Hello dear rose friends and welcome to the last days of summer – so pleasant here at Clonbinane with a magnificent season when the roses flourished without environmental factors to impose on their health – aphids were kept controlled by wrens, pardalotes and ladybirds, regular applications of the organic spray management program and regular applications of quality fertilizer along with daily watering, kept our potted roses looking beautiful but now they’re happy to welcome the cooler respite of autumn.
GRA’S GARBLE …
I’ve been busy pruning the potted roses so they look their absolute best when the bus groups come for the Art & Roses Expo and we will again attend Tesselaars Garden Expo at Silvan on 18th and 19th April.
Late summer pruning will extend the flowering period right up to the beginning of winter so it’s never too late to prune! In order to maintain great health and vigour in the bushes, be sure to distribute a good handful of Complete Organic Fertilizer around each bush – for the large climbers, you can be even more generous so they produce sturdy water-shoots to make winter pruning much, much easier.
I will cover all aspects of general rose care, composting, watering systems and more so organise for a group of friends to come here on the weekend of 11th and 12th April. There is still time to book your group for this event – call Diana on (03) 5787 1123 for a great day out!
Rotary will provide $10 per head subsidy towards your transport for groups of 10 or more. The tour includes, free of charge:
- Entry, catalogue and gallery guide at the Kilmore Art Expo – Kilmore
- Entry and Walk & Talk in the Garden with Graham at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane
- Guided short walks, history and entertainment at Hidden Valley – Wallan
Light lunches will be available at the Kilmore Art Expo Café … estimate approx. $10.00
Morning or afternoon tea/coffee and cake at Hidden valley Restaurant, Wallan $8.00
Q. What does a boy monster do when a girl monster rolls her eyes at him? A. He picks them up and rolls them right back to her.
CREATE A HEDGE OF CONTINUAL FLOWERING ROSES …
For a magnificent sight along the front boundary of your property, rather than a fence, plant a row of roses spaced between 75-90cms apart for an almost impenetrable hedge. Here are just a few varieties which would suit:
LIONS ROSE
Extremely prolific flowering, dense and very healthy dark green foliage,
exquisitely beautiful blooms which are suitable to vase 1.2 X 1.2 metres
LA SEVILLANA
Never without flowers, very healthy foliage,
stunningly bright colour for nine months 1.2 x 1.2 metres
SALLY HOLMES
For a larger space like along a driveway this magnificent rose
produces bracts of single blooms continually on an
extremely healthy shrub 1.5 x 1.5 metres
Because it is such an appropriate time for planting roses, for the next TWO WEEKS, all HEDGE ROSES will be available at the very special price of $22.00 each when you purchase four or more plants of the same variety.
All the hedge roses can be pruned mechanically, are extremely low maintenance because of their magnificent health and vigour and will add a wonderful display of colour in your garden for eight-nine months each year!
We liked this so are sharing … ‘How deeply seated in the human heart is the liking for gardens and gardening.’ Alexander Smith
Have a great week in your garden …
~ Cheers from Diana, Graham and Mooi at Clonbinane
