Just outside the quaint New England town of Little Compton, Rhode Island, are the Brownell Rose Research Gardens. For more than 35 years, Mr. and Mrs. Walter D. Brownell have bred better roses for home gardens, emphasizing winter hardiness. From the start, one factor was regarded as prime importance – a resistance to extremely low … Read more
Whenever anybody wants to see an ideal private rose garden in or around Columbus, Ohio, he’s taken to look at the one built by Mr. and Mrs. Ezra C. Anstaett in the Upper Arlington section. Members of the American Rose Society—expert rosarians themselves—made a special point to visit it in 1946 and again in 1953 … Read more
The best rose bushes and blossoms are not a product of chemical or organic fertilizers alone but rather a combination. Both are necessary for plant health, vigor, and productivity. Familiar inorganics include nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, and superphosphate, all derived from inanimate chemicals or minerals. Organic fertilizers derived from living matter or matter … Read more
First, choose a sunny, airy exposure for growing your roses, far from encroaching tree and shrub roots and shade. Give your beauties adequate spacing so they will have ample room to spread themselves during development. Prepare The Soil Try to give them a good, rich loam that is always well-drained. Keep in mind that plants … Read more
Most home gardeners living in the latitude of northern Vermont expect to grow hybrid teas less than 5’ to 6’ feet tall. The idea is that it’s foolish to try hybrid teas in climates like ours, with frequent sub-zero temperatures in winter. An active rose society in Vermont is proof enough that good roses can … Read more
The problem of pruning roses baffles most growers of woody or semi-woody plants in home gardens. These gardeners do not realize that a plant has enormous regenerative capacities and that the older the plant becomes, the less living tissue is disturbed by pruning. Pruning is the mechanical removal of any part of a plant by … Read more
Many of my roses are in beds prepared nearly 30 years ago, and although there have been some replacements, most of the bushes are those planted then. With little opportunity to rework the soil, it became extremely acidic over the years, down to pH 4 to 4.5. Last year, I removed the mulch and worked … Read more
Roses are heir to various diseases and pests, but rarely more than one at a time. This is a great blessing. Furthermore, the means of combating them are easy and take little time. If you can spare 15 minutes a week (in the average rose garden of 50 plants) for prevention and cure, you are … Read more
As we learn more and more about the art of living outdoors, we realize the importance of tying our houses to our gardens. Many contemporary houses have been planned with this idea in mind. The rooms flow into the outdoor areas, so there is never a feeling of being shut in. A sense of spaciousness … Read more
Believing that a rose garden is a family affair and that it is never too early to create an interest in roses, Jackson & Perkins Company of Newark, New York, constructed a special child’s garden of roses last June. And to increase its “child-appeal,” the garden was planted with varieties from the Pustoccino family of … Read more