Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Raindrops on Roses......

whiskers on kittens: no kittens here unfortunately, too many allergy suffereers!! Raindrops on roses are some of my favorite things however! Today we have a drizzly rain, so I thought I would share some more spring flowers with you to brighten our day! The Iris are almost done now, but they were quite long lived once the weather cooled down a bit. I do LOVE my iris!
When we moved to this house 4 years ago we removed many ancient azalea bushes that were planted right next to the foundation on the west side of the house. Boring, boring, boring!!!!
We had to hire a crew with chains and a small dozer to come in and yank the bushes out. In their place we put up trellises and planted two climbing single petal roses to climb along the bare side of the house. They are doing beautifully and will rebloom profusely if I remove the spent blossoms. They remind of the wild beach roses that grow in the sand dunes on Cape Cod. I can almost smell the salt air!!
At the same time I planted this New Dawn rose and it is doing really really well climbing on one of the fences that borders the dogs yard. It thrives on banana peels and coffee ground infusions. (I don't use any sprays or chemicals on my roses or anywhere else in my garden and these are my results. Gardening simply and organicaly is not difficult and just look at the results!!)
We all have a huge responsibility to take care of our planet and to respect the ecosystems that we depend on for life. Whenever I see ads for killing pests or lawn grubs, I just cringe!! those same insecticides completely descimate the entire bug population and destroy all life within the soil. People do not realize that without earthworms and other decomposers our planet would cease to sustain life. These creatures are not immune to the chemicals used to kill lawn eating bugs!! Wake up PEOPLE!!!!
We live in the watershed for the Chesapeake Bay and so many are so determined to have lush green lawns- but the price is far too high and as far as I am concerned the use of lawn chemicals and insecticides should be banned. Every year people dump tons of bags of fertilizers and insecticides onto their lawns to achieve what they think are wonderful outdoor spaces. WHere do these chemicals end up?? In the creeks and streams and rivers that feedintot he marshes that empty intot he Bay. Does the environment survive- no way it becomes sterile and devoid of the necessary palnt and microscopic life that are vital to support eh minnows and brid life that cll these marshes home. All for green laws!!! It is really sickening what we are doing to our beautiful natural spaces. PLEASE!PLEASE !DO NOT use such chemicals - restore the balance of life within your soil by composting and building healthy palnts that are capable of warding off occasional munchings by so called Pest insects.! Just look at my plants to know that there is no need for such chemical warfare!!!!
CLIMBING DOWN OFF OF MY ORGANIC GARDENING SOAP BOX NOW!!

My catmint is just begining to bloom. I love the periwinkle blue color of the florets and so do the butterflies!

This rose is called Gertrude Jekyl after the famous English Gardener. It is wonderfuly fragrant, reblooms and has some really nasty thorns!!! The number of petals in each blossom is truely amazing!


Here again is Belinda's Dream in all of her cabbage rose luciousness!


Who ever said taht purple and orange can't work together??? Just look in the garden for answers to color questions.



The sun will return and the roses will continue to bloom and the next time that I share garden shots with you we will ahve a whole new crop of blooms to show off!!


I hope that everyone has a hppy, creative and internally sunny day- especially if the sun is not shining where you are living!!!

8 comments:

Vicki W said...

Beautiful photos! I love the Gertrude rose and the purple/orange iris.

Talking Horses Arts said...

Right there with you on the chemicals! I spend our on my knees to pull weeds,DH thinks i am nuts but I finally got him convinced. Our yard is doing great without them.There a lot of natural thing that can be used to keep those bugs of your lawn without killing the ones we need.
Andrea.

Pat Winter Gatherings said...

Loved the garden peek, and the title for this post :-)
Happy Gardening!
Hugs,Pat

Beena said...

I grew up to the smell of the Arbutus flowers on Cape Cod, so your post definitely hit home for me. Beautiful blooms. Thanks for the post.

Ali said...

lovely pics! I posted a rain dops on hosta photo earlier! LOVE my hostas!

Patti G. said...

Your flowers are GLORIOUS and beautiful Elizabeth!!!!!! WOW!
We need some better weather here!
Hugs,Patti

Judy said...

Well said my friend! Sometimes I think that our neighbors cringe when they see our lawn with violets and dandelions growing in it, but I think it's lovely. We don't believe in having the big truck come and spray all of that c**p on our precious lawn. I garden organically too, and everything seems to thrive. What is so important about having a totally wildflower free and impossibly green lawn? It's pricey not just to the purse!
I love your garden pics. They always make my day! Thank you!

xo

Anonymous said...

I'm a New Dawn lover too. We bought one in 1967. we bought another when we moved in 1994. It's pink thumb resistant, here in southern ontario, though i do have to kill the bud-worms by hand. We had those same beach roses in nova Scotia,,, thanks for the memories... Martha's Mom.

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