Monday, May 21, 2007

Gathering Roses

Gathering life's roses is something that most of us don't do often enough. We're too busy with our jobs and other things to just stop and smell the roses and then gather them. We at Bliss try to gather as much roses as possible, as life is too short as it is and we feel that we have to make the best of it while we can.

Today I'm literally gathering roses at Bliss. Remember this rose? It's Moonlight and it started flowering half April.

Now a lot of its blossoms are spent so it's time for a spot of pruning. I love to prune my roses as it brings me into close proximity with them and that's no hardship as all of them are wonderfully fragrant. And, of course, I like to surround myself with good tools and preferably of the stylish kind too.
So out came my trusty basket, one of a set of three, thick gloves and my favorite pair of very sharp secateurs.
After 10 minutes of merrily pruning away at Moonlight while breathing in her lovely scent, my basket was overflowing with spent flowers. I emptied it and started snipping away again.
While I was pruning away for Queen and Country with gay abandon I almost literally stumbled across this person. Hello, hello, who's this then, sunbathing in my front garden and basking in all its rosy glory? Well, all will be revealed, but not just yet.

Rosa Moonlight is planted in a bed edged with box and under planted with Stachys byzantina and the white allium Neapolitanum that is in flower at the moment. It's a lovely combination, don't you think? Love that soft velvety look and feel of the Lamb's Ear with the dainty white allium flowers poking through its velvety, broad grey leaves. Earlier in Spring, tulipa Queen of Night was flowering here to brighten up our days with her beauty.

Now that Moonlight is taking a breather, another rose has taken pride of place; it's Guirlande d'Amour a white climbing rose that flowers profusely for months on end and has a wonderful fragrance too. For me, this is one of the very best climbers. It has flowers from top to bottom, none of that nonsense of just some flowers very high up where you're unable to admire or smell them.

And here she is and not even at her peak yet. Absolutely marvellous this rose and it would be perfect but for one tiny little thing, it has thorns and lots of it. That's why I wear my sturdy gloves when I prune this rose or gather roses from it. It's only with this rose and rosa Blanc Double de Coubert that I wear gloves, with the others it's not necessary as they have very little thorns.
Here's another look at that glorious Guirlande d'Amour, its name meaning garlands of love, and what a lovely name it is! In the foreground are the snapdragons, Royal Bride, flowering their little hearts out, bless them! They also exude a wonderful fragrance because we at Bliss want the air that we breathe to be perfumed with lots of wonderful scents.

One of the many perks of roses that flower so profusely is that you can pick its flowers to your heart's delight and this is exactly what I did, I gathered roses and lots of it!
I then took the little darlings inside and put them in a vase. For roses I always use warm water and a special liquid flower feed. I trim away most of the leaves and cut the stems diagonally before I put them in the water. The vase needs to be squeaky clean, that way your roses will last a long time. Within half an hour the living room was filled with the wonderful fragrance of Guirlande d'Amour. Mmmmmmm, bliss!
And how about you, have you gathered your roses yet? If not, what is stopping you? Go on, you know you want to! And you don't have to limit yourself to white because roses come in many different colours. Here's a look at just a few of the choices that are available in the rose colour department.

Soft pink.
Voluptuous apricot!

Shocking pink, moss roses this time.
Cheerful Calypso that's white with splashes of pink or is it pink with splashes of white? I'm not exactly sure, but who cares anyway? Just look at it, isn't it totally gloat worthy?

See what I mean? No two roses are the same. Colour is painted on these little beauties with wild abandon in splashes, stripes and dots. How's that for an all singing and all dancing rose and it has a bit of a scent too!

