29 May 2011

Dream Gardens

Do you have a garden? What type do you have: flower, veggie, or both?

I would love to have a yard full of flowers, but the flowers that I most want to have do not thrive in this yard. I cannot bring myself to have 50+ year old, huge oak trees cut down to make way for things as potentially temporary as a rose bush or a daffodil garden. The trees are beautiful and provide a great deal of shade. This shade has its good points, sure, but it also prevents the light that the flowers need.

So, here is a walk through a portion of my imaginary flower garden, the one that I would have if I wouldn't have to kill trees to get it.

Roses

When I first decided to take a chance on flowers in this yard, I wanted roses, antique roses specifically. Roses like full sun, but I decided to take the risk anyway. Here are the roses that I had...and lost a couple of years ago due to the drought.

This rose is called Archduke Charles. It blooms went through several shades of pink as the flowers bloomed and aged.

This rose was one of my favorites. I love pink roses. It is called Belinda's Dream. The blooms were huge and a soft pink; just beautiful!

This rose is called Don Juan. I didn't get it from my usual rose dealer and I cannot remember if this one is an antique rose or not. It grew straight up, on long stalks, whereas my other roses spread out more like a bush.

This was the most beautiful of the yellow roses that I had. The name is Graham Thomas and is an antique rose. I successfully propagated this rose. Out of 8 cuttings, I got back one beautiful baby Graham. I count that as a success based on what we're fighting out there. :)

The tag on this flower said that it was The Republic of Texas Rose. However, when it bloomed, its characteristics were more like the Stephen F. Austin Rose. Names don't really matter in the end, I suppose, and the little green lynx that lived on this flower seemed perfectly happy, no matter its true identity.






These roses were a real joy to have and will always be members of my dream garden. Stayed tuned for walks through other parts of my imaginary flower garden.

Tell me, what would you have in your garden if you could have the garden of your dreams?

2 comments:

  1. My dream garden could merit it's own post. I used to garden a lot with my Baba, and loved the flowers. Definitely roses, my favorites are the Sophia and Katarina's. But a must would be Lily of the Valley, she had them growing in her back yard and would give me bouquets every spring.

    I also love the smell of honeysuckle combined with Queen Anne's lace and Solidago. I guess wildflowers are my favorites, to be honest.

    This is a great post.. makes me think about what my garden would look like if I could have one.

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  2. Thank you. :)

    I hope that you'll write a post about your dream garden, Miel. I would love to read it.

    What a sweet memory to have of gardening with your Baba. I think that Lily of the Valley is a beautiful flower, too. I think that I remember they are poisonous, but so pretty.

    We have a love of wildflowers in common. :) Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I hope that you're having a wonderful Memorial Day!

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