Such a sad day.
Amanda, both of those do very well here. I have a Princess Diana and a dark purple clematis running through my Soaring Spirits. When Edmunds had their sale, I sent a Firefighter rose to my oldest daughter because she is dating a fireman. She was thrilled because she has an uncle who was a NYC fireman. The rose has a place of honor by her front door in Vancouver WA.
Nicole Carole Miller is on my wish list.

Can't believe it is already 15 years ago! Beautiful roses to commemorate such a sad day!



I just have to share these pics from today ...

My new Iris 'Impressioni di Settembre' next to 'Jardins de Bagatelle'


And from my stripy bed:
Brocéliande - so scented


Mind Games - Marvelle - Papagena (aka Oranges 'n' Lemons)

The combo of Iris 'Impressioni di Settembre' with 'Jardins de Bagatelle' is absolute perfection! The iris has a bouquet of blooms all together- seems they're more likely to open together like that when they bloom in fall. I love the striped blooms too!

Oh! I see I am not the only one straying from the Iris Forum!

I love striped roses too, but have only found room for these in my small garden so far:

R. 'Purple Tiger' (Jacpurr)


R. 'Brownie de Meilland' (Simstripe)


R. 'Guy Savoy' (Delstrimen)



Some of you were talking of good places to buy roses in EU.

All my striped ones (and a lot of my non-striped ones) are from
Styleroses (www.styleroses.co.uk/)

I have also been very pleased with the selection and quality from
Rosenschule Stange (www.rosen-stange.de/shop.html)
and
Peter Beales (www.classicroses.co.uk)

I buy most of my roses bareroot and plant them in autumn. Haven't lost any so far...

Oh, lapsus calami, I posted similar pictures in the wrong month today. But Calif_Sue found me and bought me here.

'Borderline Yellow'


'Perfume Perfection'

@Gleni your 'Borderline Yellow' is lovely - the petals are perfect. I had to look up Perfume Perfection - what a beauty!!! I would jump at the chance of adding it to my collection if it was available here.

@IrisLilli Not really my place to say it Lilli but I think strays are welcome the more the merrier, as the saying goes

Your stripes are lovely. You should add Brownie (aka Chocolate Ripples, SIMstripe) to the data base and upload some pics. It is one I have considered but it is listed as a smallish climber and I just don't have the spot for it. Is it really as large as they say?

Purple Tiger has given me some stunning blooms but is among the worst roses health wise, probably the worst, in my garden this year. How does it do for you???

EU vendors: I have ordered from Rosenschule Stange on a number of occasions, as well as from RosenPark Dräger and MyRoses.de - all excellent.
Last year I ordered from Tuincentrum Lottum for the first time and was so impressed that I am ordering from them again this year. Really great roses, fantastic prices and those people are so trusting, you pay on invoice after you have received the shipment.
Still getting my list together but it will only be about 5 or 6. Two friends are going to be ordering with me so together it will be around 25 roses which makes it worth our while

Unfortunately, my camera cannot seem to capture the special brown tone, which makes Brownie so unique, which is why I haven't added any pictures of it to the database.
As for size, I only had mine for 2 years now and it is not enourmous, but it has grown to about 2 meters tall so far and it is quite bushy compared to most of my other climbers, so I expect it can grow rather large - depending on how cold the winters will be of course.

'Purple Tiger' is not exactly the best grower I have ever tried... But in its defense, I must say that it doesn't have the best spot in my garden, as it grows next to a hedge in a very dry spot. I water it, but it is struggling.

Brownie is intriguing, I wonder if it could be grown as a large shrub like Westerland?

I've seen Purple Tiger growing at the University of Kentucky arboretum several years ago and it was rather puny there too, and I believe they use sprays for diseases. The last time I was there I saw some cases of Rose Rosette virus, I'm curious how many roses are still healthy in the rose garden there.

