Hi all, I have not posted for the last few weeks as my roses are languishing in the recurrent heatwaves. Moreover, with the ongoing hosepipe ban, I've been watering only with the grey water from the kitchen, which is obviously inadequate. I'm really thinking of downsizing the potted roses.

Those in the ground are faring better, though they haven't had any substantial rain for the past 8 weeks.

Here are a few photos taken today:

Red Abundance

Our Beth

Thomas a Beckett

Emma Bridgewater

Lady Emma Hamilton

I daresay that the veggies - chillies, tomatoes, cucumber, runner beans, aubergines etc. are doing okay.

Grapes are doing okay, though they are smaller than usual. Apples and pears have been dropping, most of them scorched/cooked in the hot sun. Hoping for more rains and a better growing season next year.

My last picture post for this year, and I shall be away, so maybe see you again next Spring.. here or somewhere else perhaps.. my garden has been depleted with the drought and despite thunderstorms up country, very little here so far, just an odd shower.

'Forever Royal' such a wonderful rose for me, disease free, gorgeous foliage, scented flowers of clove, and blooming well without any irrigation all summer. A simply amazing floribunda, a seedling of 'International Herald Tribune' but I bet it's better than that one.

..take care and all the best for now xx

La Bourbonnaise - despite being a random ’wild card’ purchase and not really to my taste, is strangely growing on me! I’m still not convinced by the pink fade but it’s a healthy, cheerful little rose popular with pollinators. I will keep it as a pot pet for now and see how I feel about it next season..

William Shakespeare is the only one of my Austins giving me full-sized and fully fragrant blooms at the moment:

In contrast with Darcy Bussell’s pathetic efforts:

A few photos from my garden this week: my beloved Abe Darby, Scentuous, making a comeback after nearly dying last summer, Black Caviar in all his velvety glory. And my daughter’s new pet, the largest horned lizard we’ve ever found here. Isn’t he cute? Not really a pet though, lol. We let him loose out in the garden again. I’m not a reptile person in general but I really do like lizards and tortoises and encourage them to live in my gardens.

Judi - THANK YOU!!!! I googled H2O2 and found that it's a good thing to do. I read that concrete (which is what I have) promotes algae growth. Drat. Copper or brass fountains are better. But, I'm going to work on the fountain...scrubbing the fountain and adding fresh water, and then using H2O2. Excellent!! Thank you SO much!!

Trish -

I can't find pictures of him any younger than this. :) Don will have those pics. His hair color faded quite a bit. :) What a sweet puppy!!

Trish, thanks about my roses!! Teddy helps me a lot!! He'll get me socks from a tub, helps me up the stairs, stands strong if I'm sitting on the floor or grass so I can haul myself up on him, if I'm in amongst the perennials and my brain won't let me move, I call him, and he comes running, and I grab his collar and pull myself out. :) :) He's 9 now, which is oldish for a Saint Berdoodle.

Windowsill - Thanks!! :) :) Yes, you really need Living the Dream and Light Years Away!!! I love those 2 roses SO much!!! :) :) Heavenly Scented is a great rose. I took a picture of my sister standing beside Heavenly Scented because she wanted to post that on Facebook. lol She was quite impressed at how tall it is. Oh, yes, you're so right! It was a big challenge to get Teddy to accept (try not to kill) Sugar. If Sugar had been a less confident dog, I don't think it would have worked out. Now Teddy is her slave. lol She'll stare at him, which means he should get Don so she can go outside to go to the bathroom or if she's hungry. Then Teddy will run to wherever Don is and bark at him, as if saying, "the princess is starving...she needs help!!" lol I've decided to get Peter Cottontail Yarrow for that spot...maybe 4 plants. I think it's too challenging a spot for roses. I wanted to get a Hydrangea for that spot (Kitty's idea), but mine didn't bloom at all this year (neither did my lilacs, except for 2 blooms in August). It was a weird summer with not enough heat for most of it. Hmmmm...hardy hibiscus...I'll Google that. Hmmmm...Phoenix Perennials (where I order my plants from) does have zone 4 Hibiscus, and they do well in full sun to part shade. That's a REALLY good idea!! Thank you!!! Our zone has changed to zone 4 now, and I can shovel snow on the hibiscus. I can get both the Yarrow and a hibiscus. Thanks!!! If it doesn't work, no harm done. :) Oh, I just read what you wrote about blooming at the end of summer. That may not be great as it may not bloom. My dahlias are just starting to get buds and there's one bloom. It may be the same with a hibiscus. But I may try it anyway. :)

Wonderful photos all! :-)

Blast from the PAST...

This is the first rose I bought back in 2008.... PRECIOUS PLATINUM

It would die back to ground every year ....

Here it is in June...

Here what it looked like in July...

Then by September it looked like this....

I forgot to mention, every three or four weeks I gently pull the pots out of their holes and gently put them back. This way any roots that might come out of the drain holes don't have a chance to get established in the soil. When I pull them out for the winter, I set them on a good thick layor of oak tree foliage. I keep everything watered good as long as it isn't below a hard freeze. In the spring, I make sure my planting hole is plenty large enough and the soil in the bottom of the hole is loosened up real good. I gently remove my rose from it's pot ant set it gently in the hole. This way any roots that do come through the drain holes aren't ripped up and the bush USUALLY takes off like nothing has ever happened. Yes, it's a little bit of work, but I'm not getting any younger (like 79, pushing 80 REAL hard). I can't take a chance on messing up a rose I really want and and having to start all over again. It's taken a few years to get this method down for where it actually works for me. I havent lost a single rose over the past several years with this method. Every garden is different, so you might have to adjust a little in your own garden.

Enough said, Ben! Where's my shovel?

Moses.

Ben, I know I heard that story before, but to read it again was frustrating and funny all over again. I think you need to dub it the Velcro rose, since it looks like you’re stuck with always having one. ;)

Rose, yes the little balls of fertilizer leave that shell that does not dissolve.

Cressida here today.

I only have the western flower thrips, not chili thrips, but I also have had a lot of success with using beneficial insects. I got mine from DMV Beneficials. They are more affordable than some of the other places and they offer free consultations. I got minute pirate bugs, lacewing larvae, and predatory mites to cover the already living thrips on the foliage, and beneficial nematodes for the surrounding soil for longer term predation on the thrips that hatched later. It worked wonderfully. I got away with just one application of all of them and haven't had trouble since I released them this spring.

Great photos, Jim. It's time for us to let J&P know what we on the forum are doing to boost one of their products, and we want a cut of the profits! In zone 7 here, I've never had one bit of cold damage on the Dude. But, we have had some really mild winters in recent years, not ones like you've had. Our last bad winter was 2016-7, and I've grown Double Easy Orange since 2024, I believe. Need to check that. Maybe it was 2023. Nanadoll

Go Dude! Photo taken yesterday.