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Strange Days Indeed, He Mused….

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Olivia Rose Austin

If it feels like absolutely ages since I last posted then you are quite right.  I have to confess at not being a particularly disciplined person, I have to be in the moment, in the mood to create.  When my headspace is not in a creative mood I just don’t seem to be able give myself a good talking to and get on with it.  So I guess that you will have to be patient and like me, wait for my brain to be in a compliant mode.  I’ve been at home for 4 weeks now due to a combination of factors not any of them Corona Virus related.  That in itself is strange in these surreal times.  There have been some major changes here in the Moosbach Garden, some personal and many with the garden, especially how we manage and develop it.

It has been 6 full years since we arrived and in gardening terms they have been very challenging, harsh winters and then very hot, dry summers.  As you would expect, these years have been dotted with successes and failures but that as they say, is the gardeners lot.  This is the first year that we have really noticed how much some shrubs and trees have grown, perhaps we have just been too busy to notice until now or is it because we are getting better at knowing our garden and it’s limitations?

So what has changed I hear you ask?  Well out of necessity there have been some role reversals, I have had to go and get a proper job, yes I know gardening is a proper and noble occupation but sometimes you have to be sensible.  For those of you who know me, sensible is not something that I have EVER embraced.  I still believe that running through a populated area with your arms outstretched like the wings of an aeroplane is liberating (very much frowned upon in Germany).  I am 52 this year and I intend to keep doing it until I die.  Embrace my uniqueness or move on, that what I say. Who wants normal, really?

When I lived in England my occupation was Information Technology and I did this for 35 years, I never went to college but learned on the job and got by through acquiring the necessary technical skills and by being able to talk to people.  When I came to live in Germany with my Partner, I gave up the corporate life as we had a guest house and restaurant.  We have lots of land so there were no limitations on garden size and most of the locals got used to my uniqueness, there were a few raised eyebrows and muttering about he’s from England but no drama.  For the first 5 years I fitted gardening around waiting on tables and we got a reputation for having a beautiful ‘English’ garden albeit a work in progress (what garden isn’t a work in progress I ask?)  I had always gardened as a hobby in England but now I had the space and the time to really give it a go and I did.  Monty Don and all of the experts say that gardening is extremely good for life balance and it is certainly my ‘Happy Place’ and always will be.

Last year, we had to make some changes and it was decided that I should go and get myself a job.  I had always worried about getting a job in Germany as my spoken German is not good although it has improved a lot.  I once asked a male customer if he wanted a kiss when I meant to ask if he wanted a cushion for his chair, he wanted neither!

I never imagined when I left England that I would end up working in Information Technology again and initially I got a job working for a supermarket dealing with the plants and cut flowers but in the long-term it wasn’t the mental challenge that I needed.  I went to an employment agency in Offenburg (never again, please) and registered for work and in the same day was asked by a customer if I would be interested as working as an IT Manager.  It seemed too good to be true, I dropped off my Curriculum Vitae (that’s Latin you know) and thought nothing would come of it.  A week later I was asked to attend an interview with said Company and then a second interview and then got offered the job.  I started in November and admit to being rather apprehensive not having worked in Information Technology for over 6 years. One of the requirements of the job however, was to study and acquire a Microsoft qualification, an MCSA.

I realised that working full-time and studying would mean that I had no time for gardening as my employers wanted me to get the qualification as quickly as possible.  At home discussions were had, things were said and it was agreed I would have to give up my gardening duties, along with my chicken and geese duties.  My Partner was not a gardener when we met but he is a quick learner and he has had 5 years as the under gardener at the Moosbach Garden.  He has now assumed the position of head gardener, Under gardener and general dogs body.  It has to be said that he was always very good at structural things, you know cutting down trees, building walls etc but now he has good plant knowledge so he is a more rounded gardener than me.

Over the last 6 years we have become fanatical environmentalists and we don’t use any chemicals in the garden,  we apply well-rotted horse manure to everything in the Winter, mulch in Spring with bark and water with a drip-feed watering system from March to October.  We are lucky to have the space and over the last 6 years have increased the amount of fruit and vegetables that we grow here.  It has stood us in good stead for the current and horrendous corona virus pandemic and we are growing even more this year as we suspect that everything will be harder to source and therefore more expensive.

I think everybody is considering trying to grow something for the table this year and it also highlights how dependent we have become upon Supermarkets.  Maybe one of the after effects of this period of tragedy and hardship is that we will stop importing as much food and instead grow and source seasonable produce.  I think when you grow your own fruit and vegetables it can rekindle the love affair with really good food, did you know that fruit and vegetables lose 80% of their taste and goodness in the first hour after they have been harvested?  What better than to pick salad leaves, vegetables and fruit just before you are going to eat them?

