Monday, August 19, 2013

The English roses like Brooklyn


The temperatures over the last two weeks, more reminiscent of September than of August, have been kind to the English roses.

The two new roses, gifts from Michael Marriott, the rosarian at David Austin, have begun to show off. Lady Emma Hamilton - above -  in her second flush since we returned from South Africa in early July, is no longer flat orange and pinched, but nuanced and supple. The colour of the younger flower is rich, tending paler pink as the bloom ages. They are beautiful, and have lasted well. The stems are long.


Windermere has long stems and perfect ivory cabbage-shaped flowers. The blooms are small, but exquisite, and as you see each stem has multiple buds. They hate the heat and wilt fast. The scent is delicious, but not as strong as Abraham Darby's. I've been feeding them Espoma's Rose Tone and they seem to like it.

More will open today.

3 comments:

  1. Lady Emma Hamilton is on my list of roses to plant next year. I think the color is amazing. Both of your roses are beautiful and I'm glad that you shared them with us.

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  2. I love English roses. 'Evelyn' is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete

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