a public garden, as well as at the show garden at Fraser Valley Rose Farm in Deroche, B. C. Many, many rare and our of commerce varieties, English Roses, Canadian Heritage Rose and others. Some of the plants and collections that I am pleased and surprised to now have in the gardens are in no particular order:

Isabella Skinner, aka Victorian Memory from Colorado via California;

Prospero, Emily, Clare Rose, Lordly Oberon, Gallicandy, Oshun, Jeri Jennings, Marianne, and many others from John's garden;

Prairie Peace, Pat Austin, William Shakespeare 2000, Malvern HIlls, Yolande de Aragon and many other rare OGR's from Fraser Valley Rose Farm;

Dragon Heart, Vogue Anniversary, Devotion and at least a dozen other Brad Jalbert creations, donated by Select Roses in Langley for the Canadian Heritage Rose Garden;

Louise Bugnet, Wasagamming, Suzanne and others from Corn Hill Nursery in New Brunswick.

So it is going to be a superb year in the rose garden here. I am happy to be finished with the development and buidling part of this project. I am getting a bit elderly for the type of hard labour required for building and planting new gardens. Fortunately I have a crew of hard working devoted volunteers who are as passionate about this garden as I. Anyway, that is my wee update for now.

Happy, happy, rose dance, y'all .!!!

Cheers, Rick

The glorious Clare Rose!

Featured Answer

susan9santabarbara

last year

Rick, I'm a big fan of your and John P's efforts to preserve these rare roses. You both are very much underappreciated and unsung heroes of the rose world. I was fortunate to be a trading partner of John's for several years, and I hope he's happy in his new home in TX close to family.

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Comments (11)

Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
last year
This is a heartening report, Rick. The bloom will be glorious! We had a good rainy Winter here so joy can break out all over, at least in the garden.
Rideau Rose Lad thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
judijunebugarizonazn8
last year
I too enjoyed your report and should dearly love to visit the gardens there! Your description of them makes me almost see them in my own mind, and your photo of Claire Rose gives me great hope for my own young plant in my garden. Such an old fashioned beauty!
Rideau Rose Lad thanked judijunebugarizonazn8
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Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6
last year
Welcome back, Rick, glad to see your enthusiasm bound, and that the weather has been favorable for an exceptional spring bloom. Keep us posted. Your photo of Clare Rose is certainly surreal...why we grow roses!

Moses.
Rideau Rose Lad thanked Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
last year
Thank you so much for being a caretaker of uncommon roses and a promoter of those roses at so many heritage rose gardens! You are building a legacy for the future as well as enjoying the beauty yourself. Do keep up the good work and spread around the roses to keep them from fading away. Thanks for posting the photo - I didn't realize Clare was so beautiful! She's on my list now...

Cynthia
Rideau Rose Lad thanked nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
Rideau Rose Lad
Original Author
last year
Thanks for the kind responses all. Cynthia, our sping plant sale is coming up here in the Okanagan on May 3 and 4th and we will have 25 1st year bare root rose plants.for sale, propogated from mother plants in the gardens. Included will be early English Roses such as Molyneux, Lilian Austin, Golden Celebration and Gertrude Jeykyl. They are very popular every year and go usually in the first hour. We make a large portion of our budget from the two plant sales we hold each year. So the collection helps support our work.

It pleases me to think that these roses are getting homes in the South Okanagan and we are sharing them with home gardeners. My one regret is that I cannot share them with all of your true enthusiasts on the forums. But at least the mother plants are here, now being curated in a public garden that is more than one hundred years young.

Cheers, Rick
Diane Brakefield
last year
I am so glad you will be growing the beautiful Clare Rose and the glorious Prospero. That is so generous of John to make these lovely donations. Diane
Ingrid_vc zone 9b, San Diego Co. inland
last year
It's lovely to hear from you, Rick, and I so admire what you've accomplished in preserving old and uncommon rose varieties. When I lived in BC I once traveled through the Okanagan area in the summer and it was hot! I imagine it might be even hotter now. I hope you'll have time when the roses are blooming to visit here with more gorgeous photos.
Rideau Rose Lad
Original Author
last year
Sheila, a special thank you for your stong support for John, Jason's and my efforts to get these roses planted in a safe, secure, public garden, albeit in Canada. you are a true believer in curating and protecting garden worthy plants, in the same ilk as Graham Stuart Thomas, David Austin Senior, John P. and Peter Schneider who is keen to support the curation to garden worthy roses from days gone by. This is anathema to the modern psyche, newest is best world view. At the very least, the mother plants we curate here in Summerland, will keep on keep'in on for many years to come and be ready to provide cuttings in the future if and when they are once more sought after.

Thanks again and Namaste,

Cheers, Rick
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
last year
Thank you so much Rick.
Rosefolly z5
last year
I am always happy to hear of these roses being preserved, and especially under your climate conditions.
Rideau Rose Lad thanked Rosefolly z5