Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 30.10.2014

ROSE RAMBLER 30.10.2104

Hello dear rose friends … here’s a pinch and a punch for the LAST day of the month – another one gone and yep, our roses are blooming.  They’re so healthy and robust – inviting you to come and take a look at how beautiful they are and the outstanding queen this week is FIONA’S WISH with her heavenly fragrance and stunning HUGE blooms demanding attention from the moment you step out of your car … gawd, what a rose …

Following on from last week’s Rose Rambler, the sharing continues and we are all benefiting from the input of readers – Noeline has this great contribution which will please those of you who are plagued by rosellas and other birds who strip your roses …

“Hello Diana, I am sending you the following email to let you know about the success I’m having with keeping the rosellas away from my roses. I’ve had it on each rose bush (a strip of about half a metre) for 3 weeks now and believe it to be the best protection ever. Believe me I’ve tried every other conceivable device. The tape is strong enough to withstand further use. Very effective especially when the sun is out and a slight breeze is blowing. The bright colours are amazing. I can send you a sample strip if you would like. I did forget to put the tape on one standard bush and the birds only just found it a couple of days ago. Threw my shoe at it and put a piece of the tape on it and they haven’t been back since.  Regards … Noeline”

Ok, so what is the product Noeline is successful with?  Here’s the information you need …

Holographic Tape
When exposed to sunlight the tape reflects multi-coloured light in a random chaotic manner and is available from:
Bird Gard Pty Ltd, PO Box 737, Cotton Tree QLD 4558
Tel: 07 5443 6344  darren@birdgard.com.au

It would be most interesting to know if this tape, when attached to roses where there is possibly some night light may deter possums … might be worth a try for those gardeners who despair at the destruction of the rose garden due to possums – let’s keep this conversation alive.

Here’s another tip: Yvonne has the snails stumped …  “Even the snails (of which there were many) are few and far between as we now use coffee grounds around the plants, and snails and slugs do not like coffee grounds.  The lemon tree was being attacked by snails and the fruit skins were snail marked.  So, out came the coffee grounds.  We sprinkled it around the tree and have not been bothered with snails on the lemon tree since that time.”

GRA’S GARBLE …

We’ve been collecting coffee grinds from a local Café since we left our own Café at Kilmore … we KNOW the coffee grinds are an amazing addition to the organic garden because worms absolutely LOVE them!!!

Q.  Where do ants go for their holidays?  A.  Fr-ants of course!… laugh till you cry.

So that you get great, CORRECT information to assist you in your quest for caring for our environment by employing organic management principles in all aspects of your garden adventures, please keep these addresses handy and sign up for their very useful, extremely informative newsletters: www.sgaonline.org.au
www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au

SGA is Sustainable Gardening Australia with whom our business is registered as a Sustainable Garden Centre while OCP are the creators of our eco-friendly rose management products.

RECYCLING …

Don’t throw away any old shoes or boots.  Get the kids to drill holes in the soles, paint them all the colours of the rainbow, then fill them with quality potting mix and plant flower seedlings or herbs for a beautiful display.  Ask this joke while you’re busy helping them:

Q. Why did the picture go to jail?  A. Because it was framed.

GET LOTS MORE ROSES – TRIM THE SPENT FLOWERS …

To get more blooms as soon as the flowers finish, continually trim 30cm of stem and I guarantee you will have new roses within 50 days.  Some people call this ‘summer pruning’ but if you do it at least once a week throughout the flowering season, you’ll have a continuous display of beautiful flowers and keep the rose bushes neat.  Remove any dead-wood when you see it as this will make the winter pruning a whole lot easier.

APHIDS …

We highly recommend that you NOT squish them with your fingers because you will very likely squish all the beneficial insects that are there trying to eat them!!!

Take a look at these pics … plump ladybird and

Lacewings (very fine-winged insects) voraciously ingesting aphids

If you have a severe outbreak of aphids, apply ECO-OIL (suffocates mainly the larval stage) with ECO-NEEM (starves both adults and young) at 3-5 day intervals until the blighters are under control but WILL NOT HARM all the beneficial insects!!!

Enjoy these last magnificent weeks of spring and do come and visit on this beautiful Victorian holiday weekend for the ‘race that stops the Nation’ … Melbourne Cup, for us, is all about the glorious roses but if you back a horse, may you back the winner …

~ Cheers from Diana, Graham and Mooi

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 23.10.2014

ROSE RAMBLER 23.10.2014

Hello dear rose friends … more sharing as a result of last week’s Rambler.  It’s amazing how ‘toilet stories’ attract this kind of sharing … giggling still … but sad that nobody offered to take Graham on his long-worked-for holiday???

Hi Di – those eco products I got from you via phone call last week arrived next day by post (fantastic), and it saved me going to Bunnings etc, plus I was able to talk to you to learn a lot more about the product (not an option at the big chains).

Plus the products did a very good job, and not just on the roses  – Paul

Yes, for a minimal postage fee, I can post our organic rose management products direct to your door – call me on 03 5787 1123 if this works for you!

VERY EXCITING NEW RELEASE ROSE NOW AVAILABLE…

We had to wait for this rose to be ‘baptised’ so that we could attach labels – we now have the labels and some stunning plants ready to be sold.

Every family has one, every child thinks they are the one, every parent knows that each child is one … so which rose am I referring to?  Of course, THE GOLDEN CHILD.

