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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

 

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ROSE RAMBLER 9.10.2014

ROSE RAMBLER 9.10.2014

Hello dear rose friends … are you a little lighter in the pocket after paying the kids to harvest snails, slugs, bugs … even worms got into my transactions – cost me $2.50 until Logan reminded me that we didn’t need any more snails because his lizards eat dog food anyway!!!  Laughed till I cried at that comment!

I so hope your garden looks as beautiful as ours … this is a season to beat all seasons with rose buds on so many early-flowering varieties and MRS. B.R. CANT (tea rose) in full bloom; lush, healthy green in every shade imaginable; blossom on the fruit trees.  How blessed are we to be caretakers of this small piece of paradise?  Very!!!

ROSE IDENTIFICATION LABELS …

Don’t you love to know the names of your roses when you’re showing somebody around your garden?  Many years ago I made great labels for each rose in the gardens at Kilmore by cutting 30cm lengths of conduit, with pop-rivets attaching 30cm lengths of venetian blind horizontally then hand-printing the rose name with oil-based black paint.

They were very durable and lasted well, however, several times our rose labels were returned to the nursery after being removed and tossed around the town so I gave up replacing them. I have often thought to make those again for our gardens here at Clonbinane but after planting a lovely new rose garden last week, I came upon this thought as a very sustainable gardening idea…

All our potted rose labels are now attached to a pink plastic ‘stick’ which is clipped to the side of each pot – great for the roses because the stem where we used to tie the plant label was stressed, the label now sits up from the pot and is nicely visible and looks sensational when you walk through the nursery because you see the labels ‘looking’ at you rather than them flapping wildly in the breeze.  When it’s time for trimming the potted roses, we don’t have to worry about re-attaching labels which was a very laborious chore!

As I was planting my new rose garden,

I unclipped a label from the pot and stuck it in the ground in front of each rose.  Then it occurred to me that Virginia (our assistant who thinks outside the square) did an experiment last year by painting rose labels with marine varnish to see if they would endure weather pressure when tied on the bush – a year later, those labels still look brand new.

Sooooo, in the new rose garden, each rose will be identified by re-using the ‘pink stick’ to which the plant label is attached.  I’ll buy a can of marine varnish and paint each label – durable, sustainable, identifiable … perfect solution to naming the roses in your garden – give it a go and check out the new garden when you visit us in the coming weeks!

GRA’S GARBLE …

been busy building a new shade-house area where I grow all my cuttings and seedlings as well as park my car – had to paint all the timber after I dug the holes for the posts – gawd, the things you do for love!  (I love my car and my seedling cuttings!)

Q.  Why did the man give up tap dancing?  A.  ‘Cause he kept falling down the sink! 

My Grandma used to call the sink the ‘zinc’ with a bit of her Scottish accent and this leads me to talking about the minerals we should be adding to the soil.  One of the simple ways we gardeners can provide a balance of minerals is by throwing MUNASH ROCKDUST around the garden.  Once you throw the ROCKDUST around, put ONE SMALL CAPFUL of MUNASH RENEW sea minerals in a watering can of water and pour that wherever you distributed the ROCKDUST.

We do this program over the potted rose plants in the nursery to keep a good balance of minerals up to the pots … amazing results which prevent the incidence of black-spot and mildew on the roses.  I don’t have any scientific studies to refer to our results – just know there are healthier plants when we apply these products.

If you grow vegetables, please, please use these products to mineralise the soil in your veggie garden because our OLD Australian soils are so deplete of a balance of minerals and we must ingest a good balance of minerals to stay healthy – since you don’t eat your roses, mineralise your veggies first and what product you have remaining, use on the roses and you’ll see amazing results!

DATES WHICH YOU MUST RESERVE …

We’ll talk more about in coming R/R’s :

YEA & DISTRICT OPEN GARDENS
SATURDAY – SUNDAY, 8TH & 9TH NOVEMBER

STATE ROSE GARDEN SHOW, WERRIBEE
SUNDAY, 16TH NOVEMBER

We wish you joy in your stunning spring garden …

~ Graham, Diana & Mooi (no, not mooey, moy!)

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ROSE RAMBLER 2.10.2014

ROSE RAMBLER 2.10.2014

Hello dear rose friends … yes, no R/R last week but there’s so much going on that sitting at the computer takes a back seat – while I’m out pulling weeds and ‘doing stuff’ I speak with you all constantly, telepathically, do you hear me speaking with you rather than typing the R/R???  Probably not!

We’ve enjoyed busy days in prime-time weather out in the garden with our heads down and bums up being close and personal with the magpies who had to be part of the action by getting worms and bardy grubs after the weeds were pulled and the last few days have been taken up with helping erect a school holiday building project – cubby-house with the pea-straw bales, Mooi’s first birthday celebrations and personal time-out … nice stuff!

Once read a beautiful Chinese proverb which told me that if I had learned something of value, I had a moral obligation to share it with others.  This email gives some insight to our online business which I think is great to share …

Hi Diana … I am VERY pleased to say that my beautiful roses arrived yesterday. They were a little bumped and bruised in the box, but otherwise all good and still very moist in their packaging. TINTERN is soooooooo cute. They all look VERY healthy and I can’t wait to plant them up this coming weekend.

I loved reading through the Newsletter too, and will follow your suggestion re the ongoing maintenance with Eco products.

One question if I may … You mention in the Rosarian just above the Maintenance suggestion that you “fertilise every 8 weeks with half a handful of fertiliser”, but you don’t mention the name of the fertiliser. I’m guessing if it’s “half a hand full” it must be in pellet form? Can you please clarify that part of your publication?

Also, you say NOT to fertilise until Spring, but we are currently IN Spring up here in Bris Vegas (Brisbane). Does that mean I should fertilise at the same time as I plant the new ones?, or just follow the mixture of Eco-Fungicide, Eco-Oil, Eco-Aminogro and Eco-Seaweed all mixed up together in the same watering can?  I don’t intend to over stress the plants by also spraying with Eco-Neem, so when should I do that and how often?

Sorry to be a pain. I should just buy your book ;>}

Chrissie xx

PS: It was so lovely to see your picture in the Rosarian. Now I can put a face to the name. Gra looks lovely too. In fact you both look like the loveliest couple. I’m so glad I stumbled upon your website via Googling.

Fertilising roses remains a constant area of concern for some customers – because of the weight constraints, it is impossible to send you the brilliant Complete Organic Fertilizer we use.  The best we can do is recommend that you take note of what you are buying, only buy quality and be mindful that organic fertilizer is beneficial to the soil.  Follow the directions on the pack as every product will have a varying recommendation.

When all else fails, just follow your gut instinct – think the plants need a feed, feed them, think they need watering, water them!  A whole lot of ‘good gardening’ is about allowing your intuitive power to prevail!

GRA’S GARBLE …

A pinch and a punch for a whole new month but most exciting is that your roses will be displaying lush, healthy foliage and some of you already have masses of flowers – here at CLONBINANE buds are starting to show colour so it will be an early season indeed!

Q.  What is a cow’s favourite film?  A. The SOUND OF MOOSIC!

One of the first roses to be flowering here will be JOSEPH’S COAT which is a climbing rose of immense beauty with a parade of all colours from warm-yellow buds which, as they age, go through stages of being apricot, pink and then crimson to finish.

In full flower, JOSEPH’S COAT is a sight to behold and I’m glad we remember to send budwood to the grower each season which means this robust old climber which was released in 1963 stays in production.

Our specimen of JOSEPH’S COAT is planted in a huge tub and scrambling over an arch in the centre walk-way of the nursery.  It’s planted with a mauve CLEMATIS and together they are a true spectacle.

Speaking of CLEMATIS – we now have a great range of HYBRID CLEMATIS in stock.  They are very suitable to plant alongside a climbing rose because the climbing rose shades the ground to keep the root-run of the CLEMATIS cool which is exactly what they need to flourish.

A customer gave some great advice about successfully growing CLEMATIS – plant them deep, throw heaps of compost and manure around them and let them get on with it and that’s exactly what we do here in the gardens and they appear to be more frost-hardy than some of the roses!
Treat yourself – plant a few CLEMATIS near the climbing roses in your garden and see for yourself how easy they are to grow.

Have a beaut week in your garden, get the kids to help you pick snails off the veggie seedlings … 10 cents for every snail – you’ll be broke but you’ll have a ball!

See you soon at CLONBINANE … Diana, Graham & one year old Mooi

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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

 

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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

 

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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

 

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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

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WINTER ROSES … never too late…

This was first posted last year and this year is no different except that right now I can send you extreme quality bare-rooted roses – truly, it’s NEVER TOO LATE to plant roses!!!!:  

No, it’s not too late to order bare-rooted roses … just log onto rosesalesonline.com.au and I can assure you, I will post you the most beautiful winter roses which have been in their pots for a few weeks, have established roots and lovely new shoots.

I will carefully lift them from the pots with their coir-fibre potting mix around them, wrap them in damp newspaper, seal them off in a plastic bag and they will safely travel to your place … ready to plant in your garden and then flower this coming spring.

Yes, the roses will produce flowers this spring/summer provided you give them all the loving care they require.  Lots and lots of sunshine, no less than 5 hours of sun per day.

They love seaweed solution to establish themselves in your soil – once a fortnight at least, all over the plant.  While you are doing this seaweed solution, you might as well add the products we use in our organic rose management program – eco-oil insecticide, eco-rose/fungicide and eco-aminogrow which will ensure a complete dose of all that will be required for robust, healthy and environmentally managed roses in your garden.

If you need more advice, please email me at info@rosesalesonline.com.au and I am more than happy to offer personal consultations to assure you grow the most beautiful, healthy roses in your garden.

 

 

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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
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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