We have sown seeds for all the salad, fruit and vegetables that we will be serving fresh from the garden to our overnight guests once the restrictions are lifted.  Sometimes I think that we live in a paradise with a beautiful garden, fresh organic produce from the garden and organic eggs from our happy chickens.  One of the upsides to the restrictions is that we have had much more time to get on with garden projects and I don’t think it will be long before we see the first rose, lilac and peony flowers.  Currently flowering in the garden are the viburnum Carlesii Aurora which are filling the garden with the most glorious scent which I wish I could share with you all.  For me one of the joys of gardening is the ability to share it with friends but that time will come again soon I am sure.

Today is gloriously warm and sunny and what I really want to do is go outside and get on with some gardening but I am afraid that I must study for my next exam.  I hope to see some of my local readers when we are allowed to open the garden again but in the meantime I wish you all good health and happiness.

 

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Viburnum Carlesii Aurora 

 

 

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October Is The Perfect Time For Planting New Roses

End of season sale €21,95 per rose, reduced from €28,95.  Collection only.

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The ever fabulous David Austin Rose “Gertrude Jekyll”, the scent is unbeleivably powerful and although this is a bush rose you can also grow it as a climber, it all depends upon your pruning regime. We have this rose available for collection from The Moosbach Garden (only 6 left).

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Another glorious rose “The Lark Ascending” is simply beautiful and we have stock available.

Rosa ‘Thomas A Becket’
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Thomas A Beckett, The Lady Gardener, Roald Dahl and Jubilee Celebraton are also available but we only have a few of each available.  Please note Collection only.

Rosa ‘Generous Gardener’
Rosa ‘Spirit of Freedom’
Frances E. Lester
Bobbie James

The above pictured climbers and ramblers are also available.  Paul’s Himalayan Musk, Francis E Lester, Bobbie James, The Generous Gardener, Strawberry Hill, Spirit of Freedom and Etoile D’holland are also available.  If you would like to buy any roses please emaail us at info@moosbach-schwarzwald.com.

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The secret to growing beautiful roses

 

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David Austin’s “Olivia Rose Austin” in the Moosbach Garden

There seems to be so many myths surrounding the successful growing of stunningly beautiful roses but it really is very easy.  In this article I will share with you my secrets of how to create a beautiful new rose garden in 2 years that will rival any rose garden in the world and will allow you to create beautiful bouquets and arrangements of florist quality.

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Gertrude Jekyll and Wollerton Old Hall

So where to start?

Firstly, you need to understand that roses are a widely diverse group of plants and you must first decide what look and feel that you are going for.  We shall start with basics, so that we are all on the same page.  Roses come in many different forms but the basic ones to consider are:

  1.  Floribunda (ground cover) roses.  Lots of clusters of small rose blooms ideal for covering ground.
  2. Tea roses. Fairly short but showy roses ideal for parks and formal gardens but not particularly fragrant. Repeat flowering.
  3. Bush Roses.  Vary in height from 1-2 metres.  very beautiful and can be very fragrant. Many are repeat flowering.
  4. Climbing roses. Can grow up to 5 metres depending upon the variety and can be both beautiful and wonderfully scented. Many are repeat flowering.
  5. Rambling roses.  Can grow as much as 11 metres high, generally have clusters of small flowers, normally only flower once and have a wonderful scent and good rose hips.

Now before I get shot down in flames, there are many old roses worth considering and if you have the space then I would advocate taking a look at these but for many people where the size of their garden is limited a repeat flowering rose is what you want to go for.  If you follow my advice, a rose is an investment that will reward you for decades to come.  Bearing this in mind, it is worth choosing the right roses and putting in the effort in the first year to get them off to a flying start.  The late David Austin created  a group of roses that he entitled “English Roses” and these combine the fragrance of the old musk and damask roses with the beauty of the newer Tea roses.

Choosing the right roses for you

It is always best to do your research, quality roses aren’t cheap but baring in mind that they will last decades I think that it is worthwhile.  There are many websites that you can look at and what you really need to see are pictures of mature roses in planting schemes. A photograph of an individual rose is very helpful in showing you the beauty of that particular rose but unless you have a very good eye or are an experienced garden designer it helps to see planting combinations that you can copy or adapt for your own garden.  My advice would be to visit established rose gardens , in the UK there is David Austin Roses, Peter Beales Roses or many of the National Trust Gardens. If you are in Europe there are many regional rose gardens or you could visit the wonderful Moosbach Garden in Germany.  At this point I would like to make this offer, if you want free garden advice drop me an email and I will do my best to answer your question.

So you’ve made your choices but where do you buy your roses from and when do you plant them?

I would always recommend buying your roses from an established and experienced rose specialist rather than from ebay, amazon or a garden centre that doesn’t specialise in roses.  Obviously, the Moosbach Garden has a fantastic range of roses available!  You have 2 choices when buying roses and these are bare root or potted roses.  Bare root roses are normally only available between November and March, when the plants are dormant and potted roses are available all year round.  Potted roses give you the chance to see how healthy the plant is and this is my preferred option.