An amazingly sturdy, bright yellow floribunda rose, THE GOLDEN CHILD was awarded ROSE OF THE YEAR in 2013 for extremely healthy, glossy dark foliage which is a brilliant foil for the stunning mass of fragrant, non-fading, waved-petal,  yellow blooms produced continually from season start to end.

This highly recommended rose is ONLY available on our website as a GIFT ROSE bush which means it will be gift-wrapped and a card with your personal message attached then posted to THE GOLDEN CHILD in your life.  Please send one to each of your children to alleviate sibling rivalry – I know which of her children my Mum would send the rose to; she has one son and three daughters … giggle!!!

Standard specimens of the rose are available FOR PICK-UP ONLY at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane – limited numbers available this season.

GRA’S GARBLE …

To stop pots from drying out use glazed or plastic pots that lose less moisture from evaporation.  Paint the inside of terracotta pots with a sealer or plant the rose into a plastic pot, place it in the larger decorator pot and disguise the edges with mulch or a trailing ground-covering plant like ALYSSUM or other seedlings.

ALWAYS use top quality potting mix which you can be sure has a blend of quality ingredients including water-saving crystals and nutrients.

EVERY rose can be grown in a pot and since there is a good range of sizes available in the self-watering decorator pots, we recommend you purchase one of those so that you can guarantee your rose will always have water and nutrients available – pour seaweed solution into the water well.

The size of pot you select will determine the eventual size of the rose; climbing roses and large-growing hybrid tea roses, old-fashioned and modern-shrub roses perform beautifully in large tubs.  Use smaller pots for miniatures and some of the smaller growing floribundas. Group your pots together so that you’re not walking all over the yard with the hose running – it’s easy to forget ‘that one over there’!!!

EARWIGS IN THE ROSES …

Since they don’t fly, there’s only one way they can get to the flowers … crawl … soooo, if you have creepy-crawlies in your roses, try smearing petroleum jelly around the base stems.  Yes, it’s tedious but we know they won’t walk over it and if you end up with glorious roses to bring into the house that aren’t spilling earwigs over the kitchen bench, it’s worth it!

Q. What happens if you pour a bucket of hot water down a rabbit hole? 
A. You get hot cross bunnies!

Let us know what results you have with this method of deterring crawling insects in your flowering roses.  Clean up around the garden where the earwigs are camping … have a beaut week in your garden …. Graham

DATES TO LOCK-IN …

8TH/9TH NOVEMBER
ROSE SOCIETY ROSE SHOW
MT. WAVERLEY, VIC

SUNDAY, 16TH NOVEMBER
STATE ROSE GARDEN SHOW
AT WERRIBEE, STATE ROSE GARDENS

We will be there with a display site – definitely make this a ‘must do’ on your calendar – bring the whole family for a great day out!!!

The roses are almost flowering here at Clonbinane so do call in soon – when you come, please feel free to wander through the gardens …

~ Cheers from Diana, Graham & Mooi

ROSE RAMBLER 16.10.2014

 

Hello dear rose friends … this interesting email discussion is very worth sharing:

Hello Diana … Thank you so much for your weekly news sheets – they are most helpful. On the 12th September you referred to the organic spray to prevent black spot, etc.  After looking up recipes on the web, I found a carb soda and soap recipe which I used before the foliage had started showing.  The roses are looking really lush now.  But I cannot find whether this should be continued once the foliage is out, or is it ineffective now?It is the first time I have used it and I have to say that I was terrified of what may happen.  I decided that if I killed every rose, I would make a trip to Silkie Rose Garden and replace them all!  Fortunately, I didn’t kill any

I would so appreciate your advice.

Best regards Thea

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

My response: Hi Thea …

In the ‘old’ days when we first started our journey into sustainable/organic management practice, we also used all these recipes and it was a lot of mucking around – treat yourself to the AUSTRALIAN well-researched, economical and very effective OCP products – eco-oil and eco fungicide/eco rose (same product!!!) and you won’t have that immense worry about whether you’ll harm your roses or not!!!  It’s like fertilizer – yes, you can buy a bit of this and a bit of that and maybe somewhere in there, get it right – why not just buy quality fertilizer which has all the nutrients … easy and the science is done by professionals!  We are very lucky now that we have access to such brilliant Australian products and I recommend you use them!  Hope this is helpful …

Cheers

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thea’s response:

Thank you so much Diana.  I hadn’t realised that ‘eco …’ is a brand name.  Have checked out Bunnings and Masters websites and found it.  So am all set!  Shame I don’t cook – I think that’s what carb soda is used for mostly.  But I am certainly not going to start.

Best wishes, Thea

GRA’S GARBLE …

Please, please support your local PLANT NURSERY!!!  Yes, the ‘big guys’ have it all but if you take a moment to wander through your local nursery, have a chat with the (usually) qualified person who gets up each and every morning (usually) at least 6 days a week, they will be the people who will offer you back-up support, great information, quality plants with (usually) a guarantee!

Think about what your kids/grandkids might be doing in years to come – hopefully working in a profession that makes them extremely happy and this great country of ours is the best place to be!  Yes, we sell our Australian products on the internet to Australian gardeners – consider where you buy and what you buy in the interest of the future for ALL of us!

Q.  What did the alien say to the garden?  A.  Take me to your weeder. 

Then he follows up with this one:
Q. What did the alien say to the cat?  A.  Take me to your litter. 