And look who's come to join the party; it's Magenta a very fragrant and old-fashioned looking rose, a classic beauty if I ever saw one. She has opened her first flower today and this is what we at Bliss are looking forward to soon.
There are 2 Magenta roses here, both of them standards which is great because all its flowers are on nose height, ready to have its truly wonderful fragrance deeply inhaled. After smelling these roses you just have to sit down rather quickly as its scent goes to your head, making you dizzy with delight. As luck would have it, there are 2 nice seating area's close by. Yes, we have thought of everything. :-)
You love the roses - so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet: and it would be
Like sleeping and yet waking, all at once.
George Eliot

38 comments:

Lis vom Lindenhof said...

Wow, bei dir stehen ja die Rosen schon in voller Blüte! Besonders die weißen Rosen gefallen mir sehr gut, davon habe ich auch drei Stück nur leider keine Kletterrose.
Übrigens habe ich jetzt auch so einen Rhabarberpot wie Anita.:-) Sie hat mir die Adresse des Händlers aus NL gegeben und letzte Woche ist er gekommen. Foto kommt demnächst.
Lis

Anonymous said...

Ahhh- George weet het weer heel mooi te zeggen....En ik moet zeggen:(minder mooi ;)De Guirlande d'Amour ziet er sprookjesachtig uit!En bloemen plukken vind ik een van de leukste tuinwerkjes.....
Een prachtig combi:de ezelsoren met de Allium :-)

Anonymous said...

Hello from Blithewold (a public garden) in Bristol, RI - It looks like June in your garden! With a shorter growing season here, patience is a virtue...

Susan said...

I wish I could smell those roses along with you, Yolanda Elizabet. They are lovely.

— Susan from South of the River

Anonymous said...

Wow, I love your roses. They are blooming so abundant, looks like it has snowed!! You can almost smell them here. Hmmmm...lovely

RUTH said...

Our favourite roses in bloom at the moment are Whiskey Mac, Compassion and Margaret Merill all superbly scented and ready for picking! what a beautiful collection of roses you have.

Anonymous said...

All your white flowers look so fresh and pretty in your cool, northern light. I hope you pick flowers by moonlight sometimes. I'll bet your garden glows in the evening.

Heidi said...

Your roses are so beautiful! A real symphony of color. How precious to be able to bring your garden indoors with you through the roses in a vase. Enjoy this season of roses!

nordwolke said...

The roses with the white splashes are so beautiful! Love them!

Anonymous said...

prachtig je rozen ,heb jij ook de rambler roos bobby james ik heb haar pas aangeplant heb jij ervaring met haar? ,die witte van jouw vindt ik ook rg mooi wat bloeit ze uitbundig en vroeg! gr ina

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Bliss!

Lis: I'm looking forward to seeing your roses soon! So you bought a rhubarb forcing pot from that Dutch firm as well? Maybe I should ask them for a commision? :-D

Marleen: George weet het eigenlijk altijd wel goed te zeggen. Bloemen plukken in de tuin doe ik erg graag, zeker zulke mooie en geurende rozen.

Kris: you are right, it does look like June over here. Last year it even looked like June in June, shocking, isn't it? ;-)

Susan: so far there is no widget for conveying scents to other bloggers. snif!

Bert: after a bit of rain and wind, it does look like it has snowed.

Ruth: some of these roses were advised by people in the know. It was Vita Sackville-West (in one of her books) who kindly advised me to get Madame Alfred Carriere and she was right, what a lovely rose it is. Guirlande dÁmour is the favorite rose of the rose nursery in Kats in the Netherlands. The people who work there choose this one as their favorite climber and how right they were.

Pam: my front garden is white during the summer months and it does glow at dusk. It's a magical time to be in the garden then, surrounded by all its beauty and envelopped by its wonderful scent.

Heidi: I certainly enjoy all my roses. For me they are one of the highlights of my garden and it is wonderful to bring some of them indoors.

Beadexplorer: you and me both! ;-)

Ina: met Bobby James heb ik geen ervaring. Helaas, zoveel rozen en te weinig tuin en tijd om ze allemaal te verzorgen en van te genieten. Veel succes met Bobby!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I do gather roses and I just love them! :) But I have no flowering roses yet but I'm checking the buds everyday. Who is going to win the race this year!? ;)

Beautiful pictures as usual! Would love to see more rose pictures. I have never heard about Guirlande d'Amour before but it looks like a real beauty.