If you order bare root roses they will arrive in a bag hopefully with the roots still moist,  you must soak them in a bucket of water for up to 2 days but not longer before you plant them in the garden or into a pot.  Roses don’t like their roots drying out but they also don’t like sitting in water for too long.

Potted roses normally arrive in full leaf and if you are lucky with flower buds, this only applies in the summer as plants will be dormant in the winter.  When your potted rose arrives give it a good soak in a bucket of water for  at least an hour and then water daily in spring and summer.  If there will be a delay of days or weeks between your potted rose arriving and you planting it, then water it daily or weekly depending upon the weather.  If you are unsure test the weight of the pot or press a finger into the soil to a depth of about an inch, if the pot feels light or if your finger comes out dry then you need to water it.  Remember what we are aiming for is a happy rose that is not water stressed.  I water all of our potted roses by filling it with water up to the pot brim and once this has subsided doing the same again.

Planting time

Planting time is very stressful for many people but it doesn’t have to be.  What we re aiming for is to give the rose the best possible start in life, resulting in a quicker established rose.  The main things to consider are:

  1. The type of rose.
  2. The soil.
  3. The location.

All roses need to be planted with the scion (grafting point) facing you and below the soil by about an inch. If the soil is heavy dig a hole twice the size of the pot to make it easier for the rose to get its roots established in the ground.  Add some good compost or well-rotted manure into the bottom of the planting hole and Sprinkle mycorrhizal Fungi over the root ball and into the planting hole, this friendly fungi attaches itself to the roots of the rose and feeds it with water and nutrients helping the rose to become established quickly, this is available from our Shop.  If you are planting near a house or a wall, resist the temptation to plant it right next to the wall where the soil will always be dry and unwelcoming to your rose.  Plant the rose further away from any walls out of the roof shadow where no rain reaches.   Back-fill the rose with soil, firm the soil in with the heel of your foot and water in well as this ensures that the roots are in good contact with the soil.

Watering in the first year – VERY IMPORTANT

I alluded to myths concerning roses at the start of this article, here it comes! Many people think that you shouldn’t water roses too much, well this simply isn’t true.  I think people say this because people are worried about fungal diseases like black spot, rust and powdery mildew.  I will grant you that roses should be watered from below and you should avoid getting the leaves wet but what do you think happens when it rains?  If you think about what happened when you turned your rose out of it’s pot, you got a rectangular or round mass within which the roots were contained.  Until the rose has established itself in the ground and the roots have extended into the surrounding soil you are affectively watering a potted rose.  So, my advice is plenty of regular watering for the first year.  So we have covered planting, we’ve added well-rotted manure and mycorrhizal Fungi, we’re on top of watering, the only thing that we haven’t covered is feeding your rose and helping it to stay healthy.  I would also recommend mulching your roses to minimise water evaporation.  We use Bark Mulch and it is very effective and has no detrimental affects.

Feeding your rose and keeping it disease free

Not all rose feeds are the same, I use and trust the specially formulated rose feed from David Austin, available from our shop.  I subscribe to the David Austin feeding recommendation, which is as follows:

  1.  Feed each rose about a handful of rose feed per rose when the first leaves appear.
  2. Do not feed again until the first set of flowers have finished and then give a second handful of feed to each rose, this ensures that the second set of flowers are as beautiful as the first.  Repeat this but do not fertilise in the autumn as this encourages new growth which will be damaged by the first frosts.

Now, the thorny issue of controlling diseases.  The new English Roses are more resistant to diseases but I find that the only sure way to keep your roses healthy is to spray them when the first leaves appear and then every 3 weeks throughout the summer.  There are many brands of rose care products and I cannot recommend any as I have not conducted a comparison but I use the products from Bayer.  If you only have a few roses then you might want to buy a premixed spray bottle but if you have a larger number then I would suggest buying a concentrate that you mix with water.  Always thoroughly wash all spray bottle before use to avoid contamination.  When it comes to aphids I use a spray bottle filled with water and the tiniest amount of washing up liquid and this seems to do the trick, you can buy chemical products but washing up liquid is much cheaper and just as effective.

So if you follow these steps your roses will be happy and healthy and put on a good show of flowers.  In my experience it is from the second year that you really get a fantastic display.

Pruning the different types of roses

I will cover the pruning of roses in another article which will also include a step by step guide to planting roses.

 

 

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David Austin Roses for Spring 2019

We have so many wonderful roses to show you that I am going to have to spread them across several articles.  Why am I showing you these now, in September? Well, I am showing them to you now so that you have time to consider which ones are perfect for your garden.  So sit back, relax and enjoy.  All images courtesy of David Austin Roses Limited.

 

Jude the Obscure C (Ausjo)
Jude the Obscure (Ausjo) English Shrub Rose

 

You really will be spoilt for choice

2019 will be our second year selling David Ausin roses and we have expanded our selection of roses for sale.  For 2019 we have not only more shrub roses but also more climbing roses and a good selection of the best rambling roses.  We have a limited number of each available, however, (10-20 depending upon the variety), so it is best to get your order in quick.

