ROSE RAMBLER 11TH APRIL, 2019

Hello dear rose friends as we prepare for the Art & Roses Tours this weekend when busloads come to visit for a Walk ‘n’ Talk in the garden with Graham as part of the Kilmore Art Expo and Busking Competition (Saturday only). Kilmore will be literally buzzing this weekend so do come for a visit!

As people stepped from their cars these past weeks they’ve been very vocal about how beautiful our place looks and how many roses there are on show; the pots look amazing but the gardens are beautiful too!

Remember that autumn is a great time to write your wish list and order roses for bare- rooted season which starts mid-May to early-June
.
Let us assist with designing your rose garden so that you get it right first time! Bring your ideas, pictures and sketch drawings so that we can work on the garden design together!


GRA’S GARBLE

Q. What can you catch but never throw? A. A cold! It’s that time of year when you need to line up for a flu shot to be sure you stay well this winter!

Hello Graham – I was interested to see your plug for those fabulous secateurs.  Since you advised my son Lucas to purchase a pair for me I have recommended them to people who have since purchased them and are equally delighted, as I am.

A query  –  what do you use to keep them so clean? Cheers –Helen

My response: Thanks Helen – following this email and other similar requests I will attach the following to each pair we sell in future – it’s very important to care for your precious garden tools!


CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BEST SECATEURS YOU’LL EVER OWN!

Once a week during frequent use, open and spray secateurs blade and shaft with surface spray, leave a few seconds and whilst still wet, scrub all surfaces with steel wool then dunk in warm soapy water to soak. Scrub again if necessary. Using a fine wire remove all grit from shaft area, rinse and turn upwards to air-dry completely. Run sharpener two or three times evenly along both sides of anvil blade; lightly spray both sides of blade with olive oil.

P.S. Highly recommend you purchase a clip-on holster to avoid leaving secateurs in the garden!

With a bit of spare holiday time up your sleeve, you might consider doing some of these garden chores soon

  • CHECK ALL TIES ON STANDARD ROSES – REPLACE / REPAIR AS NECESSARY
  • REMOVE ANY ROSES YOU DON’T LIKE OR ARE PAST THEIR ‘USE-BY’ DATE – REPLACE SOME SOIL/COMPOST READY FOR A NEW ROSE TO BE PLANTED THIS WINTER
  • REAPPLY MULCH (WHILE THE SOIL IS STILL WARM) TO AREAS WHERE PREVIOUS MULCH TURNED TO HUMUS – PROTECT THE HUMUS AND WORMS FROM FROST – REMEMBER, WORMS START BREEDING SOON!
  • PLANT WINTER BULBS WHICH WILL FLOWER WHEN THE ROSES ARE FINISHED
  • IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, YOU MUST APPLY FERTILIZER NOW!
  • HIDE EASTER EGGS IN THE GARDEN – KIDS JUST LOVE IT!

Q. Where do you learn to make banana splits? A. At Sundae School.


EASTER HOLIDAYS TRADING…

Unless there is anything really pressing to share with you next week on Thursday, 18th April, the day before GOOD FRIDAY, this is the last Rose Rambler for a few weeks. Please note WE WILL BE CLOSED ON GOOD FRIDAY but otherwise open during the Easter weekend on our normal days Saturday, Sunday and Easter Monday.

You will receive your NEXT ROSE RAMBLER ON 2ND MAY as we, in respect of ANZAC DAYon Thursday, 25 th April, won’t be posting a Rose Rambler that day. ONLINE STORE AND WINTER ORDERING – DO IT NOW! Diana and Ben have been very busy loading lots of new photos to our online store: www.rosesalesonline.com.au ready for you all to indulge in selecting new roses from our bare-rooted selection of roses for this winter and ask you, please, if you see faults or issues whilst purchasing in our online store, kindly take a moment to email us at: info@rosesalesonline.com.au so that we can correct those mistakes – we’ll honour your email to us by posting a free rose this winter as thanks for your effort!


A few new pics we’ve loaded of some of our gorgeous beauties which are still available as POTTED ROSES to plant NOW …

THE OPPORTUNITY ROSE

THE OPPORTUNITY ROSE is a profuse bloomer, the habit is compact and a little over knee high. The medium sized buds have attractive form, the rich variable copper shades are not prone to premature fading. It has very high resistance to blackspot when compared to neighbouring varieties and a distinct light fragrance.


CAMP DAVID

CAMP DAVID … Hybrid Tea dark red rose and one of the most stunning!  This rose is one of the most abundant Hybrid Teas, producing the darkest red, red roses – no purple in this beauty as I refer to it as ‘brown red’ … it stays dark red all the way through to petal drop and it has the most glorious fragrance.

CAMP DAVID is definitely one of our most highly recommended dark red roses – the profusion of long-lasting blooms puts this beautiful rose ahead of some of the other most frequently purchased roses!

 


MY HERO

Modern Shrub Rose of extraordinary health and vigour as a pleasant reminder of the hero in your life!

Released by Swane’s Nursery this rose is exclusively grown in Australia and our conditions are perfectly suited to this exceptionally healthy, free flowering rose.

My Hero produces an abundance of classic, shining rose pink blooms which clothe the shrub over a very long flowering season. The petals are massed and have a rather old-fashioned look when the bloom is fully opened.