Neal - PUNY is unfortunately the best way to describe to way Purple Tiger grows in my garden. The vendor did however describe it as a 'rose-lover's rose', meaning it does require extra attention and spraying, and the HMF health rating is not the best so I sort of knew what I was in for! BUT when it blooms - WOW - just gorgeous. Being such a 'puny' rose, it doesn't take up much space so I will just leave it where it is and see what the future brings. Right now it is totally bare and I have serious doubts if a rose going into winter like that will survive.

About Brownie: I was wondering the same thing - Westerland does do well here as a shrub. Something to consider for my next order

Over the years, I have been given two Purple Tigers, and with my lax care practices, killed both. They were, however, briefly beautiful.

Neal, I am sure you could grow Brownie as a 'shrub' - given enough support. If my beds were large enough, I would like to try growing climbing-/rambling roses and Clematis on some of those large obelisk shaped supports.

Well, I feel a bit better about my 'Purple Tiger' being so puny - I never spray, if it cannot stay healthy on its own, it has to go! But the flowers sure are beautiful!

Purple Tiger died in record time for me in Kansas. In its defense, I have to say I dragged it back from California bare rooted in a suitcase in summer, so...but the others in there with it made it.
That site MyRoses.de has so many beautiful russet roses that we can't get! I would love to move to Germany.

Russet roses

Lilli, I like those obelisk trellises too, such nice vertical accents they provide even in winter. I have difficulty training a climber to grow as a pillar though, seems they always want to spread out like an octopus!

Cindi, your suitcase full of bare root roses gave me a good chuckle!

Neal! Other than Clematis vitalba, which grows like a weed here and spreads in every available direction, I don't have much luck with my clematis. The past 3-4 years have been very dry and they really do not like that. Only the ones in almost full shade seem to thrive.

@CindiKS Well after the ordeal in the suitcase, Cindi, your PT has an excuse for being puny mine doesn't
The russets on MyRoses.de are beautiful!

Neal, Lili, I like obelisks as well. Westerland is growing on one but I am not sure what is holding what up there, and I planted Super Excelsa last year which is slowly making its way up and around. It will of course eventually outgrow the obelisk but that's ok because I want the height before it starts taking over - hopefully - it is in the middle of my slope bed which is really inconvenient to access.

I will need a second job to be able to afford a home with a bigger garden... Sooo many pretty, pretty plants calling my name...

Lilli, that clematis looks similar to Clematis virginiana that grows aggressively on this side of the pond. It doesn't have the silvery leaf markings like C. vitalba, but they are lovely when blooming. They're in full bloom now around here. I have pretty good luck with large flowered forms, but not so much luck with combining them with roses. Climbers are iffy here as far as cane hardiness.

Sharlene, I recall one of your photos from spring/early summer with a deep pink OGR growing as a pillar- what sort of support are you using for that one? That image is still in my mind, it was so perfectly beautiful!

Cooler nights are bringing on some nice blooms around the garden, I've even caught lovely light whiffs of roses on the breeze a few times lately- a lovely blessing at this time of year! Teasing Georgia pulled me close this morning after catching her scent. Its the first year for TG in my garden and I'm really enjoying it. Interestingly one of the traits I'm finding so lovely is how the somewhat weak and spindly canes create an arching, casual shape that I find so beautiful. Traits that aren't typically associated with a good rose are somehow working nicely on that one.

K&M Roses, a fabulous nursery, is having a big sale.

http://www.kandmroses.com/Fall...

For those of you who were hesitant to grow fortuniana-grafted roses in the cooler zones, the nursery is now offering own-root roses. At $8 apiece, these are a great bargain.

Wow Neal - you still remember! That was this rose in June


This is what it looked like after the spring pruning


The three of them used to be on obelisks but the cross bars made training very difficult. Was no easy job removing the obelisks but we managed and replaced them with four poles which makes dealing with the long canes much easier.

The evenings here are getting cooler as well but the days are still rather warm!! I am noticing a difference in the blooms that have opened recently too - colours are more intense. It is a lovely time of the year but also the time when the fog starts been lucky so far but soon we will have days on end of no sun down here