Our pick of the best shrub roses for you

Rosa 'The Lark Ascending'
The Lark Ascending (Ausursula)

This rose has graceful, medium-sized,semi-double flowers of a pleasing apricot colour and are produced from the ground upwards and are held in large heads of up to 15 roses.  This rose is absolutely stunning, here in the Moosbach Garden we have a corner bed planted up with 3 of these and it looks stunning when it flowers.  In a good climate it is not unusual for this rose to reach a height of 1 3/4 metres.  My experience with this rose is that a puts up a fantastic display early on and although it does throw the occasional flower after this it should be treated as a bonus rather than be expected.

Rosa 'Scepter'd Isle'
Scepter’d Isle (Ausland)

A pretty rose bearing numerous cupped flowers with yellow stamens. The rose is a lovely light pink colour with a powerful Myrrh fragrance.  The rose has a delicacy about it that is really quite romantic in the old fashioned style of roses. Again, in the right climate this rose can grow to at least 1 1/2 metres tall.  A good repeat flowerer.

Morning Mist (Ausfire)
Morning Mist (Ausfire)

A striking variety with large single flowers in coral-pink.  One of the largest English roses forming a big bushy shrub with wonderful rose hips in Winter.  It grows to a height of about 1.8 metres.

Rosa 'Molyneux'
Molineux ((Ausmol)

This a smaller rose, (90cm x 90cm) but again given the right conditions it can acheive more height but probably suited to the front of a flower bed rather than at the back.  It is a good repeat flowerer but only with a light to medium strength fragrance.

 

Rosa 'Lady of Shalott'
Rosa ‘Lady of Shalott’ (Ausnyson)

Rich orange-red buds open up to chalice shaped blooms that are filled with loosely aranged orange petals. It has a nice warm tea fragrance of a medium strength and will grow to about 1 1/2 metres in the right climate.  The perfume has tomes of apple and cloves. This rose is also available as a climber and as a standard rose.

 

Lady Emma Hamilton (Ausbrother) D
Lady Emma Hamilton (Ausbrother)

Blooms of orange and yellow paired with a strong fruity fragrance make this rose a firm favourite.  It grows to just over 1 metre tall so is probably best suited to the front of the flower bed or even in a large teracota pot on a patio.

Jude the Obscure C (Ausjo)
Jude the Obscure (Ausjo)

 

I simply adore this rose, it is just so beautiful, has a gorgeous perfume and a really good repeat flowerer.  In the right situation will grow to 1 1/2 metres or more.  This is in my top 5 favourite roses.

Jubilee Celebration (Aushunter)
Jubilee Celebration (Aushunter)

Large coral-pink flowers are held gracefuly on arching stems. It has a strong fruity fragrance with tones of lemon and raspberry.  In better climates it can grow to 1 1/2 metres.

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Emily Bronte (Ausearnshaw)

An exceptionally beautiful rose of a delicate soft pink with a strong Tea fragrance.  Can grow up to 1 1/2 metres in the right climate.  Perfume exhibits tones of lemon and grapefruit.  This rose has a strong, healthy, upright growth.

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Olivia Rose Austin (Ausmixture)

This rose is simply top-class.  It repeat flowers extremely well, is very vigorous and disease resistent and the flowers are perfection. A middle strength perfume of a fruity nature. Can easily grow to 2 metres tall in the right climate.

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Brother Cadfael (Ausglobe)

A firm favourite here in the Moosbach Garden with a filled bloom more reminiscent of a peony.  Lovely colour and repeat flowers well.  Can easily reach 1 1/2 metres in height.

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Boscobel (Auscousin)

A lovely rose with  darker pink flower reminiscent of salmon.  Can easily reach 1 1/2 metres high and repeat flowers well.  The blooms last well in full sun and heat. It has a strong Myrrh fragrance.

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Desdemona (Auskindling)

A beautiful white rose that start as peachy-pink buds, it has a strong old rose fragrance and can grow up to 1 1/2 metres.  Very, very beautiful.

So I hope that this has given you some food for thought, I haven`t included all of the roses that we have on offer for 2019 but you get the idea.  The sizes that I have quoted here are not guaranteed and do not come from David Austin roses but from my own experience.  All roses do better with lots of direct sunlight and lots of water, in colder climates you should expect less growth.  If you do not have at lease 4 hours of sunlight per day in the Summer than maybe a plant other than a rose might fare better.  I aam always happy to offer my opinion or answer any questions that you might have.

 

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A Golden September

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Desdemona

Some people adore the height of Summer in June and July when the garden is performing at its peak and it has to be said that it is glorious with the sumptuous excess of roses, delphiniums and phlox flowering in all of their glory but for me September can be even better.