All stunning plants ready to be planted in your garden and keep flowering right into winter then lightly pruned so they are a glorious, established rose in your garden this spring and next flowering season!


Enjoy these coming weeks of time off with friends and family – take care of yourselves and each other during this very busy Easter holiday time – enjoy moments in nature together when you can – hopefully, you’ll jump in the car to visit our Rose Farm during this holiday time when we will be open during our normal business hours of Fri – Sat – Sun – Mon 9am – 4pm EXCLUDING GOOD FRIDAY when we will be spending time with our family.

Please remember to ask for a MEAL VOUCHER so that you can enjoy a scrumptious lunch at our local MAGPIE STUMP HOTEL in Wandong – lovely venue, delicious food!


HAPPY EASTER … from all of us here at Clonbinane – Graham, Diana, Mooi, and the team

 

ROSE RAMBLER 4TH APRIL, 2019

Hello dear rose friends as we approach the middle of autumn and still no sign of significant rainfall here at Clonbinane? OOOOh, the garden, the trees – they would all love to have the dust washed down off their leaves and only ‘God’s wee’ can do that on such a scale!


GRA’S GARBLE

We use our garden tools every time we go to the garden, but do we stop and consider how much we rely on them? How should we care for them? Or, do we just go out and buy cheap replacements when we’re next visiting the local hardware?

This is not an unusual email: “Hi Diana … Can you please recommend me a good pair of pruning shears. I’m sick of replacing ones I buy every few months as it goes blunt. I need to invest in a good pair that will see me through for a while. Many thanks – Shenaaz”

To which Diana responded, of course: Hello Shenaaz … We use and highly recommend the LOWE secateur

which is available to purchase on our website or here at the Silkies Rose Farm as we have used these for years and they are sooooo amazing … if you wish, call me on Friday-Monday to order over the phone, but otherwise, take this high recommendation and purchase from our online store, www.rosesalesonline.com.au – THE BEST SECATEURS YOU WILL EVER USE!!!  Cheers and I hope your garden is thriving!

Q. What does a spider’s bride wear? A. A webbing dress.


GIFT ROSES ARE INCREASING IN POPULARILY

Which is really not surprising when we receive such beautiful testimonials from those who receive them! Here are a couple of varieties of GIFT ROSES which are so special and look stunning NOW …

SOUL MATE

The colour describes the meaning of enduring friendship deserving of planting such a hardy, care-free, disease resistant, delightfully fragrant rose to honour your SOUL MATE.

True to being a MODERN SHRUB ROSE, the foliage is amazingly healthy and the blooms are very recurrent – as a STANDARD ROSE, you will enjoy an outstanding display of golden yellow, ruffle-petalled blooms continually throughout the flowering season … very highly recommend this lovely rose!


REMEMBER ME

Hybrid Tea rose with a delightful confection of colours including burnt orange, amber and beige with burnt red edges.

“REMEMBER ME in your heart, your thoughts and your memories is written on the rose tag and this rose is indeed purchased very frequently as a memorial plant. I am always so pleased that it is such a robust and sturdy rose so that even the most amateur gardener would be unlikely to be unsuccessful growing this rose.


PEACE

One of the most famous Hybrid Tea rose – the story of this magnificent rose can be read in FOR LOVE OF A ROSE by Antonia Ridge – a must read for all rose lovers!  The glorious large pale yellow/cream blooms with a hint of pink at the edge are delightfully fragrant and produce a stunning continual display of blooms.


Remember, you can purchase ANY ROSE OF YOUR CHOICE because the name may have
particular significance – in our store, there are  THREE SELECTIONS

  • BARE-ROOTED ROSE
  • POTTED ROSE
  • GIFT ROSE

You will note they are all differently priced and let me tell you WHY that is so:


BARE-ROOTED ROSE

Is what we can send to you in winter when there is way less weight in the pack because as the name suggests, the roses are just ‘sticks’ and their ‘bare’ roots are wrapped in damp newspaper to ensure they stay nice and moist during transit.


POTTED ROSE

There are still many roses in pots and if you wish to have one of those sent now, obviously, there is a significant weight with very damp potting medium and roots which fill a 20cm pot of flowering rose – each pot weighs no less than 3 kg right now!


GIFT ROSE

this is a premium product as one of our magnificent, organically managed, beautifully gift wrapped 20cm potted roses is posted with a lovely pictorial rose card inscribed with your personal message then packed into a stunning gift box – when possible, this rose has flowers and buds – and the price INCLUDES POSTAGE!

Always remember our GIFT ROSE when an event occurs in your life where posting a gorgeous rose, which reflects your loving thoughts, will have far deeper meaning than a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates!

Q. What creature is smarter than a talking parrot? A. A spelling bee, of course! (You absolutely HAVE to share this joke with kids around you to let them know the importance of literacy for their future!)


Looking forward to seeing you at Clonbinane soon … it’s absolutely beautiful in the gardens here NOW and you’re always welcome to wander! This coming weekend you might find a cuppa and scone left over from a bus group or two … if the weather is lovely, do come and visit us here and attend local events at Kilmore where the Art Expo and Busking Competition is in full swing… cheers

DIANA, GRAHAM, MOOI and the team