David Austin Roses

Hello World!

I entered into this journey with a love for gardening, birding, DIY’ing, experimenting with home decor, and improving my photography skills while documenting all of the above.  I started with taking “pretty” pictures to share on my private Instagram account but decided I wanted to do something more and connect with a larger audience (insert all of those fun hashtags #bloomingdecormondays #farmhousefridays #whiteandwoodwednesday and soooo many more).  I created what some call an “Instablog” where I have met so many fantastic people with the same interests and goals as myself.  Fast forward to today and I now have my own web domain and I’m ready to create and share with the world!

 

The start of this journey began with my beautiful David Austin roses.  This is the “Lady of Shallot”  and is very hardy with continuous blooms.  I bought this rose bush last Spring from Abide-A-While Garden Center and it has thrived from April through September in Charleston, South Carolina.  During the first year of it’s life, I simply left it alone.  I was so naive to roses at that point, so I just let it do it’s own thing and it was happy as could be… until fungus set in and the japanese beetle apocalypse began.  Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my beautiful blooms and bring what was left indoor for flower arrangements.

 

This year, I prepped and prepared, determined to produce beautiful blooms from the once thriving bush.  I re-visited the garden center and they suggested a systemic pesticide to prevent the beetles, fungus, and all other common issues faced by roses in the south.  Believe me when I say this, I really do try to use all organic and natural pest control in my new garden.  However, I refused to sit out in 90-degree weather this year with a jar of soapy water and knock off hundreds of beetles at a time.  The was the safest and most effective method for as (at the time) so I trusted their expertise and applied it to the ground around my bushes.

 

 

Well, early May was quiet for a while and my blooms were looking GREAT!  I thought, man we did it.  We beat those nasty beetles.  Boy was I wrong.  I remember the day I was outside cleaning our porch and a beetle landed in my hair.  It just sat there taunting me, like “HEY!  I’m the leader of the parade and my buddies are coming” and yep, they came.  By the hundreds.  They began eating everything in site.  They were even munching on my palms, seriously?!  Before I go off on a tangent, I plan on sharing an entire post about japanese beetles, tips from others, what has worked for us, and what certainly did not work for us.  You do not want to miss that post, believe me!

 

 

At this point, a nearby knockout rose bush was causing overcrowding so I cut the blooms (what was even left after the beetles left), trimmed my bushes back, moved them, re-treated the area, and the leaves are just starting to grow again (mid-June).

 

So a few take home tips from this amateur…

Beginner Tips for Roses
(Container Bought Roses Going in the Ground)

• Timing
  • Well before the first frost in the fall and after your last frost in the spring.
  • Avoid winter or conditions when the ground can freeze, dormant roses will survive a winter but not recommended for young plants.
• Spacing
  • Roses like to breathe, so leave room for a breeze.
  • Overcrowding encourages disease and fungus.
  • They are going to grow much, much larger, so think of them as a “showpiece” and give them space.
• Planting
  • Well draining soil with at least 5-6 hours of sunlight a day.
  • I’m not going to even attempt explaining soil conditions, remember I’m the amateur and for that, you need professional guidance.  The Old Farmer’s Almanac is a wonderful place to begin.
• Purchasing
  • I was instructed to buy established rose bushes in the spring and no later than May.  The reasoning behind this is that the garden centers have difficulty keeping them free of fungus due to the increased humidity experienced in our summers.
    • Remember, this was a tip for the Low Country in South Carolina, I cannot give recommendations for other locations.
• Watering
  • At least two good soakings a week, letting the soil dry in between watering.
  • Roses love water but frequent bursts of water encourage the roots to sit in “standing water” which opens the door for disease.
• Feeding
  • Espoma Organic Rose-tone was recommended by my local garden center and I have had great results from it’s use.
  • Coffee Grounds and Banana Peels
    • I have read many articles about the benefits of using coffee grounds in your rose garden, but I will save that for a later post.
• Pruning
  • Remove dead, damaged, and diseased in late winter or early spring, I shoot for the end of February in our climate.
  • Deadhead by removing blooms that are spent, so new growth is encouraged.
    • Snip below the dead rose bloom, above a 5-leaf junction.
  • An entire post can be devoted to pruning, I will save that for the professionals at this point!
• Pest Control
  • A non-organic approach was taken last year and I have every goal of battling the pests naturally in the future.  Not only did I danger my pets and toddler, I noticed a decline in all of the good insects like ladybugs, dragonflies, and bees.  I even noticed a decline in lizards and birds.
  • Milky Spore has been recommended for japanese beetle control, please check back in for a later post on natural pesticides for the garden.

So, all of this is why I share my beloved David Austin rose blooms as part of my first post.  This blog is about an amateur’s journey, and with that being said, I’m going to fail.  Miserably.  Every beautiful picture is going to have a long and twisted story behind it, roses do not simply grow, jump off of the bush, and land in your vase.  Well, if you prefer store bought, maybe they do just that.  However, my blooms have a story and while I grow, I will learn to succeed, and hope to share my experiences with the world along the way.