Emboldened by the rose pruning demonstration yesterday at the seminar, I really lit into the back yard roses this morning. It was a wonderful day to spend outside.
In particular I pruned Heritage down to canes about two feet high. She was not healthy last year, and I had already decided to prune hard to see if it helps her rejuvenate. Otherwise — and very sadly — I think she’s a goner. Also thanks to the demonstration I had more of an idea what to do with the climbers, so I tore into Eden, sawing down what was probably one of the original canes. However it was looking bad, and they said that with climbers you should take out the oldest canes every three or four years, so out it went. It was a mess last year and I hope this will have done it some good. The remaining canes I sorted out and tied to the support structure in an orderly manner.
I also moved The Herbalist over to the fence where all the Austins are. When I catch my breath I’m going back out to move the second Eden. With those two out of the patio bed, there will be room for two Distant Drums, which are of a smaller size and tidier growth habit which will better suit that location. Live and learn! I fell in love with Distant Drums when we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden last summer (one of theirs is pictured at left). The flowers have a lotus-like quality to them, in beautiful shades of orchid. peach and even tan.
And there is still so much more to do. Clean out the beds, fertilize, mulch, dig out the knockouts where they’re going to put in a sidewalk. And then fertilize the grass? Put down crabgrass stopper? Start seeds so I can grow lots of basil.
Oh well, it’s all good. What gets done, gets done, what doesn’t, doesn’t.
In case you were wondering, mine is not a manicured yard. I don’t have the financial resources or the physical stamina for that. My yard is on the “tamed jungle” end of the spectrum.
The next stage in the growing of roses is the part that thrills and fascinates me: seeing new growth bursting out, basal canes sprouting up, watching its progress from day to day. As I lopped away the old, I really enjoyed picturing the plant now putting its energy into pushing forth new shoots and leaves.