(Editor, Diana:  Gawd, I’ll let you figure all that out ‘cause I haven’t got a clue where he’s going with any of this.  He needs a holiday so I’m thinking of sending him to the moon – any takers for a co-driver?) 

HELP US PLEASE …

You’ve heard me talk about constructing a toilet facility for you when you come to visit.  Is there anybody out there who knows something about composting toilets, camping toilets – anything simple that is legal?

No, we don’t want to give you a shovel, no the ‘long-drop’ won’t work because we live on the Sunday Creek – boys can pee behind a tree but we would like to offer our lady visitors the comforts they expect without them coming into our home.

If you have experience with a toilet which might be used say, high out, 10 times a week, can you please send us an email with your ideas … thanks.

ROSE OF THE WEEK …

this magnificent Hybrid Tea rose has won awards for the most exquisite fragrance and beautiful, perfectly formed blooms on long, strong stems.  JARDINS DE BAGATELLE is a significantly important rose for me – when we demolished the gardens at Kilmore, Graham took particular time to carefully remove three bushes and replant them here at Clonbinane just below the veranda where I sit with my morning coffee – it’s one of my most favourite Hybrid Tea roses.

When customers purchase this rose, I know they’re in for a treat and Yoda sent this glorious photo of one of the first roses to flower in his garden this season:

WARNING …

Please do check the ties and structures where your roses are planted.  Last week I was raving about how magnificent MRS. B.R. CANT was flowering over the (33 year old) swing frame.  In the horrific winds of this past few days, the frame lifted out of the ground and massive canes shattered – Gra and I spent 3 hours pruning the rose today – hopefully she will be flowering again at Christmas unlike a few customers who have called to say their weeping/standard roses were ripped from their canes and there is no other option than replacement!  Not good!!!

Here’s another date to log into your diary –

ROSE SOCIETY OF VICTORIA Spring Rose Show
on the 8th – 9th November
at Mount WaverleyDetails from the Society’s website on www.rosesocietyvic.org.au

Have a beaut week in your rose garden contemplating these words …

ALL THAT WE ARE IS THE RESULT OF WHAT WE HAVE THOUGHT. 
THE MIND IS EVERYTHING.
– BUDDA

~ Diana, Graham & Mooi

 

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 16.10.2014

ROSE RAMBLER 16.10.2014

 

Hello dear rose friends … this interesting email discussion is very worth sharing:

Hello Diana … Thank you so much for your weekly news sheets – they are most helpful. On the 12th September you referred to the organic spray to prevent black spot, etc.  After looking up recipes on the web, I found a carb soda and soap recipe which I used before the foliage had started showing.  The roses are looking really lush now.  But I cannot find whether this should be continued once the foliage is out, or is it ineffective now?It is the first time I have used it and I have to say that I was terrified of what may happen.  I decided that if I killed every rose, I would make a trip to Silkie Rose Garden and replace them all!  Fortunately, I didn’t kill any

I would so appreciate your advice.

Best regards Thea

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

My response: Hi Thea …

In the ‘old’ days when we first started our journey into sustainable/organic management practice, we also used all these recipes and it was a lot of mucking around – treat yourself to the AUSTRALIAN well-researched, economical and very effective OCP products – eco-oil and eco fungicide/eco rose (same product!!!) and you won’t have that immense worry about whether you’ll harm your roses or not!!!  It’s like fertilizer – yes, you can buy a bit of this and a bit of that and maybe somewhere in there, get it right – why not just buy quality fertilizer which has all the nutrients … easy and the science is done by professionals!  We are very lucky now that we have access to such brilliant Australian products and I recommend you use them!  Hope this is helpful …

Cheers

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thea’s response:

Thank you so much Diana.  I hadn’t realised that ‘eco …’ is a brand name.  Have checked out Bunnings and Masters websites and found it.  So am all set!  Shame I don’t cook – I think that’s what carb soda is used for mostly.  But I am certainly not going to start.

Best wishes, Thea

GRA’S GARBLE …

Please, please support your local PLANT NURSERY!!!  Yes, the ‘big guys’ have it all but if you take a moment to wander through your local nursery, have a chat with the (usually) qualified person who gets up each and every morning (usually) at least 6 days a week, they will be the people who will offer you back-up support, great information, quality plants with (usually) a guarantee!

Think about what your kids/grandkids might be doing in years to come – hopefully working in a profession that makes them extremely happy and this great country of ours is the best place to be!  Yes, we sell our Australian products on the internet to Australian gardeners – consider where you buy and what you buy in the interest of the future for ALL of us!

Q.  What did the alien say to the garden?  A.  Take me to your weeder. 

Then he follows up with this one:
Q. What did the alien say to the cat?  A.  Take me to your litter. 

(Editor, Diana:  Gawd, I’ll let you figure all that out ‘cause I haven’t got a clue where he’s going with any of this.  He needs a holiday so I’m thinking of sending him to the moon – any takers for a co-driver?) 

HELP US PLEASE …

You’ve heard me talk about constructing a toilet facility for you when you come to visit.  Is there anybody out there who knows something about composting toilets, camping toilets – anything simple that is legal?

No, we don’t want to give you a shovel, no the ‘long-drop’ won’t work because we live on the Sunday Creek – boys can pee behind a tree but we would like to offer our lady visitors the comforts they expect without them coming into our home.

