If I Could Have but One Rose

The rose is probably my favorite flower. And the Mr. Lincoln (shown here) is my favorite rose. Mr. Lincoln is a beautiful hybrid tea rose with deep red, velvetly roses born on long stems. The long stems, not to mention the color, makes them absolutely perfect for arrangements. If I could have but one rose, it would be Mr. Lincoln.

However, flower arrangement is not my forte! A good friend, who is a professional floral designer, has tried several times to teach me how to arrange, but we always end with, "Norma, stick to growing - you just don't have the eye for arranging."  Oh well, a girl can't have it all!

Displayed in the bouquet are some Mr. Lincolns I cut from my garden this morning! Actually, since we had a heavy rain last night - which eliminated any mowing, spraying, transplanting, etc. today, I decided to clean house! Well that lasted until about 7 AM.

While begrudgingly cleaning the inside of the windows at the kitchen sink but enjoying the hummers dancing at the feeders outside the windows, my eye was caught on these beautiful red blooms.

My pruning shears were right there on the counter . .the roses were only a few feet away. I can just get the roses and get back to my windows in a few minutes. (You know that early morning is the time cut flowers for arrangements, right? The sugars are at the top of the plant - which helps the blooms last longer. As the day progresses the sugars sink lower in the plant and your blooms won't last as long in an arrangement.)

Gardenia

I grabbed the shears, put some water in a bucket (you know to take a bucket of water in which to submerge the freshly cut flowers, don't you) and headed for the roses! Well, along the way I saw that my Gardenias were blooming!



Red Daylily*

 Then I saw some lilies . .then some daisies . ..man, I was flitting around my gardens like the hummers were flitting around my windows!!!

Oooops . .speaking of windows, I'm supposed to be cleaning them. .but the harvest in the yard ended my housecleaning chores! Heck, I didn't really want to clean windows anyway! It's now early afternoon . .and only half the kitchen windows are clean - hubby's had his lunch . .and I'm on the computer!

And while I'm here, there are a couple more roses in my yard I'd like to share.

Below is the Garden Party. It's also a hybrid tea. The Peace Rose is one of her parents. She's intriguing in that you never know exactly what colors will shine through.

Sometimes pink is dominant - sometimes yellow is dominant - but always a blend of the two. The color depends on the intensity of the heat, amounts of waterand fertilizer and pH of the soil. She also is a great cut flower!


This orange flower is a shrub-type rose. I have no idea what her name is. Much like the Knockout Rose, she's more of a landscape rose than a cut flower. When in bloom, she makes a great show, but that's about the only virtue I've found in her.

If you want more information on how to grow perfectly formed, disease/insect-free, colorful roses, let me know and I'll cover growing roses more thoroughly.

*The red daylily above was a 'complimentary' plant included with an online order. The tag stated that it was red but I'm very careful with descriptions on tags. Sometimes tags get misappropriated . .sometimes the your soil type and pH will make a difference in color. I have a bed named "Beatrice" for my deceased mother. Since red was her favorite color, only red flowers are allowed in this bed. Now that I'm confident it IS red, it's about to be transplanted to the Beatrice Bed.  

Glory Lily - Gloriosa rothschildiana



Bloom of the Glory Lily


This is one of my favorite vines! The foliage is attractive, long, narrow leaves with tendrils at the end of each leaf. These tendrils grab onto and hold anything they can get to. Each stem grows to about six feet. In June it puts on a myriad of exotic- looking, colorful flowers. The first time I saw one, I could only think of an upsidedown lily. The petals are two-tone; orangy-red in the center with yellow tips.

Mine are planted on three lattice panels installed horizonally at the back of my 'outdoor' living room. The lattice panels were installed simply because I wanted something to block the view of  the woods and an old shed behind the 'room'.

Even though the lattice panels served their purpose, the look was boring and lonely; therefore, I had to come up with something to cheer things up. Everything from hanging baskets to English ivy were considered; and as bad as I hate to admit it, even silks were considered. I didn't feel comfortable that I could keep the hanging baskets watered regularly so that was out ..and the English ivy can sometimes be difficult to control so that was out, and I've never been able to commit to silks in the gardens ..so I just looked at my white lattise . .for a while.

Then an acquaintance showed me this flower and went on to describe its virtures . .aha!!! My lattice panels just found a friend and companion! This vine really does do the trick!!!! As you can see from the photo, it hasn't completely covered the lattice, but I'm sure it will by next season!
 

Bud of the Glory Lily


All parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested so if that bothers you, read no further. As for me, there are many poisonous plants in my gardens but I've never seen an animal or child graze on anything in my gardens so I don't let that concern or deter me if I like a plant.

Oh, I take that back! I have seen hubby's Llewellin graze on the muscadines! He's so funny! He knows exactly when the muscadines are ready to eat and when let out of his pen, he beelines to them - eats his fill then goes on about his business! He only goes to this section of the gardens when the muscadines are ready!

It's hardy to zone 8, but it can be grown as an annual in colder climates.

All the information you need to know about growing the Glory Lily can be found at
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/glory-lily-45438.html