SchneiderHein said...

Hallo Yolanda,
schön dass Du die Fotos vom Bliss-Team ab und an veränderst. Wir sind ganz erstaunt wie alt Willow ist. Allegra ist in den letzten Monaten etwas auseinander gegangen - Maus ja schon bald nach der Kastration. Willow sieht zumindest auf dem Foto noch sehr schlank und zierlich für ihr Alter aus!
Heute beneide ich Dich wieder um Deine Rosen. Sie sind so üppig - das liegt aber auch am optimalen Standort. Bei uns müssen sie mit viel weniger Sonne auskommen. Das bringt Sammeln so mit sich. Dafür hat unsere Moonlight noch nicht einmal angefangen zu blühen und Du schneidest schon. Ebenso die Guirlande D'Amour - sie hat aber trotzdem viele Knospen.
Das Zählen unserer Rosen lohnt heute nicht. Denn so ganz bin ich noch nicht im Rosenjahr bei uns im Garten angekommen. Alle Stauden und Sträucher blühten so früh und schnell, dass mir noch garnicht nach Rosen zumute ist. Ab morgen sieht das wohl anders aus: Wir fahren nach Lützow. Mal sehen wieviele Rosen von unser Wunschliste dort zu bekommen sind oder ins Auto passen...
Liebe Grüße Silke

Garden Cats + Crafts said...

Wie immer wunderschöne Fotos bei Dir, so viele weiße Blüten, einfach zauberhaft. Deine Rosen in voller Blüte! Bei mir geht es jetzt auch so richtig los. Deine Calypso-Rose ist wunderschön. Sieht ja aus, wie gemalt. Ich mag auch die beiden anderen, soft pink und apricot. Einfach wunderschöne Blüten. Ach, ich liebe diese Jahreszeit! LG und noch viel Freude an Deinen Rosen, Birig

Anonymous said...

Genieten nu, de rozentijd moet hier eigenlijk nog komen, heb er eigenlijk nog maar 1 vol in bloei, de rest zit vol knoppen.

OldRoses said...

I agree, when the roses are blooming, life is sweet. I can't wait to hear the story of your mysterious feline visitor!

Bev said...

How beautiful!! What is the name of the soft pink rose? My roses have just awakened from their winter slumber and have not yet set bud. And I love, love, love your cats!

Anonymous said...

YE: You're teasing...my roses will not be in bloom for at least another month! I thank you for the appetizer though! They all look wonderful and I can almost smell them.

Carol Michel said...

Yolanda Elizabet... I have not yet gathered roses, because the ONE rose I have is not yet blooming. Kind of pathetic that I have just one small rose. But I'm considering adding more when/if I dig up some more flower beds. Your roses look wonderful and I swear I can smell them from here.

Robin's Nesting Place said...

The roses are beautiful. My favorite has to be the soft pink. I seem to only do well with the miniature roses, not sure why, maybe I just don't fuss enough over the others. I'm not one for spraying and they always seem to get the black spots. Yours are so lovely, maybe I'll try again.

Kylee Baumle said...

What a lovely bouquet on your table! And of course, beautiful in the garden, as well.

I wrote about roses today, too!

Now what about that kitty.....

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hello all and welcome to Bliss!

Karin: it is always fun to see what rose is going to win and flower first. This year in my garden it was Moonlight. I'm curious what your winner will be. Guirlande d'Amour is a rather new rose and I've been growing it for 2 years now and am very happy with it. It has survived very extreme weather (the hottest July ever, the wettest August ever, the longest period without rain ever in my country) splendidly. It is a healthy and very beautiful rose with a truly wonderful scent. I have 4 Guirlandes and at the moment they are flowering their little hearts out.

