The Fence Line

This is the last post on our tour of the roses and they follow the fence line along the north end of the property.  The planting is not at all creative but together these roses make a very nice display and add some privacy to the backyard.  The fence makes a good support for the climbers and lax growers in the bunch.  I am beginning with my unabashed advocacy for Twister.  I think Twister is overlooked and under grown. As it begins its third year Twister has grown as tall as or taller than the four foot tall chain link fence.  This Ralph Moore creation is classified as a climbing miniature and it certainly fits this category, but it also grows well as a stand alone shrub where its growth spreads nicely.  Its flowers are also very full old fashion formed, very fragrant, and open flat to 2 1/2" wide.   Once they start blooming in the spring, there will not be a day until November that I cannot go out and take a couple of flowers for a vase.

Planted on either side of Twister are two larger striped roses, Scentimental and Moore's Striped Rugosa.  I really like to plant Twister in groupings of three as seen here.  This is the second time I've done this the first was in 1999 when it was first introduced. 

This row of roses is held down in the middle by the older roses and has expanded each direction with new additions each year.  From the top is the newest and just off camera is William Shakespeare 2000, Carlin's Rhythm, Abraham Darby, Climbing Rainbow's End, Ballerina, Linda Campbell, St. Swithun, Scentimental, Twister, Moore's Striped Rugosa, Heritage, Dublin Bay, Dragon's Blood, Belinda's Dream, and Flower Carpet Red.  This was not my most thought out arrangement but I like it.

This is the start of Cl. Rainbow's End's second season which began as a cutting from my mother's plant. 

Below we have two of Moore's rugosa hybrids flowing off the edge of the picture (Linda Campbell left and Moore's Striped Rugosa right).  Linda Campbell is quickly joining my list of favorite roses.  Two of my other favorites, St. Swithun and Twister, are also pictured here.

While still a tiny plant, Carlin's Rhythm is beginning its first full season by producing huge (4-5") single and very fragrant blossoms.  Kim Rupert says that the blooms never get this big in California where he created it, but it has never been smaller than 4" here in Oklahoma.  I may be looking forward to what this rose does this year more than any other rose.

Rose Foliage? I Must Be Mad!

I have been surprised with my growing interest in the leaves on the roses I grow.  Of course the first thing that draws us to roses are the beautiful flowers.  Then after some time of tending the plants these beautiful flowers grow on, I began to pay more attention to the plant's form and architecture.  Now I find myself looking deeper into the rose and noticing beauty and differences in the foliage of the roses I grow.  This fall I have found myself taking pictures of rose leaves.  They can change color and give a display in union with the trees.  And have you ever noticed the different textures these leaves can have.  Below are a few pictures of Moore's Striped Rugosa with its crinkly leaves in typical rugosa fashion.  

I currently only grow two hybrid rugosas (Moore's Striped Rugosa and Linda Campbell).  The more familiar I become with the class (which frankly very few are grown in Oklahoma) the more I am drawn to them.  Both show a true hybrid leaf that is somewhere between the more crinkled rugosas and the smooth leaves of the modern roses they have been crossed with.

Below is my Climbing Rainbow's End sporting some gorgeously colored fall foliage.  The smooth shiny leaves are just about as different from the rugosa leaves above as they could be.  Both offer nice color to the garden even after the flowers quit blooming.

The final picture shows some bright red leaves on the young growth of Lavender Lassie.  As new growth I think the sugar content must have been high and caused the richer color than normal.

If you find yourself uninterested in this post - don't worry.  It will always be the flower that draws us to roses.  However, if you find yourself more and more interested in things like plant structure, leaves, thorns, and who knows what else - don't worry.  You have just fallen hopelessly in love with the whole rose.