Lyn: The ones I got came from Otto and Sons in Fillmore...which is south of Arroyo Grande but still a major haul from Long Beach. It takes about 2 1/2 hours for me to get there from here but it's a superb nursery.
Unfortunately, Otto's doesn't deliver unless you buy from one of their retailers and pay double the price, or more.
These roses were "new" at the time and highly recommended by the staff at Otto's. Had I known how well they'd perform I would have got more for myself as well. Hindsight being 20/20 and all that...

I'll ck. next year to see who has them locally.
Not that I have any more room for more roses !

Oh it sounds so pretty Mike, if you ever get a chance, take pictures.

My little man just turned 3 a couple of weeks ago and he finally got used to the chickens. Two weeks before those pictures were taken he wouldn't even get near them, we had to hold him. Now he pets them.
Their digs are real nice. Hubby added the nesting box just before they started laying, using an old barn door for the wood. It has chew marks on it from years of some animal nibbling or rubbing against it, adds character!


They are fun!

Mike ...

I am familiar with Otto and Sons. I guess I didn't make myself clear. If Greenheart is selling plugs to growers wholesale, the roses will be more readily available from more than one source.

Sue: I so want chickens now !
One of the former garden tour hosts who lives near me got "bitten" by the chicken bug a few years ago. At first her husband wasn't all that keen on the idea but now he's built them the Taj Majal of chicken coups. He's more into it now than his wife is.

Lyn: I understood what you meant. Maybe now they've sent out enough plugs for more places to carry them. I hope so !

Suzanne, that's a great design for the nesting box!

Mike, that arrangement sounds gorgeous! I was thinking one of the source descriptions or helpmefind (all the info starts running together...) said Lavender Veranda was not fragrant, but I'm tickled to hear it is! Sounds like it is strong enough to detect just walking past them- I love that!

I forgot to add that the box is on a slight slant and when you open the front latched door to collect eggs, they have rolled to the edge. That way the chickens don't get tempted to continue to sit on them.

I was never a fan of coral and lavender combined, mainly because the '50's house we lived in had coral and lavender tile in one of the bathrooms and I thought it was hideous. Time was of the essence when I planted those roses and they live a short distance from the nursery where I got them. Link to nursery and the Lavender Veranda rose below.
http://www.ottoandsons-nursery...

This nursery has a very good website and an extremely helpful descriptive guide for all their roses which rates them for disease resistance, sun/shade tolerance, fragrance, coastal/heat tolerance, etc. etc.
It's geared of course for this area of the state (like I said, they do not ship) but their info. is the most trusted source I've found.

Sue: Something tells me your husband's engineering mind came up with that ingenious feature !
I still marvel at the gazebo he made from the satelite dish.

well he does a lot of online research, Pinterest and Youtube videos give him all the ideas! Since we added a larger run, we had to add another door for them to go in and out from the coop to the run. It's a temporary slider right now but I noticed all sorts of timers and mechanisms saved in the Amazon wish list so he has something more elaborate in mind!

The gazebo was from photos I took from another gardener's yard. He is a handy dandy guy though, totally remodeled everything, except the granite counters, in our last house, built a large shed, arbors and coop here. Getting older and slower though but I have too many projects still so he can't stop yet!

Is it another old wives' tale or do most lavender roses have better than average scent?

That does appear to be the case, doesn't it?
I have yet to find a lavender or purple rose that isn't fragrant.

In the cut flower market the varieties most commonly offered these days aren't fragrant any more. They last longer, open slower, and aren't as susceptible to botrytis. That's a change I've noticed in the last 10 years or so. Before that lavender roses were always fragrant.

Seems often breeding for disease resistance has diminished fragrance, but Kordes hybridization has overcome that issue

Well, first time spraying the roses with the systemic fungicide today. That means every two weeks from now on till late Fall. They are pretty much leafed out so it is not too early to spray.

If course I did my usual spring pruning already so the roses are ready to grow.

For the last few years there has been a kind of revival here for old fashioned cut flower roses, especially for important events like weddings. So you can buy, eg, David Austin rose bouquets if you want 'the best'. They cost quite a bit more than the off-the-peg bouquets, which have long stems but little or not fragrance and certainly nothing like the character. If you look at the David Austin website for England, you'll see what I'm talking about...
The best news is, of course, that we can grow these wonderful roses in our own gardens, and cut them for special occasions, adding even more to the final result.

The U.S. needs such a revival; it sounds lovely!

Yes, old garden roses, Austins, and peonies are the thing to have for weddings here. People like that they are "locally grown", but they don't always understand that their wedding will have to be in specific months to have them locally grown.
This has been a crazy week here. We had snow on Sunday, an earthquake on Monday, 40mph winds Tuesday, and now hail today.
My Regan order came yesterday, so I'm scrambling to get it in today before we get round 2 of the storms. I don't want to have to plant in mud! The Regan roses are smaller than the ones I got from Palatine, Rosemania or Austin this year, but they all look healthy. I'm kind of glad I don't have to dig monster holes, and I'll have plenty of mulch and compost left over to use on other plants.
I added a bit of root hormone to the water they are soaking in. I expect they'll all get zapped with some Nitrogen later tonight, and that should give them a good Kansas welcome!

Oh yes, the English type roses are very popular for weddings! At first it was just Austin roses that were offered, but now there are quite a few others (from other hybridizers). The wholesale house I use calls them "garden roses". They cost 2 or 3 times the cost of regular florist roses, and they are fragile and susceptible to botrytis (it causes browning and rotting of the bloom before it opens). Often brides interested in peonies initially go with garden roses instead. They have a similar effect in the bouquet, and even though they're more expensive than regular roses and are fragile, they're still much more dependable than peonies that often don't open (or at least not in time for the wedding) and even though they're pricey, they're still less expensive than peonies. I actually prefer garden roses that are not Austins if I have the choice- often the Austin roses have very weak stems and the blooms are more fragile.

I love using a fragrant component to bridal bouquets. I've read that scents activate memories more than any other of the 5 senses. I like the idea of the fragrance of roses bringing back wedding day memories. Hope the marriages last, I'd hate to sour the fragrance of roses for them!

My Rosemania order is due to arrive tomorrow One is destined for a spot where ribbon grass and English ivy had taken over. I got all that cleared and the hole is dug and ready to go.

Neal, I'm for your Rosemania order too! can't wait to see pictures, and I want to hear what plants you combined. I swear I can spend hours staring at the yard, picturing different plant combinations, then someone posts a photo and I start all over.
Somebody had said they planted White Licorice next to Julia Child, and I have Yellow and white iris next to my Julias, so I thought ooh I want to do that too. My iris all have buttery names, and that always gives me a private giggle.

Cindi, your garden is gorgeous! I love a garden that looks to be inviting you to come sit a spell and enjoy the beauty

with Neal....., your garden, Cindi