Interestingly, because of all the rain that we got this winter and intermittently even this spring I had assumed that my roses would bloom better than for a long time, but not so much. I have a lot of rose disease this year in the garden, predominantly rose rust, but also black spot, which was almost unheard of in my garden so far. I also didn’t have the time to take proper care of my roses in terms of fertilizing and that definitely results in fewer blooms, but still, I was very happy about the blooms I got despite all the odds.
Undoubtedly one of my most beautiful roses in the last two months is ‘Bewitched’, an older Hybrid Tea rose.
Almost all the blooms open up to perfection…
…and they have a very strong and pleasing damask scent.
The bush has struggled after it was replanted from a five pot into the ground, probably because it had been in the container for too long and was pot bound. But now, after I think two years, it is finally strutting its stuff and showing what this rose can do.
The blooms remind me of the super big ones that you can buy for equally big bucks at the florist.
No necessity for that, if you plant ‘Bewitched’ in your garden. You can have your own home grown ones yourself.
The rose has also become infected with rose rust at the end of May though, but it continues to bloom and doesn’t seem to mind.
I have often shown rosa ‘Auckland Metro’, one of my favorite light colored Hybrid Tea roses, on this blog. I am still in love with the blooms, but unfortunately, this rose has also become heavily infected with rose rust this year for the very first time in my garden.
Rosa ‘Reine des Violettes’ has admittedly small blooms, but they are exquisite and the perfume is enchanting.
I also like the informal old-fashioned flower form of this rose very much.
If you follow my blog for a while you know that I am not a fan of yellow, but rosa ‘Charles Darwin’s ‘ particular yellow tone won me over.
I have planted two bushes of this variety in my garden lately and both of them are still growing in, but so far things look very promising. Besides the gorgeous blooms, what I am the happiest about is, that both bushes haven’t shown any signs of disease so far.
Love this shot of rosa ‘Pierre de Ronsard’. The blooms of this rose are one of the biggest in my garden and they are jam packed with rose petals.
I think I will always be smitten with this rose.
Rosa ‘Yolande d’Aragon’ is a wonderful Old Garden Rose with a very strong and lovely fragrance, but in my garden, this variety has disease problems and the blooms have also trouble to withstand the strong winds that we receive on our top of the hill location. The blooms get often so damaged by the wind that they become unsightly.
Not all is rosy in a predominantly organic no spray garden. Aphids can have a feast, but usually, with a strong ray of water from the hose, I can keep them in check.
This is rosa ‘Rose de Rescht, which I had grown for a long time in a five gallon container. Lately, I have removed the second of my ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe’ roses because of increasing problems with powdery mildew and replaced it with this variety. I am curious how ‘Rose de Rescht’ will fair in the same location. It is too early to say anything, though.
A scene from the front yard. To the left you see my last remaining rosa ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe’ and to the right rosa ‘The Prince’. I am quite pleased how this part of the garden looks, especially considering the little bit shady location.
A closer look at rosa ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe’. Despite an almost ongoing infestation with powdery mildew, this bush is very floriferous.
I am excited about the first bloom of this recent acquisition. This is rosa ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’, one of the newer varieties bred by David Austin. The first bloom was huge, very full, and had an exquisite color. It is not clearly to see in the photo but is was a warm pink shade with some yellow hints at the base. Can’t wait to see the next flowers.
Rosa ‘White Meidiland’ is really coming into her own. This rose is growing in an unsuitable area for roses, because it is so shady and the rose still manages to do well, blooms very prolifically…
…and produces nice big sprays of magnificent blooms.
My last contender for today is rosa ‘Mary Rose’, which you can call almost a classic by now. It is bred by David Austin and blooms very early in the season and repeats very well. It has a white sport called ‘Winchester Cathedral’, which I would love to grow in my garden as well.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this post about some of the roses that have been blooming in my Southern California garden in the last two months.
As I am writing this, I am with my husband on vacation in the Cotswolds, one of the most beautiful areas of England again and the next posts will be about some of the fabulous gardens, pretty little towns and picturesque villages that we have seen here. So I would love for you to come back soon and visit with me this wonderful part of the world. It is truly a gardener’s paradise.
If you want to get a glimpse of the Cotswolds see my posts from our vacation last year in the same area here:
Hidcote Manor Garden I
The beautiful village of Blockley in the Cotswolds, England I
The beautiful village of Blockley in the Cotswolds, England II
An English Afternoon Tea in Bradford on Avon, England
Warm regards,
Christina