If you have experience with a toilet which might be used say, high out, 10 times a week, can you please send us an email with your ideas … thanks.

ROSE OF THE WEEK …

this magnificent Hybrid Tea rose has won awards for the most exquisite fragrance and beautiful, perfectly formed blooms on long, strong stems.  JARDINS DE BAGATELLE is a significantly important rose for me – when we demolished the gardens at Kilmore, Graham took particular time to carefully remove three bushes and replant them here at Clonbinane just below the veranda where I sit with my morning coffee – it’s one of my most favourite Hybrid Tea roses.

When customers purchase this rose, I know they’re in for a treat and Yoda sent this glorious photo of one of the first roses to flower in his garden this season:

WARNING …

Please do check the ties and structures where your roses are planted.  Last week I was raving about how magnificent MRS. B.R. CANT was flowering over the (33 year old) swing frame.  In the horrific winds of this past few days, the frame lifted out of the ground and massive canes shattered – Gra and I spent 3 hours pruning the rose today – hopefully she will be flowering again at Christmas unlike a few customers who have called to say their weeping/standard roses were ripped from their canes and there is no other option than replacement!  Not good!!!

Here’s another date to log into your diary –

ROSE SOCIETY OF VICTORIA Spring Rose Show
on the 8th – 9th November
at Mount WaverleyDetails from the Society’s website on www.rosesocietyvic.org.au

Have a beaut week in your rose garden contemplating these words …

ALL THAT WE ARE IS THE RESULT OF WHAT WE HAVE THOUGHT. 
THE MIND IS EVERYTHING.
– BUDDA

~ Diana, Graham & Mooi

 

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 18.9.2014

 

ROSE RAMBLER … 18.9.2014

Hello dear rose friends … brilliant news to get you off the couch and out into the garden … since yesterday and for nearly a whole week until Tuesday, 23rd September, we have a sensational opportunity to weed the garden!

Of course that’s great news – you’ll be working in a perfect Moon Gardening Phase which means that if you weed now, the weeds will pull out of the ground easily so get your gloves on and get down and dirty in the rose garden pulling weeds and mulching as you go!  Let’s see what Gra has to tell us about all this …

GRA’S GARBLE …

Rules for weeding:

  • Get weeds out NOW before they seed
  • Weeds are not our enemy – they are just another plant growing
    out of place
  • Their place is in a compost heap for use as green manure – any weeds with creepy roots need to be binned!
  • Share the weeds with your fowls who love a small amount of green feed every day – the green tips of the weeds are loaded with chlorophyll which makes the most nutritious eggs!
  • Weeds pull easily if you weed during the right MOON PHASE …
    no, don’t laugh but rather, give it a go and right now up
    until 23rd September is ideal.

Gardening Moon Charts can be found in “Home & Garden” or ABC Garden Magazine and I would love to hear from you about your weeding success if you follow the chart.

Weed as much as you can in the next 10 days and remember to position your body so that you don’t have to jerk and strain muscles.  A kneeling pad is a great idea.  By the way, don’t have sleepless nights worrying about the weeds in your garden …

               Q.  When was King Arthur’s army too tired to fight? 
               A.  When they had lots of sleepless (k)nights.

Talked lots about lemons and how good they are for you because they provide lots of Vitamin C and alkalise your system – half a lemon squeezed into warm water every morning with a bit of apple cider vinegar will keep your body well.

               Q.  What happens when a cat eats lemons? 
               A.  It becomes a sour puss. 

Enjoy this glorious spring weather and be sure and pull the weeds in your garden over the next few days to ensure you have a weed-free garden for months to come … Gra

JUST A FEW REMINDERS OF
THINGS TO DO NOW …

  • Remove all the plant labels on your new roses – pop them in a book and draw a plan of the garden – that way you’ll learn to identify your roses and know them when friends drop by to admire them!
  • Loosen and re-tie all the standard and climbing rose ties – the sap will be flowing which will make the stems thicken – if the ties are strangling the stems, there is a chance you will ring-bark the rose!
  • Get going with the organic spray management program – prevention is way better than cure and the organic management works particularly well on the larval stage of insects!
  • Groom the pruned roses – go around and remove some of the weaker new shoots in favour of more sturdy, buxom ones.  You’ll create more robust bushes with heaps of flowers and stronger stems!

IN CLOSING …

We did a spray program on the pots in the nursery yesterday and there is a most outstanding rose up there – LIONS ROSE – such magnificently healthy foliage which will give us a plethora of beautiful creamy blooms in bunches throughout the season – a most ideal rose for hedging and also spectacular in a vase.

Get down and dirty, weed now while the opportunity is here …
enjoy the moments in your garden this week …
~ Cheers from Diana, Graham & (ferocious guard dog, NOT) Mooi

 

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 11.9.2014

 

ROSE RAMBLER 11.9.2014

Hello dear rose friends … sorry for the late arrival of this Rose Rambler!

There’s some real WOW factor now with lots happening in our rose gardens – there are early buds with heaps of lush, healthy growth.  It’s time to do some ‘grooming’ which means going back around the rose bushes which you pruned during the past few months and trimming down to the healthiest outward-facing bud which is sure to produce an abundance of strong-stemmed blooms very soon.