Silke: most of my Russian Blues stay fit and trim for most of their lives, not all cats get fat after neutering. I'll put up some new pictures of Delia (almost 7) and Merlijn (4 years)soon, they are also very elegant and slim. Glad you liked the new pics!
Happy rose hunting at Lützow, I hope you find your favorite ones there and that all will fit in your car! :-)

Birgit: roses are a bit like magic, aren't they? I'm looking forward to seeing all your lovely roses on your blog!! May is a wonderful time of year, our gardens are so full of promise!

Jalos: is jouw tuin niet vroeger dan anders vanwege het extreem warme weer dat we in april hadden? Bij mij is alles zo'n 6 weken vroeger dan normaal. Ben benieuwd naar jouw rozen op je blog!

Oldroses: true, life is very sweet with all those lovely fragrant roses around us. Looking forward to see your collection of lovely roses in flower! Ah yes, the mystery guest at Bliss. You will hear that story soon!

Bev: sorry, can't help you there. I took that pic in Kent, England a few years ago. If your roses have just woken up then you still have a lot to look forward to. The roses in flower is one of the highlights of Bliss.
BTW I'm nuts about my kitties too! ;-)

Layanee: my roses are very early this year, normally they would flower 4 to 6 weeks later. Kris commented on my garden looking like June, it does, normally this display would be here end of May and in June, not during April and May. I'm curious to see how long my roses will flower as this is such an exceptional year, weatherwise.

Carol: I belief that a garden(er) can never have enough roses so go ahead and plant a few more! And don't worry, your wonderful time with your roses will be coming soon.

Robin: a word to the wise; nowadays there are many roses available that are disease resistant, go for those if you want to plant roses in your garden. I grow everything organically and do not spray my roses at all. I prune them once a year, deadhead when necessary, feed them twice a year and that is it. I do not pamper them but let them get on with what they do best: being a delight to the eyes and nose! ;-)

Kylee: so we were thinking about the same subject while blogging: roses! I'm going to look at yours soon. BTW I'm still enjoying that lovely bouquet!

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Hallo Yolanda, morning coffee and a wonderful walk in your garden again.Thank you. Nice start of day. All those wonderful roses, I haven´t got one single in bloom yet :-(

Libbys Blog said...

I love roses but sadly they always get blackspot in my garden! So I would love to pick them but I have very few to pick!!!

Anonymous said...

Wauw....wat bloeien jou rozen al mooi. Bij mij bloeit op het ogenblik de roos "Sneewitchen", "Climbing Iceberg" en "Veilchenblau" de anderen zitten wel al vol knoppen.
Enne.....ja hoor, ik ben er ook altijd af aan het knippen voor in de vaas. Heerlijk toch!!!!

Tira said...

What absolutely marvelous roses-must be a delight to see these every day! I love the soft pinks, dusky pinks and apricot, may I get an apricot rose one day! Cute kitty, too. I know you love orchids and thought I'd let you know I did a garden tour blog of this Trinidad orchid grower with beautiful pics.

Ki said...

Beautiful, beautiful roses. Although we can't seem to grow them very well, we bought several with strong fragrance to give it another try. I remember my mother growing roses that always had a great scent. The ones we've bought several years ago were very pretty but no scent at all. Well hopefully this new batch will remedy that situation. Too bad you can't send the smell over the internet! ;)

Anonymous said...

Tolle Blütenpracht! Super!

Jane O' said...

I love your roses, especially the white. They look clean and pure. I have had to give up on roses. I seem to have an allergy to thorn scratches. Ever hear of such a thing? I get big welts. Sadly, I must take them out of my garden or pay the consequences.

Anonymous said...

ik heb hier weer super van genoten ,even aan de rozen geroken ,en op het bankje gezeten , zag daar echt mijn eigenste beker staan ;))
groetjes Lenie

Anonymous said...

