Bloom Day, September 2008

In September, the big show from the datura has wound down, and the sweet almond verbena is between bloom cycles as well. The show right now is divided between the new front bed, which has finally filled in, and the roses, which are having a good fall flush.

The new front bed, Still Life With Car:

Here's Duchesse de Brabant. This bloom in particular had an intense tea fragrance:

Gruss An Aachen, just begging for someone with watercolor painting skills:

I've gotta say that now that since I moved Gruss An Aachen to better dirt and more direct sun late last winter, this rose has been almost blackspot free and remarkably free-blooming. It does get a lot of extra water from the leaky hose connection when I water the rest of the yard, though, which is probably a factor in its spectacular performance.

And the backyard rose bed, out of focus, I'm afraid. Blooming from nearest to farthest are Marie Pavie, Double Knockout, Belinda's Dream, Souvenier de la Malmaison, Maggie, Duchesse de Brabant, and finally, a very faint pink speck in the in the back, Louis Philippe:

And as a note to anyone planning to plant Maggie, a wonderfully-scented bourbon:  Make sure you plant this rose where you can actually get to it to smell the flowers.  Planting several roses and an agave right in front of it is most definitely NOT a bright idea.  At least my neighbors have been enjoying the flowers from their side of the fence, so all is not lost.

As I write this, there's a definite chill to the morning breeze, and I'm looking forward to getting back to digging large holes in my yard for "fun."  Six new roses have just been acquired (nearly all in shades of peach, which was unintentional), and I can tell already that my pickaxe is going to get a workout.  It's gonna be awesome.