The rose: my gardening frustration made flower
Today is the first day of fall, and it always brings a jolt of excitement! It is after all, my favourite season of the year. But I am feeling bittersweet about this moment since springtime and summer were as disappointing as always with my Roses, they fared as poorly as they have been doing for the last 25 years. I should get over the fact that Roses don't like this climate, they simply don't like it and no amount of care can make them grow well here: I haven't seen one garden here - not even one - with Roses looking half as good as I've seen them in the colder southern provinces let alone in rose lovers blogs from North Europe. I'm feeling tired of this uphill battle, tired of year after year of frustration and lots of time, effort and money wasted on plants that perform so poorly. This is easy to say but when it comes to make the decision about forgetting roses and move on I feel paralyzed, full of sadness even some anger because if I ever give up on Roses I will give up on gardening altogether, Sorry for this bitter post today when many of my dear readers are welcoming spring today, I hope it brings happy times in their gardens, I'm sure it will!
See you next time!
Hello MDN,
ResponderEliminarHere we have startet springtime :) That's my favoritetime of the year. Happy Autumn!
Marit, enjoy the spring! here it's autumn and I love the relief i brings after the horribly hot summer. Happy gardening!
EliminarBetter weather in fall I hope will help you feel better.
ResponderEliminarI feel the same pain in summer now with roses. It is too hot for them!
Best wishes!
HB, I'd trade my climate for one with longer winter and shorter growing season provided my roses bloom and look better, in the colder south provinces roses look stunning even in abbandoned gardens, Roses definitely appreciate areas with four well distinct seasons. Don't know what I will do this year with my garden, I feel defeated at the moment.
EliminarBy comparison to my roses and those I see in other gardens in my neighborhood, your roses are utterly spectacular, MDN. You are too hard on yourself - and your roses.
ResponderEliminarThanks Kris, I feel quite sad now, this autumn roses aren't boucing back as well as other years and summer was terrible for them, it was very very rainy wihch meant less chilli thrips on roses but rain and heat invited blackspot last summer and took a heavy toll on them, I think I should rethink my gardening mindset for once and for all. I wish you a wonderful springtime!
EliminarA beautiful Rose.
ResponderEliminarHappy Autumn, here in the UK it's Spring :)
All the best Jan
Welcome and Thanks for visting Jan!
EliminarYour garden is divine...Hugs!
ResponderEliminarThanks for visiting! have a wonderful weekend!
EliminarMDN No debes de perder la moral, si te gustan las rosas adelante, intenta crear en lo posible ese pequeño ambiente que les favorece, las rosas necesitan de mucho sol y bastante riego. No pierdas la esperanza al final lo conseguirás independientemente que den más o menos rosas. Te deseo animo y a por ellas.
ResponderEliminarUn abrazo
Hola! La verdad mi lucha contra el clima a la hora de tener rosales lleva casi 25 años, ya es hora de tirar la toalla.. no es que yo hago algo mal es el clima, no hay un solo jardín en mi pueblo o pueblos cercanos donde se vean tan exuberantes y sanas como las he visto en las provincias del sur con sus inviernos nevados y veranos suaves, mi clima es demasiado caluroso y húmedo en verano lo que se traduce en enfermedades fúngicas de todo tipo, sin mencionar las hormigas, orugas y escarabajos que devoran sus hojas y flores en cuanto al invierno aquí no es lo suficientemente frio como para darles a los rosales el descanso invernal que necesitan, privadas de este descanso se estresan florecen menos y son susceptibles a enfermedades, amo a las rosas pero estoy muy cansado de poner mucho tiempo y esfuerzo en mantenerlas casi artificialmente con vida, en este momento esta situación me tiene algo triste y tengo que tomar decisiones de una vez por todas. Gracias por tu comentario, te deseo una hermosa primavera!
EliminarHappy Autumn MDN. Never give up on roses. Even in Northern Europe not every year is wonderful to grow roses. But I don't give up. Enjoying every flower that I get.
ResponderEliminarHave a wonderful day
Rosehugs Marijke
Marijke, I love, adore roses but this climate isn't suitable for them, you say in northern Europe some years are not good for roses but here all years are bad for roses, I haven't see any garden here, not even one with nice looking healthy roses, they look horrible just like mine, it's true I have posted here photos of some nice colorful blooms but if they were removed the plant would be a buch of thorny sticks poking out of the ground with a few diseased leaves holding on for dead life, my rosebushes never look green and exuberant let alone healthy, I've tried everything in the last 25 years to have nice roses but always failed, always I am tired, I feel sad, without roses I don't want any garden at all, it's like if you tried to grow hibiscus in the Netherlands, you'd fail and feel frustrated. This year I won't buy new roses to replace the ones that died in the summer (roses are like annuals here, sad as it sounds) I need time to think and re-think my gardening future now, I hope spring bless your garden with lots of gorgeous roses!
ResponderEliminarI understand what you mean. Everbody's in southern Calefornia USA have beautiful Austin roses. In Holland most of them don't like our climat. I wish I could change the weather you are having but helas I am not a magician. Have a wonderful week ahead.
EliminarDear Manolo,
ResponderEliminardo not give up with roses! My climate with 30-40 warm days in a year is not good for roses as well but I continue growing them ONLY I choose the suitable varieties. Once I've been to Cyprus, and seen roses there, in hot and dry climate.
Happy fall!
Nadezda, at the moment I feel quite depressed about my garden, I love roses but most varieties don't like this climate, I can only think of a handful of them that fare relatively well here and they are not the most beautiful anyways. The combination of heat and high humidity is terrible for roses and I am tired of seeing them die and look bad and sick, don't know what I'll do with my garden this year, have all the winter to think of something. Enjoy spring!
ResponderEliminarHey Marcelo...howz everything... hope you are relishing every bit of your climate with blooms around you...We are in scorching summers already with its peak to be picked up by the starting of next month.
ResponderEliminarArun, thanks for visiting again! autumn has brought cool days but roses aren't bouncing back from the blazing summer, they still look terrible. I hope your lovely garden will cope with the summer heat!
EliminarI am sorry to read your despondent post Marcelo. It’s a shame that your roses are not growing well. I wonder if they are a bit better now that autumn is here? Mine have improved with cooler weather: during our summer, some of the blooms seemed to crisp on the plant. Otherwise I have been a bit reckless in my choice of plants and have lost some due to heat and over watering. Now I am going to plant native flowers instead! They have wonderful flowers too.
ResponderEliminarThanks for your words Jane, my roses had a very hard time last summer and they aren't bouncing back, they look like rose skeletons, small leaves, small flowers lots of yellow canes, some rosebushes simply died I don't know what I'll do with my garden in the next months , it's time to make some major surgery on it. Time will tell! Happy easter for you and your family!
Eliminar