The strange weather has continued. May, usually sunny, warm, and filled with lilacs and tulips, magnolias and other spring blossoms, has been cool and rainy.
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| Aphids cover the blossoms of the honeysuckle. |
We hit them hard with blasts of water (forceful spray from the hose) and that cleared them away for a couple of days. But unfortunately, they came back all too quickly.
Finally, this past week we had a couple of days without precipitation and I was able to spray with our sure fire aphid formula - water with canola and soap. That helped enormously, so hopefully, now we are on the right path.
Zephirine Drouhin is a Bourbon climber introduced in 1868 that has a most exquisite perfume.
Scentimental is a modern floribunda bred by Tom Carruth and introduced in 1997. The blossoms feature cream and burgundy swirled stripes and a strong damask perfume that has similar notes to the fragrance of Zephirine Drouhin, which is probably why we enjoy it so much.
The deep pink open blossoms have a remarkably strong and beautiful perfume that mixes with the scent of the salty ocean area to produce a fragrance that is uniquely New England.
The intense perfume of all of the roses has attracted a bevy of bees, butterflies and birds to the garden, always a pleasure to watch.
You can see what prompted Angela to post about this and add your blog to her list at Bumble Lush
Oh I'm so sorry about your aphids!! We have found many already underneath leaves of our tomato plants and on our butterfly bush. Sometimes we just wipe the leaves off with a paper towel, knocking out a whole colony. Your "Best" certainly makes up for it. Your roses are gorgeous! I sure would love to see Scentimental in my garden. It's unique!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking up with me!
Angela, you are so welcome! We enjoy your blog. What zone do you live in? I think Scentimental can tolerate zone 9. It's a gorgeous floribunda, which means it blooms all summer!
DeleteBeautiful Roses!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Christine!
DeleteThat Scentimental is quite striking! I love rugosa roses too.
ReplyDeleteWe love the rugosas as well - we just planted two Topaz Jewels - with lovely yellow blooms.
DeleteHello Cathy and Steve, i have not been there for a while in your site, thanks for coming over. Your roses are spectacular specially that variegated one. We can't grow much roses in our hot and water-challenged area. Besides, for us they easily succumb to pests. So what mother has now is the thornless, scentless variety, which seems to be resistant to many things.
ReplyDeleteAt least you found a rose that works for you... and thornless is a plus, even if you don't get the fragrance. When they hybridize and select for disease resistance, it's usually fragrance that gets sacrificed during the breeding. At least you get to enjoy the beauty if not the perfume.
DeleteThis is all really lovely. The variegated one reminds me of one at my mom's that I am going to do some cuttings on. I might be trying to name it next year. I'm sure there is more than one like that but who knows. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Cher, there are several variegated blooms out there. Rock and Roll is another that comes immediately to mind. Is the one at your mom's a shrub or a climber, and is there any yellow in the bloom or just red/white, or pink white?
Deletewhat does the canola and soap do to the bees and butterflies?
ReplyDeleteThe canola and soap are entirely safe for butterflies and bees, which is why they are a staple of our organic garden treatment program. We'll be re-posting about it later this week, but we are very sensitive and conscientious about bees as there are some folks in the area who have apiaries and their bees visit our gardens daily.
DeleteThe only thing we ever use that could harm bees is Neem, and when we do use Neem, we are careful to spray either very early (like 5:30 AM) before the bees are out, or 7:30 in the evening, after the bees are gone. Neem is only harmful if sprayed directly on the bee. It is not a problem if the plants are sprayed with Neem.
The photograph of the Scentinmental is truly amazing...and frame-worthy! I have never seen roses carry such complexity and beauty before. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome... thanks for visiting! Yes, Scentimental is an amazing rose!
DeleteI'm always admiring the Rugosa Roses wherever I see them! Do you find them hard to control? I don't usually see them for sale in garden centers though.
ReplyDeleteI love the rugosas - they are fragrant, hardy, and tolerate all kinds of unpleasant growing conditions. We have the rubras as well as a couple of albas and this year we planted a pair of the Topaz Jewel - a beautiful yellow one. We got them at the beginning of the season at Wolf Hill in Ipswich. They might still have some in Gloucester. You can also get some from Antique Rose Emporium. They've stopped shipping for the summer, but you can order for next spring in the fall.
Deletewe have some aphids too but I hope the constant rain has washed them away...lovely roses that I can only imagine the amazing smell
ReplyDeleteWe've had a lot of rain and it hasn't seemed to help, even when the rain was torrential. Hitting them with a hard spray helped for a day or two, but they were right back. Just before we went away, I dosed them with canola and soap. I'll see how well that worked when we get back. I have never seen them as bad as this year!
DeleteI use the same method as you...a shot of the hose. That seems to keep them at bay. Sometimes I introduce a ladybug beetle if I find one. That Scentimental rose is stunning. I love the color...like an ice cream swirl!
ReplyDeleteLadybugs are my next step... they sell them at our local garden center. That Scentimental rose is even more stunning in real life, and the perfume is amazing. It's one of our all time favorites.
DeleteI feel your aphid pain. They nearly decimated my one and only rose. I especially loved your descriptions of your roses. The scent is intoxicating.
ReplyDeleteIt's early enough in the season, it could come back for you. It has plenty of time to refoliate. I would give it a good spray with water, canola and soap to protect it and nurture it through the gardening season. Good luck with it!
DeleteThat rose is lovely. I've had to accept aphids at the moment as I'm raising some ladybird lavae, but they can be a pain can't they!
ReplyDeleteI've never tried to raise the larvae. They sell ladybugs at our local garden center. You're ambitious!!
DeleteAphids are such a frustration, but at least water is generally fairly effective. Better than some other bugs! And I love striped roses. Your Scentimental is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI was not really a fan of striped roses until this one. We have 4th of July and Purple Splash, but this one, the fragrance sold me. As for aphids... yep, yep, and yep!
DeleteHi Cathy and Steve,
ReplyDeleteThat scentimentalrose is amazing, I have never seen a rose so bold, marbelized!
We had a weird May too, wishing us both a wonderful June!
Hugs,
Bella
Bella, I hope June is better your way as well! Fourth of July (a climber), Purple Splash (also a climber), and Rock and Roll are also striped and swirled, but Scentimental is definitely my favorite. We have two of them, and between the two and the three Zepherine Drouhins, our entire yard smells like a perfume factory this time of year!
DeleteWe've had so many aphids here too, and I've had to spray almost every day. Thankfully when we came back from vacation, though, they had magically disappeared! I guess some ladybugs or other predators finally found them!
ReplyDeleteWish I could smell the roses!
We took a vacation too, and came back to.... aphids LOL. I had sprayed before we left, and so their numbers were quite reduced, but I obviously need to spray again. It rained a lot while we were gone, and I think that made it worse. It's going to be sunny and gorgeous for the next few days so we will be spraying our homemade remedy.
DeleteHi Cathy and Steve, I am having a bad spring for aphids as well. I have tried blasting aphids with the hose as well, but I find they come right back. Love the candy striped rose especially!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Jennifer. We're going to tackle these little devils with our canola, soap, citrus, mint, and water mixture. With the next four days predicted to be sunny, we're on it!
DeleteYour roses are wonderful! The views in your garden album below are spectacular, and your roses contribute a lot to your garden's romance and beauty. A stemming cup of herbal tea sounds just right!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Deb. It really is a haven! We're glad you enjoyed our mini album!
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