Golden Septembers are not guaranteed

You don’t always get that golden Summer when it’s gloriously hot but when you do I think that it’s special.  What do I love so much about September? Well it is a time to be grateful for the gifts that natures bestows upon us.  It is a time of picking the last peaches and the first apples and pears, of harvesting the last of the summer crops from the vegetable garden, it is a time of plenty.  It’s also the time when the last few roses put on a dazzling display of beauty and I think that I enjoy them so much more because they stand out as beautiful highlights in the garden.

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Brother Cadfael

For me it is also the time to take a breath now that things have slowed down a little, I can step back from the manic duties of Summer and see how the garden has developed in those Summer months.

The big surprise of this Summer

The biggest surprise for me this Summer has been the roses, as many of you will know, we planted a new rose garden this year and it has done exceptionally well.  I have some varieties that have grown to a height of 6 feet or more, which really is incredible in their first year.  Olivia Rose Austin (1st picture above) is a perfect example, David Austin say that this rose generally grows to about 1.25 metres high and yet mine is standing at 6 feet tall, shows no signs of slowing down and is flowering for the 3rd time this year.  It has also been extremely healthy and has shown no signs of disease. he David Austin size guidelines are for the UK and in warmer climates they will grow taller and bigger.

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Olivia Rose Austin

Just look at this perfectly formed rose and also see how healthy the leaves are, it has not been sprayed at all.

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Harlow Carr

This rose, Harlow Carr, I planted in a group of 3, as recommended by David Austin, this is a rose that does so much better in the ground than in a pot, it creates a tall, bushy rose with lots of dainty pink roses that are highly perfumed.  In my opinion it would be a perfect variety for creating a scented rose hedge, I also like Rusosa “Wild Edric” for this purpose.

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Wollerton Old Hall

This is a climbing rose of great beauty, it is one the best scented climbing roses and repeat flowers all summer.

Living off the garden – is that not the dream?

Blood peaches are very tasty

 

At the moment we are able to get all that we need to eat from the garden.  It is so rewarding picking and eating fresh fruit and vegetables from the garden, I feel like we are living like kings!  The pears are absolutely fantastic, sweet and juicy, as are the peaches. We are still harvesting and eating fresh courgettes but we also have enough preserved in jars to last us the winter, along with peas, beans and herbs.  So I think that September is a time to be grateful, a time to be thankful that we live somewhere that we can grow fresh fruit and vegetables and grow beautiful flowers.  Is there a chance that we will end up taking it all for granted? Never.

When Winter comes

When Winter comes I promise not to moan about how cold it is or about how much snow there is, instead I will remember, as I open up a jar of some preserved goody, how wonderful the Summer was, how kind and how generous the garden and nature have been to us.  Does that alone not make this wonderful planet worth saving?

My next post will be showcasing the David Austin roses that will be available in March here at The Moosbach Garden.

We have a small selection of roses for sale at a reduced price (25 euros) a saving of 3,95 Euros.  They are all in flower and make an ideal gift for a friend (or yourself)!

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Preparing Your Autumn “To-Do”List

nature red forest leaves
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Autumn is gently knocking at the door and whilst it’s not quite time to start putting the garden to bed, it soon will be.  I always find it useful to make a “To-Do” list otherwise I tend to forget those jobs that need doing that I made a mental note of in the height of Summer.

Things to do whilst you can still see what is what

Once Autumn/Winter is finally upon us and all the deciduous plants have dropped their leaves it is more difficult to see what plants are.  This is OK if you only have a small garden and you know exactly where every single plant is but here in the Moosbach Garden it’s impossible.  There are always going to be instances, frequently during the early years of a garden, when a plant is in the wrong place. I’ll give you an example, I’m turning the top bed in the rose garden which is currently a mixture of delphiniums, lupins, foxgloves and Phlox into a hot bed or Jewel Garden as Monty Don likes to call it. Now, there are some plants still in this bed that don’t match the colour scheme, for example some Phlox “Giant David” which is white. So, now is the time when I will walk around the garden with bundles of different colour strings that I tie around the stems of plants that need moving.  How you organise your colour coding is a personal choice.

Whatever works for you

There really are not many hard rules in gardening and everybody needs to find a rhythm that works for them.  The Famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll used to take photographs of all of the garden in the summer months, which she paired with copious notes for review in the relatively quiet period of Winter before making any changes.

The developement of a new garden should be part planned and part organic

What do I mean by this?  Well my view is this, if you are starting a new garden on a blank canvas where no garden has existed before you are very lucky indeed.  What a luxury not to have to work with and around somebody elses view of what the garden should be.  When it is virgin ground you have the benefit of being able to measure the garden and then sit down with a big sheet of graph paper and decide where your paths, hedging and flower beds will be.  Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West had exactly this luxury at Sissinghurst Castle, although it should be noted that it was Harold Nicholson who measured the gardens and laid out the paths and hedging and Vita then crammed the different areas of the garden with plants.  However, any plan for a garden will need tweaking, you can try to visualise how things will look in your head but it is only when they are in situ that you can see if it works but give it time. A garden needs time to find its feet so don’t keep changing things every week.