My book ALL ABOUT ROSES has been selling extremely well – if you cannot find it in a bookstore near you, order it at www.rosesalesonline.com.au and I’ll sign it for you too.  Here’s a snippet from an email I received …

“Hi Diana, I want to start this email by saying “someone who can write like you must have a beautiful loving soul”.  I have so many rose and garden books that I have never finished because I lost interest in them. Your book, I couldn’t put down and when I finished it I wanted to read it all over again.  You took me on a journey of love, knowledge and inspiration …..”

That was just part of the email from Julie who received one of the first copies I posted out.  Thanks to Julie, I feel more confident recommending you read the book and keep it on hand as a reference to help you grow beautiful roses.

GRA’S GARBLE …

There’s been a bit of rain about so I hope you’ve commenced the organic rose management spray program to prevent early incidence of mildew/black-spot and also, as soon as the sun shines, the critters like aphids will start making an appearance.

Get ahead of them by using preventative spray applications – you may not see any aphids but you can be sure they’re lurking!  The eco-oil is particularly effective on the larval stage of many insects which reduces the potential of those insects growing to adults and breeding rampantly.

Ladybirds can be a bit slow to get going in the early spring but with lots of warm, sunny days, they’ll soon catch up.

Q.  Why did the girl throw her toast out the window?  A.  She wanted to see the butterfly.

I was looking at old photos the other day and took a trip down memory lane with this amazing rose JEANNE LA JOIE which was part of our miniature rose collection when we first started the rose nursery 30 years ago …

JEANNE LA JOIE was magnificent at the front of our home (the cottage which later became the Rose Café) with such a glorious display of blooms right from the beginning to the very end of the season.  We used to take long branches of blooms and they would last forever in a vase.  The foliage was always healthy and because the canes were supple, we could have covered the front of the cottage with it!

This extremely versatile, beautiful miniature climbing rose is now available at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane – we have re-introduced it because it is one of those roses that should NEVER go out of production because it will grow just about anywhere, anyhow, cover anything you wish it to and perform exceedingly well in a tub or cover a difficult sloping bank or create a hedge-row along a fence … this is a rose which ticks all the boxes … and yes, it has a light fragrance to boot!  Very, very highly recommended rose!!!

Q.  Why did the toilet paper roll down the hill?  A.  To get to the bottom!

Enjoy the glorious spring weather in your garden … Gra

IN CLOSING …

Your roses will start to flower soon, depending on your climate zone so do give them some organic fertilizer – read the packaging to see what it is you are applying to your soil – fertilizer with balanced N:P:K (major nutrients) and a range of trace elements is perfect and it doesn’t need to stink to be good!!!

~ Smiling … Diana, Graham and Mooi at Clonbinane

 

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 4.9.2014

 

ROSE RAMBLER … 4.9.2014

Hello dear rose friends …Hello dear rose friends and welcome to spring!  The garden comes alive with blossom on all the trees, the birds are singing and because it hasn’t been used for a while, the bloody lawn mower won’t start … have a giggle rather than swear; know you’re among friends who are sharing the same joys of spring!

Inspiration for what to chat about in the Rose Rambler often comes in the form of a phone or email enquiry just like these …

Hi Dianna

I have sprayed once with the eco oil etc, and am about to do my second spray and am wondering if the mixture I used in the first application is able to be used as I had it left over, and did not want to waste it. Could you advise please.

Kind regards, Del

My response to Del is:

Definitely NOT!!!  Always use the ‘leftover’ spray on any other plant in the garden prior to washing your equipment!  Never leave an oily spray in a sprayer … guaranteed to clog all the fittings – dangerous practice for the possibility of somebody else picking up the unit and spraying left-over product which in fact, could be anything … poison maybe???
Cheers, Diana Sargeant

Here’s another one:

“I am enjoying your emails. Thank you.  I have a student help me in the garden, and he put a small bag of composted cow manure (purchased) into the holes of three new roses from you. Should I dig them up and remove the manure? Only planted about two or three weeks ago.

Help! Thank you,  Marion”

Here’s my very obvious response to the very lucky Marion:    No, most definitely NOT …?????  Compost mixed into the soil at the base of the newly planted rose is perfect soil management!!!  Let this kid loose in your garden because he sounds like he has his soul in the earth!!!  I imagine the roses are growing beautifully – are you applying seaweed solution regularly???  Please do !!!  Cheers .. Diana

To which Marion responded:

Many thanks Diana – and for the laugh! Cheers, Marion

From those above emails, it would appear that I say a lot of “NO” … I know I do in email responses but I must check with Graham whether I say it a lot and whether he gets a laugh out of it or not??

My grandchildren will tell you that I’m a “YES” Oma/Di-nana and that’s really important feedback for me!  The joy, the joy!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Loved this email from Kerry … You can complain because roses have thorns or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.” – Ziggy, character in comic strip by Tom Wilson.  I’m still doing lots of rose pruning because we are in a really cold zone and I cannot stress how much more relaxed and confident you will feel when you wear a really sturdy pair of gloves whenever you’re working around the rose garden.

It’s not just about thorns either … it’s about insects and spiders which can bite when you interrupt their goings on … they don’t mean to hurt you but will definitely inflict a sting when they are disturbed and feel threatened. Q.  How do toads travel?  A.  By hopper craft

Time now also to wear boots – at least a pair of good sturdy, closed-in shoes when you’re out in the garden because a warm, sunny spring day will entice snakes out of their winter hibernation.

