Roses at Wedgwood House and Gardens

TOTAL Eye Candy!

2009-05-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted, but the biggest reason for this is I went to Butchart Gardens on Mother's Day weekend and was totally blown away by it's beauty. I was like a kid in a candy store and I do not think the smile ever left my face. Problem is, I could not stop taking pictures, took about 400 I am sure. It was amazing. Apparently one of the best Spring displays ever, simply because of the way our weather has been - a cold Winter and late Spring meaning late blooming things arriving at the same time as the right time bloomers, hence a terrific show, and it IS a show! Enormous credit to the designers of the flower beds amongst the general overall look at these magnificent gardens. The colour schemes were incredible. Some of the monotones were even more stunning. They would take the background into consideration, for instance. If there were cream Rhododendrons, then the flowers in front of this could all be cream too and this theme happened throughout the gardens. Of course because of the enormous amount of pictures, all I did was put a huge pressure on myself on the process of elimination. It was ALMOST impossible. I still am posting way more than I should, but could not reduce any further, heehee!!! Hope you enjoy them, but of course the real proof is BEING THERE!! Pauline PS - If you click to enlarge, you may be truly amazed. I am still on a high of the gardens and I thank my dear friend Binners for encouraging me to go visit with her, even though I, (we both) had a busy schedule that weekend. WONDERFUL!

You will see on the third of this set of pictures that at some point in the gardens (actually from the Japanese Gardens), there is a lookout between the trees of this beautiful view of Brentwood Bay and the new tour boat belonging to the gardens. I am not sure if it is in operation yet, but this will also be a future asset to visiting the gardens.

http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Thank you for looking. Pauline

MY ROSES - "Co to Do"

2009-04-25T21:56:00.001-07:00

CONSTANCE SPRY: English Rose bred by David Austin in the UK in 1961. This is the first English Rose by David Austin. Classified as a shrub, but It makes an excellent climber because of its enormous size. We have it growing on an arbour and also along a tall fence and rose arch where it can strut it's stuff!........ it truly is a sight to behold when in bloom. Unfortunately it only blooms once in a season, but my, oh my, it puts on a grand performance and the fragrance is outstanding. I had to have this rose when I first saw magazine pictures of it and I certainly was not disappointed! Lovely light to mid pink large abundant blooms. (please click on all pics to enlarge for better view)

CREAM ABUNDANCE: Floribunda, bred by Harkness in the UK. 1999. This rose was new to me last year and I already have it down as one of my most favourite roses. Fragrance is mild to moderate to my nose, though it is reported to be strong!!! It is a beautiful succulent colour of rich cream, very demure! Medium size blooms are formed in single to large clusters on medium stems. A very beautiful rose indeed!

DOUBLE DELIGHT: Hybrid Tea, bred by two separate breeders Ellis and Swim in Us. 1977. This has to be one of the most popular of all roses and rightly so. This HT has so much going for it. The colouration is very remarkable, predominantly cream with pink to cherry red on the outside of it's petals and colours blending together according to sunlight and age. Then the fragrance is exquisite and intense and has to be in the top five for fragrance in modern roses. It has won many awards. This rose is a double delight for fragrance and unique blend of colour, and for myself, two of my first DDs formed double crowns. Now that's taking it to the limit. A very favourite rose indeed!

REMINISCENCE OF AUGUST CUT FLOWER POWER

2009-04-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Just sharing with you the table arrangements I made for our annual summer picnic/dinner at our Probus Club last August. All the flowers were from our garden. I carefully picked ones I hoped to use for our "western" theme picnic. I was hoping to have arrangements with a yellow rose dominance for this theme. (as in the Yellow Rose of Texas). As time was getting close to the event, I could see I was going to have trouble finding enough yellows in my garden for this. A few weeks earlier or even later, they would have been very abundant - but of course Murphy's Law!!! Anyhow, I carefully picked, and conditioned blooms for up to two weeks before and refridgerated them in a spare fridge. As I was not going to be able to make my arrangements from all yellow roses, then I sucumbed to anything white, roses or otherwise for fill-ins.

(please click on all pictures for better view)

I chose to make up the arrangements on the day before the event I placed all my material in the kitchen ready to start. I looked around the kitchen and I thought how lovely it looked and smelled - like a little florist shop. I felt very proud of the beautiful flowers I had grown. The "white" side was particularly pretty, I thought. The flowers included white geraniums, antirrhinums, phlox, roses, and hydrangea.

The yellow side which was all roses, included Golden Celebration, Amber Queen and St. Patrick and Tamora (not quite yellow, but they blended)

..........and as a single contrast in each arrangement, (an afterthought) there was to be one large Double Delight in the center. This worked really well as I knew that the table runner and the napkins were going to be of red and white gingham, so it worked fine!

For the containers, I used canning jars which with pieces of bandanna wrapped around them in red and yellow! These added to the fun of it. I inserted florist oasis into each container to make arranging easier and more stable.

As each arrangement was finished, I set them on the dining room table out of the way, while I was working on the next one - always keeping one with me as a pattern to follow.

It is difficult to tell from these pictures, but the arrangements were oval shaped.

I used hosta leaves as a base - unfortunately the photos do not do them justice, I do not believe. I also used pieris for greenery. It does not really show up on the pictures, but it worked well.

Thanks for looking at my summer bounty! Pauline

MY ROSES - "Eb to Ev"

2009-04-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

EBB TIDE: Floribunda. Bred by Tom Carruthers in the United States.2006. Strong fragrance - unusual colour of mauve also described as deep smoky purple. I guess in the rose world of "blues" this is a good description, bearing in mind that there is no such thing as "blue" in a rose, so the more blue a pink or red rose contains, then usually this is extremely sought after, it seems! Anyhow, new to me last season, I am sure looking forward to this rose this season when it has matured a little. This too looks wonderful in a vase with other roses - very complimentary, in my opinion. I am very happy with it.

EDEN ROSE: (aka Pierre de Ronsard) Climber. The first Rose of the "Romantica" line, bred by House of Meilland in France. 1985 Cream with pink dominance. What can I say, it is just beautiful. My own is really just starting off, (in comparison to some of the spectacular specimens I have seen) but getting the hang of training climbers a little better, I am really looking forward to it this year. One of the most romantic looking roses for sure, it takes your breath away. The flowers are quite large when fully open but look just as beautiful when not - a true cup shaped rose for sure. Sadly, the down side is, it has little fragrance, BUT, I would not want to be without this rose. Also very floriferous when it puts on it's main show. Repeats throughout the season, but with less abundance. I highly recommend this climber. Which too by the way, is not rampant, so it fits nicely over a walk-though rose arch.