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One of the Herbaceous borders at Sissinghurst

Dead-heading and planning changes

I find that this time of year is perfect for a little relaxed dead-heading of flowers to help prolong the season.  One of the joys of gardening comes at the end of a long Summer of watering and weeding when you can relax a little, take your foot off the accelerator and enjoy your garden.  I think sometimes when you garden you can be so busy with the many essential garden jobs that need doing that you do not have the time to see how the garden has changed in just  few months.  When I am dead-heading rose blooms I really get the chance to smell the different roses and immerse myself in their beauty.  The roses in the Moosbach Garden are putting on their final “Big Show” of the year and they are stunning.  Sometimes I sit on a bench with a cup of tea or a glass of dry white wine and it is then that I can objectively see what is working well and what isn’t working so well.  I keep a notepad which contains my “To-Do” list about my person so that I can make a note of changes to be made when the garden is asleep.  It is the only way that it works for me, 9 times out 10 when I say to myself that I’ll make a note of that later  I don’t.

Dividing Perennials

Once plants go into their dormant phase you can divide them which can revitalise them, plus you get new plants for free.  There is an article on this blog with instructions for dividing Phlox plants which you can do at any time whilst they are dormant.

Something wonderful to look out for

In the next week I will be unveiling all of the fantastic David Austin roses that will be available to buy on our website.  Please note that we have a limited supply of each variety, so it’s best to order early.  Roses will be available for collection from March 2019.

If you are looking for a beautiful rose now we have a few potted roses for sale that are currently in flower.  Available varieties are

  • Harlow Carr (1 available)IMG_4271
  • Desdemona (2 available)5046ffe4-3ce9-4794-af9b-2df494b3fcf4
  • Brother Cadfael (1 available)da5b9ffb-184f-4d20-8584-a0aa86fbc74c
  • Thomas A Beckett (3 available)IMG_4283
  • Falstaff (1 available)3d09bb4c-8564-403d-b5f2-c5d3d6a4c15c-2
  • Boscobel (1 available)0e338944-f6fc-4b9c-be48-3e2e5f8abe2a-1
  • Wollerton Old Hall Climber (2 available)f46a6d20-8482-490b-855f-bc69d5293a79-1
  • Olivia Rose Austin (1 available)ff6f0b6c-0750-4ff6-b15c-1dc08230e937-1

If you are interested in buying one of the above roses please email us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Turning Of The Seasons

I really like years when there are distinct seasons, there’s a certain rhythm to it that brings contentment.  I think it brings contentment because life is cyclical, everything that we do is based around repeating patterns. Each day repeats with its 24 hours, each week, each month, each year and each birthday.  Imagine if we didn’t have a concept of time, how would we measure our existence apart from the changing from day to night and the wrinkles on our faces.

Childhood Memories

I think like most people, when I look back at my childhood I remember long hot summers that never seemed to end and long cold, snowy winters.  Perhaps we romanticize our childhoods and it wasn’t always like that and our brains are just playing a trick on us. As I have got older it has seemed that the seasons have all blurred into each other, Winters seem mild and wet and Summers full of rain and inclement weather.

The bizarre weather of 2018

This year has been a strange one, it was preceded by what seemed like a very long Winter, it wasn’t particularly cold here, we didn’t have a metre of snow but it was windy and everything dried out and we lost quite a few plants in their dormant phase.  Spring didn’t really appear, we went from Winter to Summer in the space of a couple of days. I still can’t get my head around a temperature change of 10 degrees celsius or more in a day, how does that work?

A long, hot and very dry summer

This summer has been gloriously hot but far too dry with next to no rainfall here for 3 months resulting in hours of watering and ultimately a dry well. Suddenly the weather changed from the upper 30’s to the lower 20’s. It’s like there’s a mad scientist or bond villain with the ability the change the weather in a heartbeat.  If that is you, stop it now, OK.

A return to bio rhythm please

What we all need is a return to natural patterns of weather.  Lets have a cool misty Autumn where the air is filled with the aroma of fermenting windfall apples and smoke from bonfires when gardeners are tidying up their gardens.  Let us have a cold winter where frozen leaves crunch under our feet and rose hips glisten with frost in the morning.  Let us have a slow and gentle awakening of nature in Spring, let crocuses and daffodils poke their heads above ground at the end of February and then flower for weeks in April. Let leaves on trees and hedges delight us with their slow awakening and please let that first green of Spring be a green that is unique to that moment, innocent, pure,full of hope and expectation.

But it’s not all bad

Ok so it’s been a crazy year for the planet, for people, for wildlife, for nature but for those with water it’s been a great year for fruit and a fantastic year for roses.  Everyone I talk to about gardening say, “hasn’t this been a good year for roses?” and in fairness it has, roses love lots of sun and that is just what they got.  I chose this year to create a new rose garden and it’s done really well, so maybe it’s me that has the crazy weather controlling technology (who would have though that behind my mild manner lurks an evil genius?)

