Let's Talk about Gardens

@funcountess, Such lucious colors! I never thought about them living for 50 years, you must be a loving gardener with a with a well deserved green thumb.
I remember as a child that my dad had roses. He and a neighbor were always talking roses and sharing, or so it seemed to me. They had big beautiful roses. Then he got a terrible infection from a thorn somehow, never determined, but was a rare thing and he almost his arm as a result. Doctors eventually found a treatment that worked. I have a couple of the easy-grow knockout rose bushes.

Hi,
I guess I’ve been lucky with the long life of the roses. I don’t go near thorns if possible. Have very thick gloves that are puncture proof, and sometimes to cut a rose I take pliers and pull the long stem down to me, then cut the rose.i then put the cut rose in a box, and bring into house, and put carefully in water.
Yes, you can get a big infection from thorn puncture,that is why I’m as careful as can be. The iceberg white roses do not have thorns.
I like color in the garden, and roses give me a lot of color.
Take care,
Funcountess

Hi,
If you are interested a company called GARDEN &HAPPY.COM has thornless roses. A pretty one is Cinderella miniatures. Snow White flowers, it looks like my iceberg roses also thornless.
They are so easy to grow.
Funcountess

@lioness That's beautiful, Linda.
JK

@funcountess

I used to have roses, but the deer are voracious rose eaters. I have a pink climber that I wrapped fencing around. It's pretty, though for only a short time. I find that deer don't like rosa rugosa, and they're easy to grow, so I have two. I like the hips on the rugosa.

My wife would like me to stay off ladders, but I'm comfortable with climbing. I painted a lot of houses for supplemental income, so I have good ladders. I can't go on the garage or house rooves anymore because we had metal roofing installed, but I can still work on the barn roof.

I have a yellow clematis that was a prolific grower. I have to keep it cut back off the deck steps. I can't remember the variety, but I'll look it up.

My parents loved their roses. They were always a significant portion of their gardens, wherever they lived.

Jim

@jimhd I'm glad you mentioned that the deer love the roses. I was thinking I would like to have some but the deer here eat all of our shrubs, we have had to replace a number of them. I am not familiar with rosa rugosa, I will check that out.

I love clematis. I had one once and it died after the first summer. 🥺 Maybe I will take a chance again. If I do I will be asking you just how to care for them.

My parents were not big in the garden but my father did have some rose bushes that he loved and cared for. I can remember we had the Peace rose, one called Betsy Ross, and a few others in other colors -- red, yellow, and white.
JK

Lovely! How do you do this? Lessons?
The flowers 🌸 ❤️ and beautiful lettering(calligraphy?)

Hi Jim,
I did not know deer love roses. In my area the deer do not touch them. Some of my bushes are 50 years old, and still doing well.
I’m not familiar with Rosa rugosa, is it a rose bush?
My landscaper has been at my place for several days planting large bushes and more young trees which I hope fill in before I try and sell. He mentioned hosta plants for the shade area. Have you ever heard of hosta?
Not wise after a certain age to climb ladders, one fall and a broken hip can be a life changer.
Take care,
Funcountess

@jimhd a & @funcountess Rosa rugosa is the closest cultivated relative to the wild rose, and has a very thorny stem. It should come with a warning label - tends to sucker and try to take over, making it great for a fenceline or property boundary in a somewhat wild or rural area. A corporate HQ on my walking route had to remove thiers because they overhung the sidewalk & snagged passersby with their thorns. I weed-wrenched dozens of ill-placed rugosas out of my brother's expensively landscaped front yard when he moved in - they took over a dry stream, invaded the lawn, and trapped every leaf and bit of litter that blew by on their wretched thorny stems. Color me "Not a rugosa fan" - at least not in city and suburbs.

I am surprised about the report of deer eating roses - I raise Minnesota hardy shrub roses, and while the bunnies may try to nibble lower flowers, and I have to fight off the Japanese beetles, the deer have never bothered them, even when the nip the blossoms of nearby lilies or chomp on the lupine, meadow rue and columbine in the same bed. I baby just a few of my favorites nowadays - I like my easy-care plants.

Happy gardening!
Sue

@jimhd You must have tasty roses! The deer [six in the yard this morning, shame on them! Why won't they eat the weeds!!] leave our roses alone, but liked the cherry tree blossoms. My yellow roses bush is happily blooming, the salmon color one is starting its flush, etc. Maybe I can outfit those deer with glasses that will only see the little wild daisies and dandelions....
Ginger