EVELYN: English Rose bred by David Austin in the UK. 1992. A beautiful very popular Austin - lovely fragrance from which David Austin and French perfumiers got together to produce the perfume in one of Crabtree and Evelyn's line. I am fascinated with the colour range of this rose. You can have a perfect peach bloom and a perfectly clear pink bloom on the same stem - so charming. It is great in an arrangement for a special occasion, but it really does not last long in a vase. But that does not stop me - if it fades after two days, then I replace it with a different rose, still it is beautiful to see in an arrangement. Moderately floriforous in my garden.

Thank you for looking, Pauline

WILD THING!

2009-04-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

WEDGWOOD HOUSE RESIDENTS

WILD THING...

.....You Make My Heart Sing

....You're Everything

....Wild Thing!

Momma Mia

Poppa Dear

Winter babies

Thanks for looking at our WILD THINGS! Pauline

MY ROSES - "Fi to Fr"

2009-03-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

FILIPES "KIFTSGATE": Old Rambler introduced in United Kingdom by E. Murrell in 1954. A huge rambler that we have growing up into our cedar trees next to Paul's Himalayan Musk. It is slightly behind PHM in bloom time, but there is a period when they are both out together and the fragrance from them en-mass is wonderful. Pictures of Paul's Himalayan Musk can be viewed from "My Roses alphabetical list" in the side bar on the right here. As with most ramblers, the bloom time is just once, but so worth that four week "rush". They are both truly a sight to behold and garden visitors are blown away by these two beautiful ramblers. The trusses of Kiftsgate are enormous, hundreds of little flowers on one stem. One cut stem makes a wonderful bouquet on it's own and I am really anxious to share these photos of this magnificent rose. The colour is milky white and each single flower is shaped like a little cup. For more information on this rose you may see it at the website of Kiftsgate Court Garden. http://www.kiftsgate.co.uk/kiftsgaterose.shtml Please click on images.

FERDINAND PICHARD: Hybrid Perpetual. Bred in France by Remi Tanne. 1920. I really like this rose, the fragrance, which is strong and it's overall performance in the garden. I enjoy the rich burgundy and light pink to white stripes and find it most attractive. It also looks great in a vase with mixed roses or other flowers. Pretty well never without blooms and very prolific.

FLOWER CARPET: Shrub - also known as a ground cover rose. Bred by Werner Noack. 1988 in Germany. My Flower Carpet roses have been standard or tree roses. I have had four for several years and they have put on a delightful show going down one side of our driveway alternating with red leaved Japanese flowering plum trees. We were quite proud of them, but one by one, with the sheer weight of the heads, three of them have snapped. and bent right over, one completely was decapitated. Very sad. The two with broken necks still have survived, goodness knows how, but they only look very unattractive in the winter without there leaves and blooms, otherwise they are still living. One is still with it's head. Poor souls. When we redo our front garden, I would love to purchase some more, but only if we can get the nice height of the standards we have - high enough for the deer to to be unable to reach. Anyway here is a picture of one in it's hay day. When we do replace them, we will be more diligent in keeping the head quite light or at the very least, well supported. As you can see, they get nice large trusses of mildly fragrant bright deep pink blooms.

FREDERICK MISTRAL: Hybrid Tea. Bred by Alain Meilland in France. 1995. This rose is gorgeous and has everything going for it, in my opinion. Luscious pink, sometimes dusty looking, depending on temperatures, I think. Intensely strong fragrance to die for. Very prolific and vigorous. Flowers are of beautiful form and born singularly and in small clusters on long stems. An all round great rose - and a photographer's dream rose too!! :)

Below, three Frederic Mistral blooms with Pretty Jessica center right and complimentary Amber Queen.

Thank you for looking. Pauline.

Our Back Garden!

2009-03-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Gee, this has been one of my most difficult posts up to now, never would I have thought it, but I wanted to post some garden shots. I know that is what I really like to look at on other blogs, but only to find, I had taken so many pictures that I could not choose. So here are some at random......and it does not really matter, because there are thousands more, teehee!These, in particular are all of our back garden. Don't forget to click on the pics! :)

Thanks for looking!

MY ROSES - 'Ga to Go"

2009-03-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

GARDEN PARTY: Hybrid Tea. Bred by Herbert C. Swim. 1959 in United States. A beautiful classic bloom of off-white to creamy pale yellow with edges blushed with pink. It looks like a paler version of Peace to me. I think I prefer this colouring. Though the fragrance is considered mild I think it is very pleasant - reminds me of apple blossom and so does the colour of the rose. Usually born singularly on long stems - beautiful in arrangements and compliments other colours in roses. I really like this rose. I have two bushes of it.

GEMINI: Hybrid Tea. Bred by Dr. Keith W. Zary. 1991 in the United states. A very popular exhibition rose, cream to pink blend, fragrance is mild, but a keeper for sure! Classic Hybrid Tea form - has won many awards.........and rightly so! - I need say no more!

GOLDEN CELEBRATION: English Rose. Bred by David Austin.1992 in United Kingdom. Many petalled, beautiful classic old rose form, strong fragrance. To my eyes, this is the best yellow with hints of peach to give it that really warm look. Very floriferous. Blooms nod a bit, but there are so many, that it just gives a romantic aura to the bush. The rose that I have the most pictures of - I cannot stop photographing iy. It is truly gorgeous. Also it is one of the first to bloom in our garden.

BUTCHART GARDENS (in early Spring)

2009-03-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

The Capital City of British Columbia is Victoria, which is situated on Vancouver Island separated from the mainland by the Straits of Georgia. I live about 1hr and 40mins drive from Victoria. It is a beautiful city with a very old British flare to it. One of it's most beautiful attributes are the famous Butchart Gardens, which beauty is enjoyed year round by travellers from all over the World. I try and visit at least once a year. It changes so much from month to month. The pictures below were taken in early Spring. I am hoping to go back again in late Spring and take more pictures. It will look very different then. Hope you enjoy looking, and if you have not already, then I hope you get a chance at some point in time to visit this beautiful place. Link to Butchart Gardens. http://www.butchartgardens.com/the-gardens/ Please click on images - you will almost feel you are there!

The Sunken Gardens

>Lake and fountains. I believe at Christmas time, the gardens are magical and beautifully illuminated, all through the gardens as well as these fountains. Hopefully there will be something about it on their web site.

Towards the exit of the Japanese gardens, (no pictures unfortunately), one encounters an unexpected look-out point, a hole carved out of the cedar trees, exposing this awesome view. ..............and stepping through a clearing there is an even better viewpoint of this little harbour.

The Italian Garden

Through the window of the glass room

and on the way back home, are awesome views of the coastal mountains on the mainland. As this is a high road along a mountain pass called the Malahat Drive, there are several look-out points where one can stop and take in the magnificent scenery.

MY ROSES - "Go to Gu"

2009-03-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

GOOD LIFE: Hybrid Tea, bred by Cocker in Scotland. 1999. Apricot to Orange blend. This is a beautiful hybrid tea with classic large blooms born mostly singularly on long stems. It has a wonderful strong fragrance and is a healthy grower with very strong stems. GRACE: English Rose, bred by David Austin in United Kingdom. 2001. Apricot to yellow blend. Very floriferous shrub with medium sized blooms of unusual form with very many petals. Some petals are quite narrow for a rose and almost give the appearance of a different flower altogether. I do not detect much of a fragrance to this rose. Could be my nose!

GUY DE MAUPASSANT: Romantica Rose, bred by Alain Meilland in France.1995. This truly is a romantic looking rose, soft pink to medium pink blooms depending on the time of the year and time of day. I do note that in the evening light, some roses become quite brilliant or deeper in colour.

Unfortunately, I do not detect much of a fragrance to this rose either. But it is certainly a keeper in our garden. Beautifully shaped old fashioned blooms which are formed in many clusters and very abundant.

COMPANION PLANTS - (The favourite ones in my garden)

2009-02-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

Companion or complimentary plants, however you put it; I do not mind a bed of all roses, but I prefer some complimentary plants as a contrast. I have found with our very moist conditions that some that I would love to have, really do not work. I also find with the way our roses are set out, like, quite close together, then there is not much point interspersing them with other plants. Because of our conditions, (a greatly treed lot), our roses tend to get to be on the tall side. so we find our companion plants are best as border plants. Though, I really would like to dabble with more delphiniums and try them in between roses that may have a little extra space. They just may be tall enough to work with the roses. I love delphiniums. Up to now, my favourite border companion plants are Campanulas without question. Oops, I seem to be telling a lie right off the bat, because the taller Campanulas are in a perennial border in front of some climbing roses, but I guess the idea still works. First we have Campanula Medium Calycanthema, (campana - meaning bell). commonly called Canterbury Bells - This variety are often called "cup and saucers", because they do have saucers, and some are bells without the saucers. The one pictured here is Canterbury Bells Cup and Saucers. Others in that seed packet were double pink and white. They are biennials and each year, I do get some more surprises.

Here is a log arrangement of rosa Abraham Darby with two types of Campanulas, Canterbury Bells in the upright centre then campanula glomeratas at the lower edges.

Below one of my true favourites, Campanula Glomerata "superba".

Here is a stand of it, I try and grow as much as I can.

I use it in many arrangements, as seen below here, too!

No name for this Campanula, below yet, I will check to see if there is a tag tomorrow. I think it could be Campanula Lactiflora! I can not find it on the net. It is another favourite, but in the perennial border. It reminds me of phlox and it is quite as tall, but it is so fluffy and airy.

Like all of the taller ones, it does need staking (UNFORTUNATELY) I say that in capitals, because, staking is a huge part of our gardening, do I like doing this, NOT!!!! I should point out that this is a newish plant, so it will get a lot wider, if I can stop myself from dividing it while it is still young.:)

Beautiful!!

No name here either, sorry! I have a lot of this, it is one of the earliest bloomers, I need to go out in the daylight and check the name. I will come back for sure, if I can find a tag. It is a great one for sure

Ahh, Campanula, Dickson's gold. I have split it up already, once, I am saying this, because the border I use a lot of these companion plants in, is only two year's old. I think with this one, the foliage, is the star. It gets pretty bright gold, even at this time of the year, it seems hardy and the foliage out beats any other perennial!

.......and the beautiful white sister to Campanula Glomerata. Love this. Hoping to divide this year.

Not sure of the name of this Campanula, but it is certain seems to be a little more "blue" Than the rest. Again, it comes at a different time than the others. This is what I like about the campanulas. There is always some "blue" in bloom.

This campanula is a true beauty, Campanula Persicifolia, "Chettle Charm". I absolutely love the delicate colouring of this campanula. Another tall one, which needs staking, but a wonderful statement in the garden.

Picture below of some campanulas, not even photographed here, are the campanula carpaticas, "White and Blue clips" They are a big part of our rose border. The picture below was taken two seasons ago, when that rose border was only in it's second season. They had really spread last year, so this coming season, I will take pics all over again, and hopefully, the impact will be greater. I once had Light Blue Clips which were my ultimate favourite. Unfortunately, they passed away, I hate to think that it may have been neglect on my part, but I am willing to try again. Just cannot find them any more! Sniff!!

MY ROSES - "Ha to He"

2009-02-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

HARRY EDLAND: Floribunda. Bred by Harkness.1975 in the United Kingdom. One of the nicest blue/mauves in this colour range. Quite clear and more blue than most of the ones I have seen. The fragrance is one of the strongest and it’s moderately full medium size blooms are formed in small clusters on short stems. The downside is that it inherits the poor overall health that roses of this colouring seem to have. That is my experience with this particular rose and I have nurtured it for years, though it has improved slightly over the last couple. The performance is barely acceptable, but I will stick with it for a while longer. It is beautiful in floral arrangements. Looks more blue in cooler evening shade.

HEIRLOOM: Hybrid Tea. Bred by Warriner. 1972 in the United States. Mauve in the hotter summer months and at the cooler ends of the cycle it takes on a more blue hue, especially in the evening shade. This is a beautiful rose with attractive large full blooms born singularly or in clusters on long stems. As with most mauve/lavender roses, the fragrance is strong and wonderful. I particularly love this colour in rose arrangements. I find my blooms are fuller than described on HMF. http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/roses.php

HERITAGE: English Rose. Bred by David Ausin. 1984 in the United Kingdom. Demure light pink. Beautifully cupped with lovely blooms born on long stems, usually in clusters. Strongly fragrant and an extremely healthy large bush which is very floriforous and constantly in bloom. Also beautiful when used as a climber on a fence. When free standing, it gets very tall, but the canes are strong and upright, so it does make an attractive shrub in the garden.

I love the combination in this picture, taken of our friends' beautiful daughter on her wedding

day. I made her bouquet with cream florist roses which were complimented by the soft pink of "Heritage" blooms. The back drop of our our Paul's Himalayn Musk helped to set the scene.

THE NAKED PHOTOGRAPHER

2009-02-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

The things we do to get a good shot ................and the story begins! On the day of the event, I had just got out of the bath tub and Alan shouts Are you decent? I yelled, No! But he said, you should come here and see the California quails, there are hundreds of them! I quickly tied the towel around me, grabbed my camera and clickity split saw Mr. and Mrs. Quail, (Dale and Gayle) and another male (Mayle) and what looked like big bugs scooting all over the place. Oh, how cute!! My camera is set to perform and the towel bolts to the ground, but I, creeping along between soil, gravel and shrubs, could not give a care about being starkers - I had to make the shots! My husband was gob smacked! I fail to see why! Hope you are truly thankful that no one was around to take a picture of the photographer taking a picture of Mayle, Gayle and Dale Quail and their four and twenty day-old chicks. So here are some of the photos - hope you enjoy them! Unfortunately there is always sadness in nature. We kind of wondered why there were two males and so many chicks. (I counted 24 and they usually have about 12 in our area) There was actually two coveys of them. The mum would kind of sit on one group and spread out her wings drawing them all together, then go to the next group and do the same thing and they would all be neatly packed up in a tight circle (two tight circles). It dorned on us later that these were actually two sets of hatches and unfortunately one of the mum's must have come to a bad end. We had heard a lot of noise and commotion earlier that day but we could not figure what it was. Anyway, between the three adults, they seemed to be managing remarkably well.......but I do get very upset with nature at times!

THE HAPPY PHOTOGRAPHER (sequal to the naked photographer)

..............and just to prove that I do dress appropriately some times, my uncle took these two pictures of me in the pouring rain, when he was last with us from England. This goes to show there is no stopping a determined and happy photographer, when the prospect arises of some good shots.

Brolly won't seem to open quick enough,

got to keep the camera dry

This time, in pouring rain, my aim was to take some of the water fowl which graced this beautiful pond at one of our favourite eating spots, the Crow and Gate, which is an authentic old English style pub.

The residence of the pub owners

It is in a unique spot with lovely gardens and a great pond with an island (at least twice as big as ours), but this is sort of how I would like ours to look. This one is quite exposed, whereas ours is mostly in the shade.

My aim in the rain

One of a pair of beautiful black swans

A very attractive male teal

Thanks for looking.

Pauline :)

MY ROSES - "Ju to L D B"

2009-02-06T22:33:00.000-08:00

JUBILEE CELEBRATION: English Rose - bred by David Austin in UK, 2002. Unusual colour of pink/salmon blend. Delightful, very full heavy blooms, and very fragrant. Lovely old rose look to these blooms. Born in small clusters on short stems. Certainly a keeper, I have two. Very vigorous shrub, forming many blooms throughout the season. JUST JOEY: Hybrid Tea - Bred by Cants of Colchester UK in 1972. Unusually beautiful succulent, peach shade. Huge blooms, one of mine measured 7" accross, last season. Large loose attractive petals. Nice fragrance, moderate, to my nose. Average flushes as far as HT blooms go. But definitely a remarkable rose.

L D BRAITHWAITE: English Rose. Bred by David Austin in the UK in 1988. Rich red colouring. Starts off cup shaped, but when fully open resembles a peony. This is one of my favourite Austins. Points lost for lack of fragrance, but a beautiful looking rose.

Kitchen Reno - Such fun - Oh but a lot of work!

2009-01-29T22:04:00.000-08:00

I try to break up my rose pictures with something a little different. I think most people like looking at remodeling or make-overs. Our kitchen was becoming quite stale after having the same cupboards and appliances for 25 yrs. Looking at "the before", I guess it did not look too bad, but the cupboards were getting quite worn and did not clean easily anymore. Ideally it would have been best to rip them all out and start all over. Some of the modern cabinets these days are amazing, but terribly expensive. It would have been a huge job to re-finish the cabinets, so decided to go for a new bright look and paint them white. Our kitchen is quite dark because we are surrounded by a forest of tall dense evergreens, so at times it can look a little depressing. So, white it was going to be. We still loved our "blue" accessories, so I wanted to create a theme around blue and white. (click on pics for larger image)

Kitchen - during our B&B days Big decisions on what to use as an accent colour. I loved this little creamy yellow ceramic container with the blue pansys and blue rimming it's lid, so I decided that that would be my colour scheme. Then I started collecting paint colour samples and went looking for fabric. I was delighted to find this beautiful French toile Waverly pattern which seemed to go nicely with the colours I had picked.

We hired a painter who turned our kitchen into a bubble of plastic and applied three coats of spray paint over a matter of several days. What I liked about this method, was that I would also get all the insides painted too! He did an excellent job as "oak" is not the easiest wood to cover.

So let's get started....... OMG!

Now we jump to the next picture but Before we got this far, my husband Alan had worked his buns off literally. I marvel at the hours he put in to it from the installing the new stainless steel appliances, to fitting the new light fixtures. He did an amazing job on the crown molding, installed five new doors and also a new window which all had to be painted too. He will probably tell me I have missed something out, heehee!. But the actual painting and decorating turned out beautifully also. The ceiling was painted a pale cool blue and so was the inside of a the cupboard we keep our every-day dishes. We also had the doors ripped down to this cabinet in order to have them glazed which made a nice accent. We lived with it at this stage for several weeks as the Anaglypta wallpaper Alan was installing was on back order from England - I could hardly wait to introduce the yellow colour. For people who do not know, Anaglypta is a hard embossed wallpaper which you can get in many different patterns including stripes. I chose a traditional pattern. One usually paints over this wallpaper to a colour you wish, even white works beautifully. What is nice is that when painted the seams fill in and it gives a really nice affect. Then when you tire of it, you can re-paint it a different colour!

This is one of the few pictures where, which I believe, you can see some of the texture in the wallpaper. (hopefully when enlarged)

It is coming together

The accent dishes you see on the hood, were an amazing find, almost matching the toile fabric I have as window treatment and chair pads, exactly. These really were the icing on the cake and I have several pieces around the kitchen areas. Nice to look at the snowscape from the cosiness of our new mellow and brighter kitchen!

MY ROSES - "L'A to Ma"

2009-01-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

L’AIMONT: Floribunda – Bred by Harkness (1994) in UK. Medium peachy/pink blooms born in clusters on med length stems. Blooms are very full and ruffled and are quite beautiful with a delightful strong fragrance. L’Aimont, also goes by the name of Victoria Spice looks lovely and is a good performer in a vase. As I find with most Harkness roses, the foliage is good with glossy leaves.

LOVING MEMORY: Hybrid Tea –Bred by Kordes (1981) in Germany. One of the most beautiful roses I have encountered. Blooms are velvet red, packed with petals and are mostly born on long stems. Pleasant, “almost” moderate, fragrance. I will always cherish this plant which was given to me by the sister of a close friend who died in a motor vehicle accident and it portrays a very “Loving Memory”!

MARGARET MERRILL: Floribunda – Bred by Harkness (1977) in UK. Medium size semi double blooms born in clusters on a longish stem. Intensely fragrant Blooms are white. On this rose, I prefer newly unfurling buds and brand new blooms before they are fully blown, also the colour shade is more beautiful at these stages. Though, many people do like it at its fully open bloom stage when it shows off it’s bright peachy/yellow stamens.

MARY ROSE: English Rose - Bred by David Austin (1983) in UK. Medium size full petalled blooms born in large clusters on short stems. Vigorous and floriferous. Pleasant mild to moderate fragrance. Lovely shade of pink.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL.......

2008-12-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

.....Though some believe it is DELIGHTFUL

Let it stop, let it stop, let it STOP!

The bridge looking towards the house

Looking down, over the bridge

towards the house

.....and then up near. If I had played my cards right

and taken the pond and the house together,

well maybe, almost maybe,

we could have had a Courier and Ives -

as my friend Jim, says that we have. :)

................but he is prejudice, VERY PREJUDICE!

I love this jumble below - almost lead-glass like looking,

but branches and trees make that affect.

and a front mis-match- tilted old chair at the snow laden table!

(I think they have to go) :)

but served us well for years! MANY YEARS!

Oh, and still one more, just another snowy back view!

I admit the snow looks very beautiful, but I do not like the side affects, the roads and all other problems it can create and I am really thinking of people stranded in airports right now waiting to go home or to friends for Christmas. I really hope it works out for them......and for personal reasons, our grandson will be travelling from Edmonton on Boxing Day, as an unaccompanied minor, so I hope by then these problems are cleared up and for all travellers. I have to admit that the wannabe photographer in me has really enjoyed going out and taking pictures around the property. The problem is out of about five folders that my five excursions braving the elements have made, I have had to reduce my pictures so I could post an acceptable amount. But alas, I have still gone overboard, I could not limit them to under ten. Four to six would have been better. I thought of sending them to friends and asking them to pick for me. But, to heck with it. Ten it is! Hope you enjoy!

MY ROSES - “Ma to Pa”

2008-12-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

MADAME ISAAC PEREIRE: Bourbon. Bred by Garcon - 1881 in France. Delicious Deep Pink blooms with very strong fragrance and many petals of 55 and more. Very floriferous with heavy nodding heads. Usually born singularly on short stems. It can be used as a large shrub or small climber.

I personally think that roses like this with heads that have a habit of facing downwards are far more appreciated when trained to climb………especially this rose and some of the Austin’s, when one can look into the blooms and appreciate them more. Unfortunately, up to now, I only have one photograph of this beautiful rose.

OCTAVIA HILL: Floribunda. Bred by Harkness - 1995 in United Kingdom. Lovely pure pink smallish blooms forming large clusters on short stems. It has a moderate fragrance. The bush is short - about 2.6 to 3.6 feet in my garden. The blooms very prettily shaped with many petals.

PARADE: Climber. Bred by Gene Boerner - 1953 in United States. This rose has deep pink. HT sized blooms in large clusters. Extremely floriferous and can put on quite a show, as you will see by pictures on HMF (HELP ME FIND) http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pics.php?l=2.4648&nr=98343 grown by a rose colleague who frequents the Garden Web Roses Forum http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/roses/ I personally do not detect any fragrance with this rose. But it sure makes up for it in the abundance of blooms.

PARADISE: Hybrid Tea. Bred by Weeks - 1978 in the United States. This unique HT is a lovely shade of lavender with petals tipped at their edges with a light red blush. Depending on the amount of sun and the season, the colours and intensity will vary greatly. This is a beautifully shaped rose and is quite gorgeous in arrangements. Unfortunately, I do not detect much in the way of fragrance, but it is a keeper because of its unusual colour and beauty.

In full sun

'TIS THE SEASON.......

2008-12-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

.........to be jolly!

fa la la la laa, la la, la laa!.........

After already having been to a few fun events, I check my calendar and see the dates are filling up and the social butterfly in me is looking forward to every one! I particularly look forward to meeting up with my family and friends, very much, at this time of the year and to all the scrumptious food. We feel blessed to have such wonderful loving friends and family in our life.

I won't turn this into an epistle, but I want to wish everyone who reads this new blog of mine a very “Merry Christmas” and a “Happy and Healthy New Year”.

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living! Amanda Bradley

The photo above looks like one huge Christmas table centre, but it is a group of many which I made for our horticultural society's Christmas dinner tables for a couple of years. They sure made an impact when grouped together on our dining room table.

I am finding it is a really busy time right now. (who isn't?) I have just come back from a few days break in Victoria on the Island and Port Angeles, Wa. and I am a wee bit late with my Christmas preps. Hope to get some more rose pics up before Christmas, but if I do not get blogging for a wee while, I wish you all a "Very Merry Christmas" and thank you my friends for looking.

Love Pauline.

ROSES - "Pa to Pr"

2008-12-03T00:23:00.000-08:00

PAUL’S HIMALAYAN MUSK: Rambler. Bred by George Paul, Jr. 1916 in the United Kingdom. The colour is blush pink to white and it forms huge clusters of moderately fragrant blooms. Individually, they are small and about an inch in diameter which are massed in exceedingly large trusses of 100 blooms or more. Hence the air is saturated with their fragrance. As with all old ramblers, it only blooms once in the season, but how SPECTACULAR. It makes a huge statement in our garden when it is blooming. It climbs at least 35’X40’ way up into the tall cedar trees. It is a real sight for sore eyes. We love it, and so does everyone else who gets the pleasure of seeing PHM in bloom. BREATHTAKING!!

PINK PEACE: Hybrid Tea. Bred by Francis Meilland 1958 in France. Large bright pink flowers usually born singularly on long stems. This spectacular rose is Intensely fragrant – a pleasure to own. I have three. They are wonderful, floriferous and tall and upright in my garden – also fabulous vase life.

PRETTY JESSICA: English Rose. Bred by David Austin 1983 in England. This rose is medium pink and is a true beauty. Short to medium height Blooms of many petals born in clusters on longish stems (for an English Rose). It has an intoxicating wonderful strong fragrance and is a lovely all round rose. I have three of them. Whenever I have more than one of the same rose, it means, I particularly love the rose.

PRINCESS OF WALES: Floribunda. Bred by Harkness 1997 in United Kingdom. Large creamy white trusses, born on medium stems. It bears an abundance of small double flowers, always in bloom. A rose I waited two years for, before I received it from England. We used to have a nursery nearby that ordered directly from Harkness, so it was wonderful to pour through the catalogue and pick out a good order. Very exciting!

Then one year I looked at their catalogue and there was a beautiful picture of Princess Diana holding a huge bouquet of these rose, “Princess of Wales”. The rose was introduced by Harkness to honour her 10 years of work with the British Lung Foundation. So, with every purchase of this rose there was to be a small donation collected for the foundation. They looked so beautiful to me that I happily included it in my order.

She passed away when my order was going through and there was such a demand that my order was not fulfilled for another two years. But I was glad to receive it. It was so tiny, but flourished amazingly. Then our deer problems cut in, and we almost lost it. It is now nurtured in a new bed and is doing excellent.

One year, I cut one stem, the huge truss was like a large bridal bouquet all on it’s own. And I won the best in its class at the Horticultural Society in it’s first season. So Princess Diana lives on through this rose for me and it will always have a special place in my heart. To my nose, there is virtually no fragrance, but She is a keeper regardless.

ONE DOZEN ROSES - DEMO ON HOW TO REVIVE AND RE-ARRANGE FOR LONGER LIFE!

2008-12-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

We all have had the pleasure of receiving at some point in time a dozen roses. Do not wait again until they are gifted, why not treat yourself to a dozen? After all it is the season when many of us have zilch to bring in out of the garden. It is all nicer still when they come in a vase to begin with. However, all roses in the bunch may not last as long as the others, so I would like to show you how you can lengthen and revive their vase life as well as re-arranging them to look like new again.

Here is a beautiful bouquet I received from a dear uncle, (as it looked a few days after I received it). While some blooms stayed quite erect on their stems, others were slowly lowering their heads, and the stems had weakened and become soft at just below the calyx.

METHOD FOR REVIVAL: Carefully remove all flowers and greens from the vase, keep like material together. Fill a bathtub or large sink with very warm (not hot) water. Re-cut all roses on a 45degree angle and submerge them in the bathtub, re-cutting all the stems at a 45 degree angle under water. The blooms will float very prettily! Leave in water for at least two hours even longer to "overnight" is what I prefer. You know they are ready when they are stiff around the calyx again and heads stay quite erect – you will be amazed. Occasionally, the odd one just

does not make it.

Now for re-arranging. You can pretend you are starting from scratch, and this is the way I like to arrange such flowers for full effect.

VASE: Choose a vase similar to the one shown. The flowers actually came with this vase and with the smoky violet ribbon which was a perfect match to the lavender roses. It is important that there is some width to the vase below the neck (even if the neck is somewhat narrower) so that all the material can be arranged at reasonable angles - this is what makes the arrangement look nice and full.Fill your vase with warm water – if you do not have preservative, add an aspirin or a teaspoon of sugar to this and a few drops of bleach (about half a teaspoon) - good for keeping water clear – especially in a see-through vase. Also if you use certain material like Gypsophila, you will really need the bleach as they tend to sour the water.

Start with your greens. Always use lots of greens as they also act as the support for your arrangement. If you receive 1 dozen roses and there are not enough greens, please go and pick some more from your garden, anything should work. Here are some suggestions. Boxwood, ferns, all the Artemesia's, viburnums, camellia branches etc. Pieris is very nice too. I usually prepare and cut them all to length before I start. Pieces approx 6-12” long depending on the vase you use and the finished height! This mainly acts as a support and filler.

Place the greens all around the vase at as much angle as you can muster strategically around and throughout the centre, until it is quite full, but not too tightly packed. Here you have your base. You do not have to sink your roses deep into the vase, you will be able to make them look as long as you like as the greens should support the stems and sort of act like the florist oasis that is used in other arrangements.

Now the fun part. Place your roses evenly throughout. I started with one held high in the centre, this should be your highest point. Then evenly spaced four on a row down from that. Now you have used five and have seven to play with. Fill the spaces in nicely with the remainder till you have a pleasing look. If you have some gypsophila, statice or any contrasting filler, then you can nicely fill in the spaces with a little here and there being careful not to overdo this step. Now you will have a beautiful full vase of flowers which you can place on your coffee table etc.

If you are going to situate this with it’s back to the wall you can just place more of the roses at the front of the vase – to get full benefit.

ENJOY! Of course, you can use this method with any flowers, florist and/or garden.

MY ROSES - "Pr to Re"

2008-12-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

PRINCESSE DE MONACO: Hybrid Tea, bred by Meilland(1981) in France. Cream and pink blend – It is reported as having a mild fruity fragrance. To my nose, it is more moderate – very pleasant. This is a beautiful rose, the buds are amazing. I think the opening buds are it’s main feature, but one keeps hoping to see the fully open bloom. It never seems to get that far, never completely opens right up. But all the stages that it develops are beautiful. Wonderful in a vase too. This rose, in my opinion, has the BEST foliage. Very dark beautiful

shiny leaves. It is of moderate height.

QUEEN ELIZABETH: Grandiflora. Bred by Dr. Walter Lammerts(l954) in the United States. Medium Pink. It is said to have a moderate fragrance. I personally, only detect the slightest hint of fragrance. This rose makes a wonderful statement in any garden. It is vigorous, healthy, floriferous, upright and very tall. It bears clusters of pure pink, hybrid tea shaped blooms on extremely long stems. The blooms are wonderful formed into a classic bouquet in a vase.

RADOX BOUQUET: Floribunda. Bred by Harkness(1980) in United Kingdom. Medium pink. Strong fragrance. Still new to me, so the verdict is not out yet. I cannot comment fairly, as I moved it this year after only it’s first year. And I think she has sulked ever since! So I will treat her especially well next year, and hope she will revert back to her first year’s strength. Going by last year’s performance, this bush was very tall almost like a grandiflora with large clusters of large blooms on long stems.

RENAISSANCE: Hybrid tea, bred by Harkness (1994) in United Kingdom. Blush pink shading to white. Strong sweet fragrance. Strong healthy bush of medium height and prolific bloom. Lovely cutting rose.

DEER WELCOME

2008-11-29T22:52:00.000-08:00

DEER Welcome! It was a very long time before I thought I would ever hear myself say that. It was a constant battle to keep them away from my roses which I sprayed with a diluted egg mixture, every five days. This I found to be the best deterrent, but it took extreme dedication.

It became too much, and if I missed, low and behold, all my precious new shoots would be gone the next morning. I am sure a lot of you know how it feels. We finally decided to splurge on a deer fence and move all the roses, except climbers and a few high standards to the back garden, where we would install the fence.

This was the BEST thing we could ever have done in the garden……..and to have more roses in a smaller area makes a much greater impact - so it was a very good move. We have two gates into the garden, and woe-be-tied anyone who leaves them open. It has not happened yet, but I always worry I may be the one to do it!

The downside is that our front garden has deteriorated greatly. It used to be quite beautiful, but the deer have multiplied like crazy, as I am sure they have all over North America. They are eating most things in sight. But we said that we will never chase them away again, and we do love to see them happy and grazing and not skittish……also to see the fawns frisking about like baby lambs in the summer is heart lifting. One of the great splashes of colour in the front garden, besides roses, came from my vast collection of geraniums. I could always depend on geraniums, but the deer are eaing those too. The picture(2006) here shows, the last time that I was able to grow them in that spot. I will get away with them in hanging baskets and hopefully a few tubs and pots etc, but I will definitly have to spray anything low enough.

So the front garden really needs re-landscaping with deer in mind and I am sure it can be done and still look decent - a future project. The deer really are close in my thoughts right now as I look back on the great summer we had with them and how tame they are getting. Most mornings in the summer months, they have enjoyed a huge feast of rose petals, blooms and leaves, which they greedily devour. I think it was their favourite meal of the day. I dump them right beside the compost and just wait and within minutes while I am peeking through the gate, they come swiftly for their nosh.

Apart from grazing on the grass, they seem to eat a lot of ivy too, but I notice how much the ivy has diminished already, when it used to last them nearly all winter.…..and I do worry about them in the winter especially if we have snow on the ground. This does not happen that often, here in the Pacific Northwest, so they usually can find something. Up to now anyway!

Here are last winter's babies!

MY ROSES - "Ro to Se"

2008-11-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

ROSEMARY HARKNESS: Hybrid Tea. Harkness.1985 – Bred in the United Kingdom. Large blooms of medium orange/pink blend. The bush is of moderate height with flowers formed in clusters on long stems. This rose was new to my garden this year, though it is the second time I have grown it. The first time it succumbed to fatality by deer, before we installed our deer fence. Now without the deer it is proving to be a strong and healthy plant. I am happy to be growing it again.

SAVOY HOTEL: Hybrid Tea. Harkness. 1987 – Bred in the United Kingdom. Beautiful large, very full, blooms in a lovely shade of light pink, born singularly on the end of long stems. The growth is vigorous and it is an extremely healthy bush with excellent foliage. If it was not for the lack of fragrance, I think this rose would deserve a perfect 10 rating. It is reported as having a light fragrance, though I personally do not detect any. Alas that is it’s only flaw, but the lack of it does not stop this rose bush from having a place in my garden. In fact, I like it so much, I have two plants. One bouquet of these blooms, is a sight for sore eyes – breathtaking.

SCENTIMENTAL: Floribunda. Carruthers: 1997 - Bred in the United States. This red to burgundy and white, striped rose, blooms moderately and the bush size is also of moderate height. Moderate fragrance to my nose. I quite like stripes, but only have two, the other one being Ferdinand Pichard. I would like to get into some of the other colours. I find the blooms on this particular rose shatter quickly which is a bit disappointing, but they are quite pretty when they are fresh. SECRET: Hybrid Tea. Daniel Tracy. 1992 - Bred in United States. Blend of soft pink and cream. Delicious looking rose. High centred blooms, born singularly on long stems. Lovely strong fragrance and it is said to be shade tolerant. I was happy when I heard that and ordered this for a spot in the garden that has more shade than other areas. New to me this year, but was quite vigorous and delightful. It looks like it is going to be a tall plant. Looking forward to it’s maturity.

DAHLIAS

2008-11-28T20:42:00.001-08:00

A freshly picked fall crop (2000), waiting for me to make a few arrangements for entering and showing in our local Horticultural Society parlour show. Scruffy White dahlias in the vase forward right.

An outdoor arrangement with white cactus dahlias and white antirrhinums.

Peachy, with a secret inhabitant...........

...................oops! No secret any more!

After a good show of colour in our front garden of dahlias again this year, my husband Alan spent the last couple of days lifting and preparing them for their winter storage. We were getting impatient as the weather has been fairly mild. But we did experience some mild frost one evening which blackened a few of them. That was enough for him. Up they came, hosed off and ready for their winter spot in the garage. The tubers have mega, mega multiplied.

I really only know the names of a couple of them, so all the ones that I do not know I give them my own pet name. The above cactus dahlia, I call Blue Tips.

In the dahlia basket below, (which did get first prize at the Hort. Society) contains two true named varieties which are Park Princess, the pink cactus and the peach/pink is Peachie.

Also in the basket are two unique ones, the white and orange that you can see. I call them Scruffy White and Carrot Top (which looks like a heap of grated carrot). I really love the uniquness of the latter two.