Dank je voor je reactie op mijn log Yolanda... je hebt prachtige rozen... en trouwens een mooi verzorgde log...
Een log van een echte tuinliefhebber dat is ook wel duidelijk...

Groetjes
Anton

anna maria said...

I love all those beautiful white blooms and the soft pink rose in particular. It must smell heavenly in your garden.

Gowri said...

Beautiful roses, dear Yolanda! I loved the Guirlande d'Amour! My two little rose plants have given yellow and red flowers which look very pretty! The best thing about roses is the variety of colours one can find in them!

SchneiderHein said...

Hallo Yolanda,
leider waren wir längst nicht so erfolgreich bei der Rosenjagd, wie erhofft. Seitdem Jensen & Schloßgärtnerei Lützow eine Firma sind, hat sich vorallem das Wildrosen-Sortiment erheblich reduziert. Im Internet hatten wir noch die alte schöne Liste gesehen. Da hätte der Platz im Auto und im Garten sicherlich nicht mehr gereicht. Daher haben wir nur eine Variante der Sander's White und der Gruß an Zabern als absolute Sammler gekauft. Dazu die Botzaris und R. rugosa repens alba gefunden. In die zartrosa Ecke paßt noch die Stanwell Perpetual irgendwie rein. Das alles passte prima ins Auto. Danach haben wir ersteinmal abends bei Schultheis und Scarman jeweils 4 Rosen bestellt. Dann war unser Tag gerettet...

Gotta Garden said...

I almost thought there were some rose petals here on my computer, so lovely are these photos! Mine have begun and, one of these days, I'll get to posting about them. Of course, to be "Bliss-worthy" is a high standard to reach....but, I'll give it a try!

I'm partial to the English roses...until I see others...lol...then, I like them, too! So, tell me, no Japanese Beetles over there? If so, lucky, lucky you. They should start here shortly, probably June...sigh.

LostRoses said...

Yolanda, this is the most blissful rose posting I have ever read! Hallelujah to your gorgeous roses and the beautiful beds they're planted in. I would also pick mine with abandon if only they were in bloom! And congratulations on your Best International Garden Blog award. Well-deserved!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to rosy Bliss!

Tyra: your roses will flower soon too!

Libby: What's a little blackspot among friends? ;-)

Marga: er gaat niets boven een boeketje uit eigen tuin!

Nicole: if you like a certain rose, go for it!

Ki: I do hope your new roses will have a lovely scent. For me the fragrance is half the fun!

Gorden & Planten: Danke!

Pianna Nanna: I have a friend who has the same problem as you but she grows roses without any (or very little) thorns in her garden. A good rose almost without thorns is Zepherine Drouhin. It's a climber with pink scented flowers. Contact a local rose nursery and ask what roses they have on offer with little or no thorns. It's worth a try!

Lenie: tja, allebei dol op vogeltjes, dan krijg je dat. En ik vroeg me al af wie die mevrouw daar op mijn bankje was. :-)

Anton: jouw blog mag er ook zijn, erg leuk gedaan. Ook leuk dat je even aan komt wippen.

Anna Maria: the scent is bliss. ;-)

Thalia: how nice that you've had some lovely rose flowers too!

Silke: what a pity that their collection of wild roses was greatly reduced. I'm glad that there were still some roses that you liked and bought, and that you have ordered 4 new ones too. Looking forward to see them on your blog!

GG: glad you enjoyed yourself and btw is that a rose petal I see in your hair? Very fetching! ;-)

I'm looking forward to see your roses on your blog!!! Can't wait to find out which ones grow in your garden. I love the English (David Austen) roses too.

BTW no Japanese beetles over here. Yes, I'm lucky!

Lostroses: they are a joy, aren't they? So much looking forward to see yours in flower. I want to see if you live up to your name. ;-)

Boxwood Cottage said...

Gorgeous roses Yolanda and your boxwood hedges are so neat cutted! I still have to cut mine, bad have a hurting back at the moment so they have to wait.