My guide to success with roses

People often ask me what the secret to growing fantastic roses is and I’m happy to tell them, it’s not a trade secret after all. Here’s what I do, I feed them when the first leaves appear and then again when the first set of flowers are finished but most importantly I give them lots of water everyday.  Like most plants, what roses need is plenty of water and sunlight.  Roses need a minimum of 4 hours sunshine a day in the summer if they are going to thrive.  Then when Autumn comes roses need a break, they need to go to sleep and rest, kind of a cyclical pattern right?  Which brings us right back to where we started, bio rhythms and seasons.

Looking forward to Autumn days

So this week I will be getting my Wellington boots out of the cellar, dusting off my old clothes that can get muddy, torn and even singed by sparks from the many bonfires I intend starting.  I will leave some piles of wood, twigs and compost as a refuge for wildlife though.  If you have a vegetable patch or an allotment, enjoy the fruits of your labours and if you have some spare produce give something to somebody who hasn’t been bitten by the gardening bug. Let’s convert some new people to the wonderous world of gardening and nature. #make the world a better place.

 

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You know you are a gardener when …..

I have a damaged rotator cuff on my left shoulder which is quite painful and will most likely require an operation. I was considering when would be the best time to get this done bearing in mind the recovery period.  Now is definitely the wrong time as there is extensive watering to do and all of the beds need weeding. September is not a good time either as I need to start tidying up the garden in preparation for winter.  October isn’t convenient as I have trailer loads of horse manure to collect and distribute in the garden. I also realised that I have to be sorted out by the end of March next year so that I’m fighting fit to cope with the barrow load of garden work that there is for next year.  No sooner had I come to the conclusion that November or December would be ideal than I remembered that I have a new path and steps to build to run alongside the new scented rosewalk and then there is the new pergola to build on one side of the rose garden. There’s nothing that can be done, I think I’ll just chop the arm off and fit a mechanical one so that I can get on with things.

Obviously, I’m joking about fitting a prosthetic arm, I’m very lucky to have two arms that function fairly normally.  It’s just that getting older is a nuisance, I feel a little like an old car that’s due for its 60,000 mile service.  Getting older is problematic for everyone, I’m sure, but when your profession is dependent upon being physically able it’s frustrating.

I know that as much as I would like to say “when can I realistically fit it in?”, the reality is this, I know that I can’t do what I could do a year ago with it, I know that it hurts and I know I’m making it worse by working with it.  Maybe it’s a getting older thing when your ‘to do list’ is growing longer instead of shorter and each week, month and year seems to go quicker.  When I was a child and adults used to say to me “enjoy your childhood, when you get older time goes by quicker and quicker” I remember thinking that this was a very illogical statement and some kind of ridiculous adult trick.  After all how can time go by faster, time is constant right?  Do you remember, as a child when a day seemed like an eternity and you never wanted to go to bed for fear of missing some important thing that was about to happen.  Now the thought of going to bed early sounds like bliss, I’d even happily sit on the naughty step if only somebody would let me.

Finding peace in the simple things

When I visit a garden and I find a quiet beautiful corner with nothing going on but the humming of bees and the chattering of birds I’m not bored, I relish the calm and the quiet and secretly wish it could last forever. The truth is you know that it can’t, life’s not like that but you can pretend that it will, just for bit.  I was talking with my adorable sister recently and we were discussing the pure joy of having alone time.  I think as you get older you enjoy your own company more and it is perfectly ok to have a conversation with yourself when you are alone, sometimes it’s the only way to get an intelligent conversation.  One word of warning though, talking to yourself when you are alone is OK but can raise concerns in company, unless of course you have the style to carry it off as marvelous eccentricity.

My plan is to grow old disgracefully and not worry about what people say or think about me.  I’ll sing Christmas carols in June but not in December (actually, I already do), I’ll wear T-shirts in Winter and jumpers in summer and I’ll keep working in the garden until they cart me off in a box.  I might even keep bees and do monkey impressions at inappropriate times.

The signs

I’ll be good though and schedule my operation and jobs in the garden will just have to get done when I have time and am physically able.  On the subject of ” You know you are a gardener when…” here are some of my favourite signs.

  • When you are looking at buying a new house, you check out the garden first and if that meets with your approval then you’ll take a look at the house
  • When you can’t go to a garden centre without bringing a plant home, even if you don’t have room for it
  • When you get itchy fingers at the end of February and want the weather to improve so that you can get out there doing jobs in the garden, even though you know in your heart that it’s too early in the year
  • When you start sowing vegetable seeds as soon as Christmas is over (willing Spring  to come soon in December doesn’t make it come any sooner)
  • When you keep buying more gardening books to go with the 30 that you already have
  • When you’d rather watch your favorite gardening program on the television than go out for a drink with friends
  • When you can only consider going on holiday in the winter when the garden is asleep
  • When you find it easier to remember plant names than people’s names

I’m going to stop now but you know that I could go on but I’d love to hear any additions to the list that you might have.