I am sure if we had decided to start a dahlia business after my first purchase of Park Princess dahlias - two tiny tubers in a packet for about five bucks, we could have been multi-millionaires by now - The tubers they have produced and other dahlias since them have been phenominal. We have given multitudes away and I do not even think we will find enough people again this year to pass them on to. So if any one out there would like some of our dahlia tubers, please get in touch, and we will see how we can get them to you. OK???

MY ROSES - "Sh to St"

2008-11-27T23:25:00.000-08:00

SHARIFA ASMA: David Austin’s English Rose. Bred 1989 – Candle light pink with outer petals that pale as they open, giving that glowing image. It has an intense fragrance, to die for. The beautiful old rose type blooms are formed in abundant clusters. The bush is of medium size. This is my FAVOURITE rose of all times, tied with Chrysler Imperial – both have intoxicating fragrances.

SIR GALAHAD: Shrub - bred 2002 by Harkness in England – It has moderate fragrance and is of moderate height (when mature). It bears clusters of small creamy white, very double flowers born in large clusters. Mine is still too young to form an honest opinion. It was a weak plant when I received it, so I am hoping for better performance next season. I found it to be very pretty though, so, should it take off, it will be a beautiful shrub for sure.

SPECIAL OCCASION: Hybrid Tea. Bred 1995 by Fryer in England. It has really beautiful, moderate to strong fragrant, large blooms. The colour is a pleasant shade of peach/apricot. It blooms well and is a good repeater. Well worth having – short to medium height for me.

ST PATRICK: Hybrid Tea bred 1996 by Strickland in US. Luscious large full yellow blooms. On an extremely healthy vigorous bush. This is a special favourite of mine, not just because of it’s beauty, but I bought in memory of our beautiful last Springer Spaniel, Patrick. It is close to where he always sat on the porch, watching out for rabbits, and it is a lovely tribute to him. I do not think I could have picked better. I love this rose. It is reported to have a mild fragrance, but I think it is stronger than that, for sure. I find it very pleasant.

MY ROSES - "St to Ta"

2008-11-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

ST. SWITHUN: David Austin English Rose – bred 1993 – softest pink, beautiful, shallow cup- shaped, romantic blooms, formed in clusters on short stems. It has a moderate almond scent to my nose and is one of my favourite Austin’s. This shrub is vigorous and extremely healthy.

TAMORA: David Austin English Rose – bred in 1983. Loosely cup-shaped blooms of many disguises, especially in colour, from champagne to yellow, apricot, peach and pink. It has a strong fragrance of myrrh and is a small shrub with light to moderate abundance. TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES: David Austin English Rose – bred in 1998. Rich red colour. Full cup running over with fluffly blooms. Good old rose fragrance. Large vigorous shrub very floriferous. TIFFANY: Hybrid Tea. Bred in the USA by Robert Lindquist 1954. Large flowered pink – High centred HT form blooms, born singularly on long stems. Strong fragrance. Average height. A very popular rose bush, but has never done that well in my garden. I think I may have acquired a poor plant to begin with.

WEDGWOOD CRITTERS - BARRED OWLS

2008-11-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

We are so lucky to share are home with a generous amount of wild life. My husband loves our owl pictures. I think these “barred owls” are amongst the prettiest and most entertaining that we know of. Lovely striped markings and beautiful doe-like eyes. Their eyes are dark brown which signifies that they are quite active in day light hours. Hence we see a lot of them and never tire of these wonderful birds.

Their calls are so incredibly versatile. It took us a long time to learn where and what these unusual sounds were coming from. Sometimes they sound like screeching monkeys and other times like howling dogs in the woods. The babies, whom we have seen two of, every year for many years, make a sad long hissing sound.

We love our owls.

THE LAST ROSES OF SUMMER - 2008

2008-11-25T23:15:00.000-08:00

The last roses of summer usually adorn my Thanksgiving table. This year, was no exception. Roses bring so much pleasure. They are magnets - it is hard for me to keep away from them, the aroma satisfies the senses, the eye candy is unbelievable and then you can snip at them lovingly to make simple yet beautiful arrangements to be enjoyed anywhere in the house and as table centre pieces.

MY ROSES - "Va to Yv"

2008-11-25T22:43:00.000-08:00

I would like to show you my roses and keep a log of them which will make it simple to access. First I need to start listing them with a brief description and observation on my part.I am sure it will take some time to list them all, but just for fun, I would like to start at the end of the alphabet to give poor Abraham Darby a rest.

YVES PIAGET – A Romantica Rose bred in France by Meilland in 1983. It has a delightful, unusual flower form for a rose, resembling that of a peony. Delicious medium pink and is intensely fragrant. Frilly edges to the petals, almost like a giant carnation would have.It does not bloom profusely enough for my liking, but it is still quite young in my garden and has another year or so to prove her real worth.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL – A David Austin rose – bred 1988 in England. - It is a sport of Mary Rose, which is why she keeps trying to turn pink. On one of my three bushes, she has pink Mary Rose and white Winchester Cathedral blooms on the same bush. Another bush throws out blooms as below, and my third bush is all white, but I love them all. Fragrance is quite pleasant, almost moderate, in my opinion. A lovely floriferous white rose.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 2000 – David Austin rose – bred 2000 in England- magenta red. This is a striking colour against others in my garden. It is very good bloomer with a wonderful strong fragrance.

VALENTINE HEART – Florabunda bred by Dickson 1989 in United Kingdom. Masses of blooms born in clusters on an exceptionally vigorous shrub. This rose is never without blooms in the season. I do not detect any fragrance, but I keep it because of its showy abundance of blooms. It is not fully double, but still a spectacular plant. It is reported to have a strong fragrance!!!

LIFE IS A BED OF ROSES

2008-11-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

……...... so let’s jump right in. That is exactly how it has felt for me this year, it has been a very good year. The roses were wonderful too. Let’s start with a photo of a favourite bed. This picture and the one following of our trellis garden, awarded me a feature spot on Pickering Roses web site for a couple of years. The pictures came second in a garden photo competition that Pickering was currently running. I was quite excited to have a couple of my pictures on their site. http://pickeringnurseries.com/ We were running our bed an breakfast “Wedgwood House B&B” at the time, so this was great exposure for us.

The Par-terre - 1997

The Trellis Garden - 1997