Gertrude Jekyll

Gertude Jekyll, as it fits to its name, is a demanding rose. Until I discovered that one has to prune it strongly and it needs a lot of nutriment as well as a watering equal to at least one rainfall a day, it only bloomed once a year. Since then it has always bloomed twice. Nevertheless, I have kept it in the honor of Gertrude Jekyll and in memory of our first journey to England.

class: English rose (David Austin 1986)
height: 120-305 cm - At us, as a result of the strong pruning, 120-150.
width: 120-185 cm - At us it is never wider than 120, usually it is even less.
American hardiness zone: Z5 (down to -29 ºC)
bloom: repeated

Comtes des Champagne

If one looks long enough at the full-flowered roses of Austin, then suddenly begins to see the attractive side of the simple-flowered ones as well. If at this time one finds the Comtes de Champagne, will certainly like it.

class: English rose (David Austin 2001)
height: 120 cm - At us often much higher
width: At us 120-150 cm
American hardiness zone: Z5 (down to -29 ºC)
bloom: repeated

Unfortunately at us it usually blooms only twice, first in the main season and then once more at the end of the season. However, it is such a poetic rose that I have nevertheless kept it.

Falstaff

I don’t exactly remember when these photos were made, but we were already deep in the autumn. The wine-colored roses of Austin often wither in such a beautiful way.

class: English rose (David Austin 1999)
height: 100-150 cm - At us always at least 150.
width: 100 cm
American hardiness zone: Z5 (down to -29 ºC)
bloom: repeated

Unfortunately at us it does not belong to the best flowering roses, but when it blooms it is wonderful.

Cornelia

An extremely sturdy and vigorous rose. It is good that I have found just this image of it, as they usually comment on its – in fact existing – good properties, and they only occasionally say that its withered flowers stay on the shrub. You have two options: either you continuously cut them, or you try to see what is nice in them.

class: hybrid musk (Joseph Pemperton 1925)
height: 150-305 cm
width: 150-185 cm
American hardiness zone: Z5 (down to -29 ºC)
bloom: repeated

The Help Me Find regards it as shadow tolerant, and we have experienced the same. I have just read in the Help Me Find that it has to be pruned very cautiously or it does not have to be pruned at all. However, I have pruned it quite strongly in this spring. And indeed, since then I have been observing that this rose does not like something. Now I know what. I hope it will recover soon.

Cymbeline

This is certainly not the rose of the maniacs of order. Its huge shoots bend at random and confusedly. However, just this is its most attractive feature if one finds the proper place for it. The other attraction are its extremely rare porcelain-colored flowers.

class: English rose (David Austin 1983)
height: 120-150 cm
width: 150 - 250 cm
American hardiness zone: Z5 (down to -29 ºC)
bloom: repeated

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Unfortunately, this one here is not our original specimen. That one was brought in 1996 from England, but I planted it on a too shadowy place together with some other roses, and in the next spring, while replantating them, by mistake I gave it to someone instead of the one I wanted to give her.

I was very sorry for it, and when in 2004 we purchased new roses from David Austin, I ordered this one too. It has always belonged among those roses that I have never had any problem with.

However – the rose has changed in the meantime! Originally it had a very lively pink color, while now it bloomed in a nice dull pink tone.

No, we did not receive faulty copies. The one published in Austin’s book in 1996 had the same lively color as ours, while the catalog of 2006 displayed the same pastel tone as the new plant. The rose does match its picture. However, in the course of ten years it has changed its color.

To my grief.



class: English rose (David Austin 1988)
height: 90-150 cm
width: 75-120 cm
American hardiness zone: Z5 (-29 fokig)
bloom: repeated

The Help Me Find regards it as shade tolerant. The present one is on a relatively sunny place, but the first one was planted under a walnut tree (of which I had thought that it would not grow larger). Nevertheless, it developed well until the tree casted a strong shadow on it.

Narcissus Rip van Winkle

One of the great successes of this spring.

I bought it in last autumn, and on the basis of the picture on its package I hoped it would be beautiful, but I was not quite sure.

Nevertheless, it is wonderful in live. It sprouted very early, so it bloomed at one time with the pulmonarias. It has an extremely rare, and especially nice greenish yellow flower.

By now it has already shed its blossoms. And, according to my expectations, as it is low, therefore it is not too conspicuous as its stem withers.

Squirrels in the garden

This morning I managed to make photos of two squirrels in the garden: