Rosa 'Disneyland'

Rosa 'Disneyland'  

Aloe "grenadensis"

I bought this Aloe tagged as Aloe grenadensis.  I looked around various sources for an Aloe grenadensis, and couldn't find anything other than the grower who produced my specimen.  Someone commented that it could be a made-up name, and that it is most probably Aloe camperi.  "Grenadensis" implies the island of Grenada, and there are no Aloes native to Grenada.   Aloe is genus of  the Eastern, not the Western Hemisphere.   I don't know enough about Aloes to know what is right, but I know I don't like "common" names or made up names for plants, because they create confusion.  I'm confused about this Aloe, so there you go. 



Further reading indicated that Aloe camperi is also called Aloe eru, and by one 19th century plant hunter, Lamarck, A. abbysinica.   Further internet search yields photos of Aloes by these names, some of which look like my plant, and some of which do not.  If this has not made your eyes glaze over yet,  then you are a heck of a plant lover. 

I like exact knowledge of what plant I have for one simple reason:  to learn what will likely be the best place in my garden to plant it, and how to treat it in regards to watering and care.   At least in my garden, 90% of a plant's success is placing it in the right spot.  The remaining 10% is my skill, which lets you know how skilled I am at actually growing something.



But back to A. camperi.  It's an unusual green for an aloe, which are commonly of a duskier, bluer, darker, or greyer green.  A. camperi is a bright limey green, with orange teeth.   I've put it into a very dry spot with perfect (instant) drainage, so I may be watering it a lot this summer to keep it alive.  But for now it's happy, and the blooms are beautiful. 

Geranium 'Jolly Bee'

They photograph bluer than they are...most definitely a lavender-blue, not a sky blue as this picture suggests.  Still, a beautiful color!

Why have I not raved about the wonderful Geranium 'Jolly Bee', or its nearly identical competitor, Geranium 'Rozanne'?  Perhaps I have--though I looked and couldn't find a previous post on the subject. 

They should be mentioned again and again as a superb under planting for roses, for a number of reasons. 

First, the lavender-blue flower color looks perfect with the color of any rose.  Next, they are sterile--no seedlings to sprout everywhere and drive you nuts.  Third, their root systems don't wander far, so they won't interfere with rose roots.   Fourth, they bloom like crazy for months.  It's not just a spring bloom, it's all summer and nearly all of autumn, too. 

And I need not add:  they are beautiful. 


With Iris 'Merlot Magic'

Rosa 'Firefighter'

The rose I keep by the computer at all times is 'Firefighter' (Orard, before 1998):



'Firefighter' has run through a number of names:  'Red 'n Fragrant', 'Hacienda', 'Roxanne Pallat', and in the US, 'Firefighter'.  I've noticed that roses with multiple names are more often than not excellent roses.  My guess is that the patent-holder or hybridizer really believes in the quality of the rose, and keeps trying with different names, hoping the plant is the hit it deserves to be.

'Firefighter' started its career as a fragrant florist rose, went through a couple other names, and then was picked up by Edmunds and renamed as a tribute to the NYC firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11.  They both  deserved  and received a beautiful tribute in this rose. 

Though the color is not a pure crimson red like that of 'Veterans Honor', or 'Beloved', it is a true red, not a dark pink.  The red is dusky, on the cool blue side of red.  'Firefighter' has a few minor flaws, none of which are that terrible:  the plant is slow to establish and blooms very little the first couple of years.  After that, it turns into a huge perfume manufacturing plant, pumping out fragrant bloom after fragrant bloom.  Another minor flaw is the shape of the unopened bud, which is small, and often asymmetrical.  I speculate that the small unimpressive buds are partly to blame for this roses's relative obscurity.  It is a surprise to see such  beautiful flowers develop from such sad little buds.  But they do!

The great virtues of 'Firefighter' are the wonderful fragrance, the dusky red color (red and fragrant and disease resistant are rarer than you think), the very good, if not perfect, rust and mildew resistance, the long, straight, strong cutting stems, and the bloom production, which is wonderful.  I can usually have at least one or two 'Firefighter' blooms in the vase by the computer from April thorough January.  The greatest feature of 'Firefighter' is that strong sweet rose fragrance.  Lean back in your chair and a waft of perfume drifts into your nostrils.  Shift a little, and more perfume.  Walk into the room:  perfume.  This is a good one!   If it seems as though I am besotted with 'Firefighter's perfume at this moment:  yes, I am!

Rosa 'Gloire de Dijon'

Gloire de Dijon' (Jacotot, 1850), a Tea-Noisette climbing rose, is and always has been a one-cane wonder in my yard.  A nice lady had it planted in a pot with a clematis.   It did poorly, and so she gave it to me, rather than throwing it out.  It's still a sad-looking plant despite a lot of time, water and fertilizer, but it does produce these wonderful flowers:



David Austin mixed 'Gloire de Dijon' with 'Conrad Ferdinand Meyer', a big, tough, thorny Rugosa shrub rose, and then he mixed some more, and finally produced 'Cressida' (Austin, 1983):


'Cressida' in the landscape with 'Lemon Spice' (yellow) and 'Rabelais' (red):


'Cressida' inherited something of 'Gloire's beauty, and a lot of Conrad's tough thorniness.  I was in a friend's garden recently, and saw the Tea rose 'Adam'.  I was surprised to see how much 'Cressida' resembles 'Adam', (or at least, what is sold nowadays as "Adam"), which is one of the first Teas.  Here's 'Adam':



'Gloire's fragrance is sweet Tea.  'Adam' is Tea-scented as well, while 'Cressida's scent is a cross between licorice and face cream.  To me, the flaws of 'Cressida' were on David Austin's mind as he refined and refined through many different crosses to create the beauty of 'Evelyn'.  I'm not sure there's any relation between them, but in my garden 'Evelyn' comes off as a refined and elegant version of 'Cressida'. 

