Monday, Jun. 23, 2003 – 5:42 p.m.
2003-06-23 5:42
Most of this entry was written back in early May
I found Ebay!
It has been a LONG time since I have written about my roses. This is not due to a lack of interest in them… More the opposite. I have been pretty busy with stuff at work and at home and I just have not had a chance to sit down and write.
So we are going to try to catch up… so to speak:
Since my last entry, I have found Ebay… and oh what fun that is. Ok, I can see how this can be really addicting. So far I have been pretty restrained but I have still bought about 10 books on roses off the web as well as a CD of Blackmore’s Night music. I tried to buy a book about dulcimers but the guy wrote me after I won the bid and said that he would be unable to send me the book because all of this stuff had been damaged. Oh well.
There has been one book that has so far eluded me: Parsons on the Rose by Samuel Parsons. A copy of this book has come up 4 times since I got online (including one currently available) and so far I have been outbid three times. Looking at other sources, I have found copies selling for as much as $150 (but also a copy where the front cover has separated from the spine for $25). In the past the copies have gone for between $45 and $65. We should know shortly whether I win this copy. I thought about trying to get a copy from a library but it appears that the nearest copy is at the Library of Congress in DC so I would have to go there to look at it. I did end up winning the bid for that copy of the book. [GRIN]
Part of the reason I started looking at books on Ebay was I am teaching my rose class again at University the first weekend in June. I want to do some additional research on the origins of some of the varieties so I have been trying to expand my library. Now I just need time to read them. [grin]
The Garden
Lest you think I have been ignoring my rose garden, I have weeded, fertilized, and remulched three out of the four beds. I did move some stuff around (which I think I did mention in a previous entry…) and I have replaced the Iceberg and it looks great. The two roses I rescued from Liz and Riley’s house are looking to bloom (even if they each only have one bud at this point). One of them looks to be a mauve color so I am thinking it might be an Angel Face. Later note: Both are mauve color but I dont think either is Angel Face. One of them currently has about 8 blossoms on it and 5 good new canes coming from the base or near base of the bush. [smile] I will get some pictures and post them.
I did find two additional Rose de Reschet at Home Depot for $2.50 each. I have one planted where the JFK was (next to the Peace) and one in a pot but neither appear to be doing well at all. And neither is Madame Berkley. Peace also seems to be suffering but I think that may be because I nailed it when I sprayed a mixture of Captan and Neem oil. That appear to be a poor choice to mix because I got significant damage on young new growth. Well, live and learn.
The only bed I have not weeded and re-prepped is the one with Voodoo in it. It has a VERY bad infestation of wire grass and I need spend some time digging it out. Fortunately, I finally got around to spraying with the Vantage to see if it would take care of the grass. It definitely worked. Unfortunately, this is also the bed with the irises in it and I was afraid that the herbicide would damage the irises so the wire grass is alive and doing well around those plants.
Speaking of the Irises, they are doing GREAT! The bearded iris bloomed this year and it is a beautiful white. The blue russian iris again bloomed well.
One of the things I am trying this year is pegging down the soaker hose under the mulch. I also bought some miniature soaker hose that I hope to be able to run to all the small pots. I pulled the small pots out of the herb bed and they seem to be doing pretty well stashed in among the wildflowers but I still need to get something to water them before it gets much hotter… and it is already pushing the upper 80’s this past week.