When I go walking around my neighbourhood in the morning, I take a walking stick with me and it is a most handy and useful object:

  • Put it in the neck of a bottle to pick it up without actually handling it then drop it in the plastic rubbish bag I always carry with me;
  • Twirl around above my head when the magpies are nesting and decide to ‘bomb’ me;
  • Slow the passing traffic ‘cause they think there’s an old invalid walking on the street (it’s a good trick!!!);
  • I feel like I’m the leader in a band – a bit like the Pied Piper – and it’s fun to swing around!

What the heck has this got to do with rose growing?  Well, it gives you a bit of an idea about my life as a rose grower and I reckon that if you take a page out of my book and have a walk each morning, with or without a walking stick, you’ll feel much happier about life – I highly recommend it!!!

Enjoy the early spring glory of your garden … Gra

MUST SHARE THIS PIC …

this magnificent rose is winning awards around the world – on the show bench and in trial gardens – and cannot be more highly recommended for planting in your rose garden … FORGET ME NOT …

“Hi Graham and Diana,  With all the mulching, pruning, digging and planting of my new roses I forget to send you these photos of ‘Forget Me Not’. They were taken on the last day of May this year.  I know I am preaching to the choir, but seriously this is a very beautiful rose.  All the best,  Athanasi.”

Not a black-spot to be seen, no leggy branches – just a perfectly rounded shrub with lush, healthy foliage and a most amazing constant flush of beautiful Hybrid Tea shaped buds which unfurl with a stunning, swirling mass of highly fragrant petals – a flower which lasts well when picked for a vase.  This rose has got it all and is very, very highly recommended.

ALL ABOUT ROSES …

Yes, the book is now available in the online store at www.rosesalesonline.com.au or please, call at the Rose Farm and I will be more than pleased to sign a copy for you … early indications are that this book is very popular and you should be able to acquire a copy at your local bookstore now.

Published by New Holland, retail price:  $29.95 + $15.00 pack and post anywhere in Australia if you would like me to personally sign and send you a copy.

The book release has been an exciting time, the finalising of winter rose orders a relief, glorious sunny spring weather blissful.  As they say in the classics:  “wouldn’t be dead for quids” …

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE DADS!!!
~ Cheers from Diana, Graham & Mooi at CLONBINANE

 

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 28.8.2014

ROSE RAMBLER 28.8.2014

Hello dear rose friends … not just good news but GREAT NEWS … after months of writing, there is a beautiful book being released in the first week of September; ALL ABOUT ROSES is a very practical guide to growing and loving roses which I wrote from Christmas, 2013 to deadline: 10th April, 2014 – it was an amazing journey and we are thrilled with the result!

I took lots of the photos and my niece, Katrina, a professional photographer assisted me during the last weeks of autumn compiling magnificent landscape photos of the gardens here at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane. Here’s a sneak preview of the cover:

BOOK COVER
In my Mother’s words: “ALL ABOUT ROSES is a beautiful coffee table book with magnificent pictures of roses as well as being a very practical guide for gardeners wishing to grow healthy roses organically”.

As a special treat, I’m offering to post you
a signed copy of ALL ABOUT ROSES by simply clicking here!

Copies of ALL ABOUT ROSES will be available in bookstores around Australia as well as in UK and USA and yes, of course, I will have copies here at the Rose Farm too!

GRA’S GARBLE…

Winter ends with sunny days and extremely frosty nights – all the roses are pruned so now let’s take time to consider the soil which produces our beautiful roses.

The world under our feet is critical to the success of our roses and all plants! Without a balanced eco-system within the soil, roses cannot get the nutrients they need regardless of how much fertilizer is applied.

Soil microbes, worms, manures, mulch all play an important part in the BALANCE OF NATURE and here are a few things you need to do NOW to enhance the life-giving force of the soil your plants depend on …
Sprinkle a light application of organic fertilizer over the entire soil surface of the rose garden;
If you took my earlier advice and have a drum of ‘brew’ ready to be used, (manures/grasses and water fermenting for four weeks) add a bit of seaweed to the brew and pour it all over the soil to build up microbes;
Spread a light layer of mulch over the soil to retain even soil temperature – the mulch will be more thickly placed later on before the extreme heat of summer.

Found a couple of beaut jokes:
Q. Why is it not safe to sleep on a train? A. Because they run over sleepers.
And, Q. What did the drone say to the Queen Bee? A. Swarm in here isn’t it.

Have a beaut week in your garden and if you’re not sure about the soil in your garden and how to improve it, bring a shovel full of soil in a bag and we’ll have a chat about the various means to enhance the fertility and microbial content of your soil … see you soon – Gra

ROSES STILL AVAILABLE …

Yes, the roses can still be posted and yes, they are very heavily cut back. We had a parcel go astray in Queensland – it left the nursery on 4th August … this is the last email from that customer – take particular notice of the date she got her roses – yes, 22nd August – nearly three weeks in transit. I was always confident the roses would arrive in good condition – they’re perfectly fine after planting and seaweed applications.

Hi Diana,
I received the roses today! Don’t know why the post office would keep it such long. Some yellow shoots sprout I guess its due to prolonged transit, otherwise they are beautiful. Thanks for your beautiful roses and your kind responses to my enquiries! Cheers!
Wai, Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 06:24:20 +0800

If you need a rose posted to the special man in your life for FATHER’S DAY, 7th SEPTEMBER, please be in touch within the next few days – Australia Post will struggle to keep up I think.