Rosa 'Cressida':



Rosa 'Evelyn':



The growth habit is somewhat awkward, and you must deadhead promptly to get good re-bloom. However, refined or not, 'Cressida' is a beautiful rose that I'm happy to have in my garden.

  

Fenced, and the 'Scaredy Cat' Plant

I miss my Koi.  No, they're fine!  They're just under a net, where I can't see them as well.  They're under a net, safe and protected, because this evil nasty killer monster has been lurking around the pond for weeks now, waiting to slaughter my darling Koi by stabbing them in the brain, even though they are too big for a Great White Egret to swallow:



The blueberries are under a net and fenced, because the mockingbirds and towhees love blueberries just as much as I do.  But due to the miracle of the opposable thumb, those berries will be all mine!


The green beans are under a fence in a raised bed because local cats think raised vegetable beds make great toilets.  I don't.


And although I have a wall around the area, and gates that are always kept closed, and wire fencing on the bottom of the gates,  rabbits somehow still manage to get in for the sole purpose of eating my tiny baby roses, so those little babies have their own personal fence: 



I was part of a garden club hosting a local tour this week, and worked the little plant sale we had.  One of the plants they had was Plectranthus caninus, commonly sold as Coleus caninus.  The old common name is Dogbane.  Someone has come up with the marketing name of 'Scaredy Cat'.  The plant is purported to scare away rabbits, cats, and so forth due to its skunkish odor.  Uh-huh.  We sold them all.  One person did ask me if a smelly plant would really work as a reliable pest repellant.  I rolled my eyes, and she nodded and put the plant back on the shelf.  Obviously, an experienced gardener.  My own experience with rabbits is that nothing will scare them off if they're hungry enough.  A smelly plant isn't going to work.  Ditto with coyote urine, blood meal, vibrating do-hickys, and so on.  I put my trust in fences.  And besides, that Plectranthus was ugly.

Since those fences and nets are not exactly attractive either, a beauty shot to end the post and nourish the eyes and soul:

Rosa 'Lunar Mist':

Gosh Darn Garden Hose!

Gosh Darn that garden hose!  I was in my pajamas and bathrobe and pink fuzzy slippers, which are a little ratty because I wear them out into the garden, which was wet from a rare April rain, and cold, so I didn't move that garden hose to take the picture, and I should have.  Oh well.  Don't do that!  Put the hose away!

My slippers got less pink as I wandered around.  Rosa 'Fabulous' continues to be so:


That's Hemerocallis 'Butterscotch Ruffles' in there with 'Fabulous!'  Probably my least favorite day lily in the garden, but it's looking good this year.



And Rosa 'Top Notch' is, yes, top notch:


I love how the foliage goes all the way to the ground.  This one was slow to establish, and re-bloom was also slow the first 3 years, but now it's excellent, with  thick petal substance.   Here it is again.  That's climbing rose 'Altissimo' in the background:



It's been fairly cold for April the past few days, and we had a little rain Tuesday and Wednesday.  This type of weather gives the flowers deeper, richer color.   Here's 'Molineux''s April color--in August he'll be far more pale: 


And speaking of color, we must remember that yes, green is a color too, and that the variety of greens in the world is marvelous.  The blue-grey green of Eucalypts in the background, the glowing cast of 'Swane's Golden' Italian Cypress, and the rich green of spring-fresh Parthenocissus tricuspidata:


Okay, this cuts that garden hose out of the shot.  I feel a little better now. 

"Climbing" 'Iceberg

There is a climbing sport of 'Iceberg', but this ain't it.  This is an 'Iceberg' that I can't really get to anymore, so I just left it.  It decided to reach for the sun on its own and became a climber.  The wrought iron panel by the window happened to be a place it could use to grow upward.  Again, the most beautiful effects in my garden are the ones I didn't plan!  

AN IMPORTANT AND SOBERING MESSAGE FOR EARTH DAY

An important and sobering message for Earth Day:



It's up to us.

"Bargain" Rose Vs. "Expensive" Rose

Is there a difference in buying a "bargain" rose from a big-box store vs. buying one from a garden center?   The photo shows three 'Julia Child' floribunda roses.   The two on the left were planted in January of 2007.  The one in the rectangle was planted in June of 2007.  Though it was planted six months later, it's a reasonable expectation to think it could catch up to the other two after nearly three full years in the ground. 

The "bargain" rose is in the black rectangle.  It cost $5.  On the left side of the photograph are two 'Julia Child's that cost 3 times as much.  What do you think?  Are the $15 roses that much better than the $5 rose? 

And now for something completely different:

Rosa 'Day Breaker':


Only in California:  Epidendrum orchid, Madeira geranium, and Japanese Maple:


Even an ordinary begonia looks beautiful on a spring morning:

Walking Around Looking at Spring

Lavender


Rosa 'Honey Perfume'


Echeveria imbricata


Echeveria 'After Glow'


Aeonium 'Zwartzkop'


Dasylirion longissma vs. Mariana sedifolia


'Tamora' bathed in morning light