Gardening
Can’t Get Enough Roses
We have had sweltering heat here for the past two weeks (several days over 100), but the roses continue to bloom as long as they get enough water. The New Dawn rose next to the arbor is sending out multiple new canes that will be ready to tie to the arbor very soon. The red knock out roses seem to thrive in the heat, and the Caldwell Pink is starting to take off as well.
The rock garden is starting to take shape and get established. The sedum ‘Golden Acre’ is filling in very nicely between two large rocks, and the zinnias in the broken pot are finally starting to bloom. Volunteer nightshades keep threatening to take over this area, but I keep pulling them up as they are too large for what I had in mind for this spot.
The Pink Gaura in the bed along the front of the house is an incredible plant. I have never grown one before, but I will definitely be finding a place for more of them. This one has been blooming for weeks, and doesn’t seem to mind the heat at all. The Fairy Roses that flank the Gaura are not thriving yet, but they are hanging in there and pushing out a few blooms. The Fairy, like the Caldwell Pink and the Belinda’s Dream roses are all Earthkind roses which are well suited for growing in our Texas heat. For more information on Earthkind roses check out this post on Herself’s Houston Garden blog..
I love this Little Bunny dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides). They are definitely one of my favorite new plants in the courtyard.
This is a view of the courtyard from the east entrance.
And here is a view of the courtyard from the north side.
We still have much more work to do to finish the courtyard area. Next up will be the flagstone on all the paths and around the fountain. Following that will be a deck tucked into the southwest corner of the courtyard under an oak tree that will have three large tiers that will provide a transition between the courtyard and the back raised beds.
Future plans also include installing a rainwater collection system that will collect rain from the south side of the roof, connecting to a tank or cistern to the west of the back beds via a mini aqueduct.
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Water is a must here at our Phoenix Arizona flower shop. 101 degrees today.
all flowers and roses we deliver water to every day via a self watering system.
Your garden is beautiful!
Keep up the good work,
Jimmy
http://www.bobbiesflowers.com
It’s looking good! I agree with you about the red Knockouts. My Double Knockouts have been blooming steadily since the beginning of April. It’s just too bad that I don’t like the color– it tends to get be too red for my cool-colored garden, which is especially frustrating because they were much pinker when I bought them. Oh, well. I’m pretty thrilled with my Pink Knockouts as well. They take a bit of shade better than any other rose I’ve tried.
Jim – I don’t think I could deal with the Phoenix climate. I it is less humid there, but the relentless heat and dry conditions would really challenge me.
Lori – I know what you mean about the color of the Knock Outs. Red is not my favorite color either, but these plants have quite nice foliage colors as well so I try to focus on that rather than the bright red. I have been buying pink Knock Outs this spring also. I absolutely love them! I have noticed that the bloom color on all the Knock Outs is quite variable. Seems like the more I fertilize them the more deep and bright the colors are.
Thanks to both of you for stopping by and dropping me a compliment.
Happy gardening!
Cheers.
Carol
Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures of your garden. They sure inspire one to want to do some fancy garden work.