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| Falling in Love is fragrant. |
I had many pleasant surprises this summer, so I will list some. I had to use that secondary headline, which is so common on Facebook.
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| Cinco de Mayo has Mexican colors and grows abundantly - a floribunda. |
All of the bargain roses I bought, 20 at $5 each, grew well and produced beautiful and unusual roses. Only one pair was well known - Europeana. The rest are not found in the glamorous rose catalogs - Fireworks, Cinco de Mayo. A few are in larger, more inclusive catalogs or websites - Falling in Love, Bride's Dream.
When California roses came, beat up from the shipping and heat, I soaked them in rainwater and pruned the damage away. The new leaves popped immediately after planting and began producing with great enthusiasm. QED - immerse bare root roses in rainwater or stored water (in a big barrel) and prune the canes and roots when planting.
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| Barbra Streisand is the surprise for this summer's rookie roses. |
Barbra Streisand turned out to be a beautiful lavender rose, producing one after another all summer. Chicago Peace was mostly a no-show. Only one rose died. Another one seemed gone, but severe pruning and rainwater brought it back - Falling in Love.
KnockOut roses in their second year were so prolific that I chopped the bushes in half twice and still have six foot tall bushes.
Thornless blackberries (Triple Crown) have thrived on the north side of the house, which is unusually sunny. Before that I only had a collection of weeds - plantain, aka white man's footprint. It is an herb with seed stalks, fruitful seed stalks.
I wanted to have more wild strawberries in the yard, as free birdfood. As the summer developed I noticed them fruiting all through the lawn and in the far backyard, little red rubies planted by the birds themselves. I stopped transplanting them! The birds were winning, 10 to 1.
Red wiggler earthworms are in demand. Our landscaper friend asked for some and received 1,000. Our gardening neighbor wanted them for composting and received a bunch for starters. Our member in Michigan, conveniently called Michigander, bought thousands for his grass and garden and enjoyed great results.
Trumpet vines arrived looking dead, but soaking them in rainwater for hours gave them a good start, followed by a steady application of rainwater.
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| Trumpet Vines attract hummingbirds and beneficial insects. |