So now I must draw this to a close as it’s still daylight outside and I should be getting on with one of those jobs on my ever-growing ‘to do list’.

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A day at David Austin Roses

As we sell David Austin Roses we couldn’t really visit England without spending a day there, especially when they are only a 20 min drive from my sister’s house.  The plan was to spend a few hours mooching around their gardens and then sit down for their famous Afternoon Tea.

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My main contact at David Austin roses is Becky and I had previously spoken to her on the phone explaining that I was coming over from Germany.  I was keen to meet her as we had spoken so many times and I wanted to put a face to the voice.  Unfortunately, Becky explained that the day that we would be visiting would be her first day back at work after a 2 week holiday and that she would not have much time.  On the basis of this is was expecting a 5 min meet and greet, however, Becky was very generous with her time and spent more than an hour showing us the garden and discussing the different types of roses.

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The rose garden were not in full bloom and this is to be expected at this time of year but there were enough choice specimens in bloom to make the visit a memorable one.  It was very interesting to hear about the breeding programme and how long it takes to bring a new rose to the market place and the costs involved.  I was somewhat shocked to discover that it costs about 1 million pounds to develop a new rose and that thousands of seedlings are grown and only a choice few make the cut, the rest being discarded.  I will never complain about the cost of roses ever again!

David Austin Snr is clearly a man of great vision and perseverance, having started selling roses from his kitchen table, the first rose that he created being Constance Spry, a beautiful rose that we have here in the Moosbach Garden.

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I would recommend a visit to David Austin roses if you find yourself in England and anywhere near to Shropshire.  It is fantastic to be able to see so many different roses in different planting schemes and you will come away with your head full of thoughts on how to plant roses in your own garden.

I, for one came away realising that I prune my roses back too hard and I really should let them do their ‘thing’ a bit more.  We already have planting schemes similar to the picture immediately above with low clipped box hedging containing glorious roses. However, we have planted a row of climbing and rambling roses along the edge of one of our very few flat spaces and need to erect some supports for them.  At the David Austin rose garden they have a good mixture of support structures, including pergolas, we took lots of photographs and his will be an autumn/winter job for us.  I think with the more vigorous ramblers, like Paul’s Himalayan Musk that you need either a tree for it to grow up or a sturdy pergola.  We have 4 Paul’s Himalayan Musk roses in the Moosbach Garden, with some growing up into trees whilst others will be trained over pergola’s with their clusters of sweetly scented blooms dangling down to assault the senses.

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There were also some fairly large roses growing in terracotta pots which looked absolutely magnificent and it did reaffirm my view on planting roses in pots.  Customers quite often ask me if they can grow a rose in a pot as they don’ have a garden but a terrace or balcony.  I guess this will become an increasingly asked question as property prices increase, more people live in apartments rather than houses and globally we have a larger pensioner population.  Well my view has always been that all plants do better planted in the ground where they can spread their roots and obtain water and nutrients from a wider area but you can grow plants successfully in pots but it is a little more work (but worth it).

If you want to grow roses in pots you need to make sure that it is a decent size pot with good depth, the roots need space to grow  downwards or the rose will quickly become pot bound.  I would recommend sprinkling mycorrhizal fungi on the damp roots when you plant the rose, this will extend the root system and reduce water stress in hot weather. You also need to accept that any plant that is in a pot has a limited area from which to obtain water and nutrients that it needs to grow and the only way it will get them is by you watering and feeding it. I water all of my potted roses every day and feed with David Austin rose feed more often than those planted in the ground and they perform exceptionally well.  On the subject of pots, if you can afford it can I implore you to use terracotta over plastic, plastic usage is the current ‘hot potato’ but we all have our part to play in saving the environment.  If you must use plastic then go for a good quality, robust pot that will last 10 years or more.

This year was our first year selling David Austin roses and it has been a resounding success, we stocked 15 varieties this year and from the 180 that we ordered we only have 19 left.  For next year we have ordered more, 450 to be precise and 30 varieties.

If you would like to be notified when the roses are in stock and to find out when the Moosbach Garden is open then sign up for email notifications on here, there is a link on the right hand side.

Roses to look out for next year – Tottering by gently and Vanessa Bell.

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Tottering By Gently is like an old fashioned wild rose, is stunningly beautiful and will attract bees to your garden.

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Vanessa Bell is a very beautiful new rose from David Austin and repeat flowers well.

Top performing roses from this year – Gertrude Jekyll, Boscobel, Brother Cadfael, Golden Celebration, Gentle Hermione, Roald Dahl, Jude the obscure, Scepter’d isle, Strawberry Hill, Olivia Rose Austin, the Generous Gardener and Wollerton Old Hall (climbing).

If you would like to reserve a rose please visit our website by clicking here.