Bonus points if you remember the song that I titled this blog post after. It's an oldie, but a goodie; country music at it's finest. And today's blog entry touches on both rose gardens as well as country music, so how's that for tying in a theme? :)
First, let's talk about rose gardens. I have always loved roses. I think that stems from childhood. Daddy always planted rose bushes, and he still does, in all colors and varieties. And that love has carried over for me into my own garden. When John and I started landscaping our own yard, I knew it had to have a special corner dedicated to just roses. Well, our little rose corner has managed to spill into almost every part of our back yard now. Fine by me. Let me show you...
This is where it all started. Two years ago, I decided I wanted to plant antique roses. You know, the really pretty and fragrant kind of roses that you almost can't find anymore. We scoured local nurseries and garden centers with no luck. Finally, I broke down and ordered from an online retailer, not knowing whether our little rose plants that arrived in the mail would even survive the shipping process. Clearly, they did. Here we are two years later. These are climbing roses. They have taken the trellis, the fence, and the dinner bell completely. And I just took this photo. They literally just broke into bloom this week. They will fill out much more over the summer months.
And here are a couple of closeups of these climbing beauties. I only wish you could smell them. They are fantastically fragrant.
I have spoken many times already on this blog about the Nashville Flea Market. It is a monthly extravaganza and you literally never know what you will turn up there. This rose bush is still one of my biggest and best prizes from last year's spring flea market. It fills up with big beautiful tea roses that are just beyond gorgeous.
Yes, of course, we also have knockout roses. They are the easiest, most maintenance free roses I have ever seen, and they grow really fast too. They bloom all summer long; ours actually bloom until November usually. We cut them back each spring really low, and it makes them thick and hedge-like. In short, if you are looking for pretty roses that require very little work, these are probably the ones you should be looking at. We planted ours in a raised bed surrounding our deck. They make such a pretty border all summer long. And we have our first knockout roses of the season starting to bloom now too. I suspect we will have a full compliment of them by month's end.
Remember how I said it was really difficult to find antique roses in most garden centers? Well, that has been my experience until a few weeks ago. We weren't looking for roses at all when I stumbled across this beautiful tea rose bush. The blooms are peachy and orangey and they smell like heaven. They came from Lowes. They had a handful of these mixed in with a display of knockout roses. I quickly picked out this one, and stood vigilant guard by it while John ran to get a cart. How's that for teamwork? We have no more room in our "rose garden" area, so my roses have officially now taken over another corner of the yard.
And just so these won't feel lonely in this new corner of the garden, I have actually ordered two more rose bushes through my little online rose retailer. I had such luck with them before, I am feeling pretty confident and eagerly awaiting the arrival of what I feel sure will be the coup de grace of this Nashville rose garden.
Are you ready for this? They make a Dolly Parton rose now, and what's more there's also a Loretta Lynn rose. I can hardly take it. A big thank you to my mother in law for introducing me to the Dolly rose. As I was ordering that up, that's when I discovered the Loretta rose. So, I will have to beg your pardon as I indulge in this lovely combo - roses and country music. I just love it when the best of two worlds collide. Lynn Anderson may not have promised me a rose garden, but what the heck, that doesn't mean I can't create my own.
And fear not, I will be sure to keep you posted on this country music tribute to my rose garden as the summer progresses. Happy gardening, all!
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