The year is speeding by. September came and went so quickly that I just now noticed the need for a new chat thread.

The thumbnail photo is Pumpkin Patch, a pretty floribunda blooming in shades of russet and pink.

I've had 'Eglantyne', to produce several flowers, to start out the month.

Lady of Shalott. This is the one that arrived labeled as a climber, she started getting a bit too wild so I put a 5ft obelisk behind her and started winding around. She seems happy so far.

Mardi Gras, took a bit of a vacation from blooming over the summer but has a few buds and blooms going now.

Astounding Glory a bit faded from being open a few days already but still pretty.

The Poet's Wife as lovely as always.

Le Petit Prince, purchased at Home Depot this past winter: A bud blossom yesterday, all three pics this morning taken about 1hr. apart:

Beautiful color. That one keeps tempting me.

Dame de Coeur and Crawfish Etouffee arrived from Antique Rose Emporium today.


Deep Secret from Heirloom should be here tomorrow. Those are my last for this year.

My rose border is filling out nicely. The before photo is from April 2018 and the other one I took yesterday.



This last shot is of the small front garden looking towards the apple tree. I was hoping the apple blossoms would show in the photo but they don't.

Absolutely Beautiful!

Lola, I am inspired by your continual improvements.

I really haven't been around for a while. I kinda hit a "funk" this past summer and just messed around in the garden. I cut all the roses back at the end of August and threw down some Espoma Plant Tone and kept everything watered. They have started blooming and I'm pretty happy. The rose that really jumped and said, "Look at me!" was the HT Ring of Fire. I cut a small bouquet for my better half.

Ken, I totally get the summer funk. After the early summer flush, the heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and Japanese beetles increase ever upwards. This summer the mosquitoes were flying grey clouds -- too much for me. Fall is a wonderful respite, and the roses often seem to be at their best.

Since mid-September, it has been rainy, windy, or cloudy, and very cool (50-60F daytime). Even under such unfavorable conditions, these rose blooms today impressed me very much.

Ingrid Bergman

White Licorice

Margaret Merril

Roman Holiday

Tropicana

Secret

Firefighter

Le Petit Prince

Lion's Fairy Tale

Sweet Mademoiselle

Molineux

Heirloom just opening

Sharifa Asma just opening

By October, certain plants in the garden are looking a little tired (for that matter, so am I). While the roses are still going strong, some of the flowering perennials are looking a little tattered from insects (hostas and heliopsis), leaf decay (garden phlox, lamb's ear and foxglove) and a bit of rust (asters, for some reason this year). On the other hand, the turtleheads are still in flower, and I still get a whiff of honeysuckle blooms when I walk past the vine. A few of the woody shrubs are also still in bloom, including the vibrant blue caryopteris bushes, and a few remaining pink panicles of crape myrtle.

Aerith ....What ones of yours are strong scented in this weather? How is Tropicana especially and does it BS?

Annie, my most fragrant roses now are Secret, White Licorice, Margaret Merril, Sweet Mademoiselle, and Firefighter. The first three have significant scents. Secret is the best. Although it's in a part shade spot and under such cloudy and rainy weather, it still keeps blooming and is very fragrant. Sadly I couldn't let it root, but I'll keep trying! As for Tropicana, mine has no scent. It does get BS but not too bad. I'd say it has average disease resistance.

This gave me pause this afternoon...


That's gonna make a mess of things at check-out, not to mention getting them home.

??? Either there are no plants for sale or they're selling potless plants.???

Mike said:This gave me pause this afternoon...


That's gonna make a mess of things at check-out, not to mention getting them home. :-)

NO, see, they are selling the empty green pots at the top shelf in the back, and the wooden barrel with the hose in the front. And whatever plant is in the white pot behind the sign.

Ah, mystery solved!