IT'S ALL COMING UP ROSES IN UMBRIA and TUSCANY

ROSES GALORE in UMBRIA and TUSCANY

This is a story that can be told in pictures taken on a drive through Tuscany's

Val d'Orcia  a few days ago and a walk though 'our'  Umbrian village of

Panicale this morning. Feast your eyes!

Roses with  Panicale in the distance.

Roses growing over  a small shrine.

Roses from Aldo's garden that he brings to Bar Gallo for all to enjoy.

And these roses can be found in the garden of friends here in Panicale.

Roses climbing a pergola. 

All I could hear was the buzz of bees!

I would love to have this beauty in our garden.

The sweet scent of roses compares to none.

The cool of white roses growing in the shade of a tree on a hot Tuscan afternoon.

Roses growing up a stucco wall with a hint of a view of the Val d' Orcia.

Roses draping over the Medieval wall in Panicale.

A dramatic backdrop of a palm creates a feather like head dress for  these roses.

When it is all about the right color combo, this gets it just right!

And the best part of the morning ..... finding roses  from James  on my desk this morning!
Sweet!

THE LINGERING PERFUME OF ROSES

I no longer have a rose garden. How romantic I thought, roses filling vases and scenting the air of the house all summer. A dream of having a garden filled with Gallica roses, English roses, Heirloom roses and rose that would climb to the top of the trellis with their blossoms cascading over, just waiting to be noticed.

It was pure joy for me, and an enormous amount of work, mostly for James, digging the garden beds out of the hard pack and clay in order to bring in real soil and compost all by hand, a shovel, a pick axe and wheelbarrow. It was nothing short of heroic, but by summer's end James had made a garden possible in an area that had once been a driveway.

 We researched and found specialty rose growers in New Hampshire and Maine where we traveled to purchase roses with names like, 'Great Maiden's Blush', 'Apothecary's Rose' and 'Rosa Mundi'.
Discovering the roses was an adventure that was an added pleasure to the creation of this circular formal garden. As it matured the fragrance and beauty especially in June was  all I ever imagined.

Roses were cut and filled vases, sometimes solo other times mixed with perennials from the border garden. James painted the roses. Rosa Mundi was a favorite of his, both because of it's striking color and the story behind the name having to do with King Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry's mistress Fair Rosamund and her demise by Eleanor, poison it is thought.
Roses are the subjects of artists and poets with their  stories told of beauty and thorny darkness. Roses are a  sonnet written by the hand of Shakespeare.

In late May and through June the garden and house were full of roses. I dried the fragrant petals that lightly perfumed closets and drawers and filled small bowls on bedroom nightstands.
But, by the Fourth of July things began to change in the garden. Morning walks were no longer with a cup of coffee in hand, but with a can filled with soapy water.
The Japanese Beetles had arrived.

It took about a decade of the waging the battle of the beetle, but the beetle eventually won.
It was too heartbreaking to watch them chomp away at the lovely young beautiful buds. The clusters of nightmarish gluttons were impossible to keep up with and the only alternative was to use poisons to kill the nasty invaders....but it would also kill the bees.

It was time to bid farewell to the roses. It was a difficult goodbye for me.
That fall we spend removing roses. In the spring the soil was replenished and boxwood were planted at the edge of the beds along with herbs.
The new garden worked and since we love to cook the herbs made sacrificing roses a little easier.The lavender for fragrance and all the culinary herbs for the kitchen.
And, no Japanese Beetles!

We have since moved, yet.....

 I will always remember those early summer morning walks in the garden and the lingering perfume of the roses.

An Invitation to a garden in Umbria.....the gardener's passion....roses.
Our visit there coming up!

"YIKES !" ROSES ARE FLOWERING EARLY THIS YEAR

William Baffin Rose (Canadian Explorer)

June 1-June 7, 2010

This has been a great year for roses, but they are 2-3 weeks early in their blooming.

In our garden the roses are generally in full bloom sometime around the third week in June.

John Davis Rose (Canadian Explorer)

Our rose garden is full of color and fragrance. The rose plants are festooned with blossom and buds. Along with the roses there are dianthus, foxglove, and cranesbill geraniums, all flowering.

Heritage Rose (David Austin)

Heritage rose has a flower of a soft pink with deep green foliage. We have it planted next to an arbor where clematis 'Jackmanii' grows. We are waiting for the clematis to flower.

Helen Elizabeth Poppies ( oriental poppy)

The roses flowered before the poppies this year, very unusual in our NH garden.

The bearded iris, Siberian irises and salvia have also joined in to this early show of flowers. We have also had daylilies flower already!