Enjoy this magnificent weather and take quiet moments to listen the birds as they ramp it up to herald spring …

~ Diana, Graham & Mooi at Clonbinane

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 21.8.2014

ROSE RAMBLER… 21.8.2014

Hello dear rose friends … the joy of new life is happening in our front garden! After several weeks of being harassed by a pair of plovers every time we walked beyond the front veranda, two tiny weeny chicks are now gracing our garden so it will be weeks before I can go anywhere near the swale with the mower.  These little cherubs also tell us that spring is imminent.  Do take a look when you come up to the Rose Farm and if I get a chance to get close, I’ll take a pic to share this delight.

FATHER’S DAY ROSES …

Don’t race around the shopping centre trying to find the ‘perfect gift’ for your Dad – send him a rose for his garden.  Here are a few that Virginia and I decided would make special gifts this year:

FATHER’S LOVE
– glorious swirling mass of petals in a very fragrant medium-red flower on a healthy, robust bush – spectacular standard specimens available too!

PLAYBOY
– for the fun of it!  This spectacular rose is almost never without masses of yellow/orange/red single-petal blooms on one of the most supremely healthy bushes!

MY HERO
– heavily fragrant, medium pink flowers of huge proportion on a seriously healthy shrub which produces vase-quality blooms all season!

THANK YOU
– when this very healthy shrub flowers in your Dad’s garden, he will be reminded continually of your appreciation of his love and care – the deep mauve, highly fragrant flowers are spectacular!

Yes, you can purchase all the above roses in the GIFT ROSE section of rosesalesonline.com.au or you can come up to the Rose Farm in the next few weeks and get a potted, gift-wrapped rose for the special man in your life!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Time to start mowing the lawns which means you’ll have lots of lawn clippings for the compost heap but don’t place them in clumps – spread them out in 100mm thick layers so that they can warm the compost heap, decompose more quickly and not leave a stinking, anaerobic mass on the compost heap.

Your compost heap shouldn’t stink!  If, when you turn it, there is a bit of odour, pour over seaweed solution, a sprinkling of rockdust and the smell will dissipate quickly while these products add all the minerals essential to healthy compost.

Q.  What kind of music do planets sing?  A.  NEPTUNES

When planting a climbing rose to cover a wide expanse of fence, tie the lateral canes horizontally and because the rose naturally grows upwards to seek light, those lateral canes, when spread out and tied, will become flowering branches.  More spreading equates to more flowers and very easy pruning which encourages even more flowers!

You be the boss of your climbing roses and they will reward you with masses of beautiful roses continually.  Enjoy being the boss … I love it … Gra

ORGANIC ROSE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM …

Yes, you can now purchase the complete package of products necessary to organically manage your roses now that you have pruned them.  The pack includes the following:

Eco-oil 500ml             $18.50
Eco-rose 500g           $17.50
Eco-seaweed 100g    $21.50
PACK & POST            $18.50

Which means you don’t have to go trawling around stores to obtain the complete organic rose management program.  Any complete package purchased until end October will also contain a FREE 500ml spray unit which has a 360 degree nozzle for easy application under the foliage – a bonza little unit which normally retails for $7.50!

IN CLOSING …

Enjoy the last weeks of winter weather and stay posted next week for the most exciting news …

~ Diana, Graham & Mooi at Clonbinane
Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 14.8.2014

ROSE RAMBLER 14.8.2014

Glorious yellow wattle blossom is a sure sign that winter is fast waning to make way for spring – the birds are also a tell-tale sign that spring is definitely in the air.  We’re anxiously waiting for kookaburra chicks to make an appearance from the hollow in a gum-tree opposite the nursery – the parents make a sensational racket – I’m quite sure they’re laughing at us working away potting roses in all kinds of wintery weather but we don’t mind, the nursery is looking beautifully organised!

THERE’S STILL TIME TO ORDER
WINTER ROSES!

A beautiful root system will have formed in the pot so I carefully pack those roots with the coir-fibre potting mix intact, wrap in damp newspaper and seal off in a plastic bag.  The roses transit exceptionally well and all you need to do is remove the bag and newspaper, then plant directly in your soil, pour over seaweed solution and the roses will continue to flourish.

Every rose is now very heavily pruned (professionally, I might add) so there is little work for you to do when you order roses now.

The GIFT ROSES are posted in the pot then gift wrapped with your message transcribed into a beautiful card.  Here’s how they are packaged …


these pics were taken at the end of last season, however, even without flowers, the rose bushes look impressive with colour-coordinated gift wrapping/ribbon and pictorial tag.  When flowering, the rose will be an enduring memory in the recipient’s garden of your love and thoughtfulness – take a look at the GIFT ROSES at www.rosesalesonline.com.au and let us make your gifting extra special.

GRA’S GARBLE …

I’ve been head-down-bum-up pruning and really enjoying the experience – one job, at a local cemetery where I wasn’t asked to prune the roses last year, the job took more than twice the time I originally needed because I had to prune out a lot of ‘old wood’ which wasn’t done the previous year.

One of the most important tasks in pruning is to remove dead-wood right down to the crown as this makes way for new, healthy water-shoots to develop and these are so easy to prune.

If you haven’t pruned your roses yet,
this weekend I’ll conduct the last pruning demos for this winter:
SATURDAY, 16TH AUGUST – 11.30AM
SUNDAY, 17TH AUGUST – 1.30PM

Come along and we’ll do some fruit-tree pruning as well as talk about all the tasks necessary NOW to ensure you enjoy the rewards of a robust, healthy garden this coming spring.

CALL 5787 1123 to book and bring along a joke like this one so that we can have a laugh together!

Q.  Where do sheep go to get their hair cut?  A.  To the baa baa shop!

While you’re out doing your pruning, be sure to check all the ties which hold the standards, weepers and climbers attached.  Release the ties and re-tie; you might need new tie material.

We recommend the Velcro ‘one-wrap’ because it does give a measure of expansion as the stems grow.

NEVER USE ELECTRIC CABLE TIES ON ROSES – they do not expand and take a long time to break down which means they will definitely ring-bark rose stems to which they are attached!
Oh, one more to inspire you to come and share a pruning experience along with some jokes this coming weekend …

Q.  What did the driver say when a bug splattered on his windscreen?
A.  You’ve gotta have guts to do that … enjoy your garden … Gra

ROSE OF THE WEEK …

Such a gutsy performer, robust, healthy, very, very free-flowering and so, so fragrant HEAVEN SCENT will be delightful as a gift or to simply plant amongst other roses.  The gorgeous split petals on the huge blooms make a stunning, long-lasting display in a vase … this is one of our MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ROSES … ticks all the boxes!

Have a beaut week in your rose garden, maybe pruning, maybe planting new roses – very highly likely weeding!!!  Whatever you’re up to in the garden, believe it’s all to your benefit … let the cold winter wind blow you free of all the flu and colds which are prevalent now … see you soon at Clonbinane

~ Diana, Graham & Mooi

Posted on

ROSE RAMBLER 7.8.2014

Hello dear rose friends … a pinch and a punch for another whole new month and no need to remind you how close we are to Christmas … more exciting though, how beautifully are the roses flourishing with new growth in readiness for their forthcoming flowering?  That’s what excites me!  The minus 5 frosts will have slowed things down – we can correct all that with grooming/pruning in September and we’ll guide you through that process then.

VERY LONG, PROTRACTED SEASON DUE TO THE WET WEATHER …

Yes, the rose growers are still digging roses.  Unbelievable really, and a first in our 30 year history in the rose nursery!

Next year I will promise to supply roses before the END OF AUGUST rather than the middle of July – what happens then???  Customers delay preparing garden beds and the roses will be ready by the end of June … believe me, it’s never easy when working with Nature – she is the BIG BOSS and has control over all gardening!

I’m happy to let Mother Nature be the boss and it’s pleasing to speak with customers who understand the delay – thank you all!

GRA’S GARBLE …

Lots of customers have been asking for roses suitable to plant in pots – really, every rose can be grown in a pot but for the best long-term results when selecting a pot for planting roses to put under the pergola, on a balcony or simply for the joy of having roses in pots which you can shift around the yard to enjoy when they’re flowering, I highly recommend the self-watering planters.

Self-watering pots come in a great selection of sizes and colours – they’re not expensive and are so practical for a busy gardener!

There is a water-well in the base of the pot which means:

  • If you miss a day of watering, the plant will survive
  • You can add nutrients like seaweed solution so the plant has constant feed at the root-zone
  • When you go away on holidays, your ‘plant carer’ only needs to water the pots every second day

If you want to grow roses in pots, here are the rules:

  • Use high quality potting mix which contains nutrients and moisture-retention crystals – coir-fibre holds moisture and nutrients.
  • Regularly apply seaweed solution – recommend fortnightly applications to keep the potting mix ‘alive’.
  • Fertilize every 8 weeks with high quality organic fertilizer because constant watering leaches fertilizer from the pot.
  • Mulch around the top of the pot with lucerne/straw/leaves and compost which will regulate the temperature of the potting mix.

Every few years you need to repot the rose because the potting mix will have lost its ability to sustain the rose.  This might be an easy process for lots of roses but what about the beautifully established rose in a huge pot – maybe a climbing rose wound around posts of the pergola?

Of course, you cannot remove all the growth, take the plant from the pot and start all over again.

There is a way of revitalising a rose in this situation:

  • Remove the very top layer of soil and the soil at the sides of the pot
  • With a sharp knife, cut away some of the root-ball
  • Core holes with a drill or sharp implement into the remaining roots and fill these holes with slow-release fertilizer
  • Water the plant with seaweed solution
  • Replace potting mix together with a blend of compost/worm castings, some of your own topsoil (up to 30% of mix)
  • Mulch to top of pot with lucerne/pea straw and water thoroughly over the entire plant with seaweed solution.

Any potted rose which receives all of the above attention will flourish through the next season.  Here is a joke to send you potty:

Q.  Why don’t monsters eat clowns?  A.  Because they taste funny!

PRUNING DEMONSTRATION …

For the stragglers or those who live in the cold zones, we’ll do the last pruning demos for this year

SATURDAY 16TH AUGUST – 11.30 AM
SUNDAY 17TH AUGUST – 1.30 PM

Cost is $20 per adult – kids welcome!  Bring your secateurs with you and be prepared to learn how to prune fruit trees and prepare your garden for robust, healthy spring flowering and fruiting.

See you at CLONBINANE soon … cheers from
~ Diana, Graham & Mooi (toy poodle & guard-dog in training)