Good afternoon Friends ~ Thank you all for your kind comments about my roses. I am NOT an expert, I garden on a limited budget, I fertilize sporadically, using a water soluable fertilizer. Sometimes they get a dose of Epsom Salts, sometimes bone meal, sometimes alfalfa. I have learned that the old garden varieties are more disease resistant, have wonderful scents, and have also learned that David Austin’s roses have been bred for those qualities also.
I’ll try to remember to go around and count how many I have now. I think at one time I had between 30-40. I was told many years ago before I started growing roses, that roses do not grow in FL. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to that advice. Certain roses are harder to grow here and require a LOT of care, as they do in other areas of the world. I try to stay away from them.
I bought my first two roses at a local flea market, around 1980-82. They were ‘Pink Pet’ and ‘Louis Philippe’, which is also known as the Florida Cracker rose. ‘Pink Pet’ died some time ago, but I have a grandbaby of my original ‘Louis Philippe’ still growing. It is very hardy. It is in the ground.
I went out with recharged batteries in my camera to take photos I didn’t get yesterday. We had rain starting around 3 a.m., off and on and sometimes it was really heavy and steady. When it was light out, I could see out my bedroom window that I had a rain gutter problem and would have to fix it when the rain let up. I had to redig the little trench again for the French drain as it was filled with debris. Of course, now that I’ve cleaned the gutter areas, and did the Fr. drain, it hasn’t rained again. More is expected though, and hopefully I fixed the problems.
The first three pictures are of ‘Louis Philippe’.
The rose below is either Mr. Lincoln, or Chrysler Imperial. It smells heavenly. It is in a large pot.
This is a ‘drift’ rose. I’m not crazy about the color, but I got a really good deal at a small local nursery because it was in bad shape. I didn’t know what the color was and hoped it would be a different color than it is. But alas. It does brighten the space where it is, also growing in a pot.
Two more of ‘Granada’.
I bought the next two roses online, and didn’t mark them when I got them as to name. One is ‘Borderer’ and the other is supposed to be ‘Homere’. Both are small roses. The top one is in a pot, and the other is in the ground.
This next one is ‘Paul McCartney’. A wonderfully scented rose, bought at a plant sale 2-3 years ago at the local botanical gardens. Their spring plant sale is coming up again and I may go. It’s always fun to see what is there and to mingle with other plant lovers.
I’m not sure what the next rose is. It is a cutting that I got going a few years back. It might be ‘Prosperity’, but I’m not real sure.
This one below is ‘Ruths’ Wavy’ that I got in the trade with Connie from Hartwood Roses 2-3 years ago. It has a sweet scent and I love the delicate blooms. Look who was honing in. 
Next is a wedding gift I’ve been working on since the 12th, I finished it today. The couple were married in our small church, Sunday morning before the service began. The ceremony was a surprise to the congregation. It was simple and filled with love and joy. The pictures I took were with my smart phone as I didn’t have my Canon powershot with me. I picked the best photo, a tender moment. I printed it onto iron on fabric and then worked around it. I edited the photo to be in sepia tones. I hope they will like this sweet momento of their wedding celebration.
Seed beads, fresh water pearls, silk ribbon and embroidery floss, and a crocheted edging.
Ok, that’s it for this post. I’ve had my simple supper, a glass of Merlot, canned beets with butter and orange marmalade, and canned corned beef hash. My dear husband and I would call this type of meal a ‘camping meal’. Out of cans, simple and easy for when I don’t feel like cooking. It hit the spot and I was/am thankful.
Enjoy each day.
FlowerLady
