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Monday, May 9, 2016

Everything's Coming Up Roses, May 9, 2016

Everything seems to be bursting into bloom at the same time, those fabulous May flowers.

Today I am linking with-

Today's flowers hosted by Denise

In a Vase on Monday hosted by Cathy
Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher


I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

My self-proclaimed Queen of my rose garden, Zephirine Drouhin, was first to bloom as usual, and soon covered herself with flowers-

So for my first vase for In A Vase On Monday, finding some lovely flowers to put in a vase, I had to use some Zephirine Drouhin and the matching Rhododendron-



This Rhododendron is a remarkable one, instead of the usual rounded or tree form, it makes a large triangle blooming all the way to the ground-

The many Rhododendrons were all original and already large when we bought the house 22 years ago. I enjoy trying to prune the centers of some that are suitable to interesting interiors like this one-


Irises are also blooming up a storm, especially the Siberian irises with their exuberance-

I'm amazed by the fancy patterns below the throats of the Siberian irises-


So a second vase features some older yellow and white irises and some Siberian purple irises, and a red-purple Rhododendron-


Champney's Pink Cluster is overwhelming its trellis which is tall enough to walk under-

But I got a shock when I looked at the tree next to the bed and saw many pink roses high up in the branches more than 20' off the ground, apparently Cecile Brunner is a tougher rose than I imagined, you can see Champney's Pink Cluster's trellis down to the left-

Roses used to be much later bloomers than this, I hope your Spring season is also filled with flowers.

Hannah

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26 comments:

  1. I love the smell of roses in springtime...and I love this photo!!

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    1. Thanks, Keith, it seems all winter I dream of spring and now I am enjoying the constant abundance of flowers, living the dream! But the weeds are also having a fun time multiplying like crazy and challenging me to do anything about it.

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  2. Your triangular-shaped rhododendron is amazing. Everything is looking lovely. Your vase of irises and rhododendron must smell wonderful. Have a happy gardening week.

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    1. Thanks, Susie, that Rhodie with it's wide spread always amazes me, but they all overwhelm me with the need to break off the spent flower stalks, imagine 1000's of them. I prefer the roses, though some get me with the thorns when I try to prune them. Zephirine Drouhin has a lovely fragrance.

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  3. The roses are gorgeous, but my favorites are the irises and the rhododendrons. Have a great week, Hannah!

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    1. Thanks, Gunilla, the irises are such fun flowers, I love the throat patterns and cute little beards.

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  4. The vases are stunning as are the rose bushes and Rhododendrons. I love how beautifully you pruned them so they continue to bloom so nicely! And irises too! Here we are weeks behind with a very cool May so far...getting cold tonight near freezing again.

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    1. The Rhodies are very exuberant bloomers, no thanks to me. I do try some to break off the spend blooms I can reach but they keep blooming anyway. The pruning is more about removing branches in the interior to show the cool twisty branches.

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  5. So many delightful flowers, obviously you're not having the awful wind we have these days. It's tearing everything off. Both vases are pretty, enjoy your garden :), Annette from Annette's Garden (again so difficult to leave a comment)

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    1. Thanks, Annette, no, we haven't had wind problems, and the weather here has been warmer than usual, though it has cooled off again. Your woodsy wideaway is amazing!

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  6. When your roses bloom they do it up right, Hannah! All your roses are putting on a good show, as are the Rhododendrons and Iris. With the exception of my shrub roses, my roses have finished their first flush of bloom with no sign of a second flush in sight. As to my Iris, they appear to be largely no-shows again this year.

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    1. Thanks, Kris! But I have to say that it is the tough survivors that do so well. I have a long list of the roses that I planted that only lasted a year or more and are no longer around. Some of the newer varieties of irises that were so lovely at first ceased to bloom after a few years. I can't remember if irises grew for me in San Diego, I know there were a lot of cool plants that did though, I used to break off a branch of Jade plant and stick it in the ground and it would make a lovely large plant in a year. I planted a lot when I had my house on the market.

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  7. I love roses, esp. old-fashioned fragrant ones, but the thorns are so nasty!
    We must have similar yards, inheriting siberian iris and rhododendrons, among other things when we moved here. I love the pattern on the iris!

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    1. Thanks, Eliza! I had a terrible time pruning my climbing Reve d'Or for the horrible thorns, but the good news is that Zephirine Drouhin is THORNLESS! She is a real queen! I planted all the roses and most of the
      irises, though there were a few old varieties there. It's funny, the old irises still keep going but many new varieties I bought, when not divided faithfully or something just fizzle and cease to bloom, very disappointing. I planted the Siberians and later there will be Japanese ones there, that strip of the driveway gets all the winter run-off and I guess it was serendipity because they love it there.

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  8. Wow, all of that was worth the wait. I had forgotten about Siberian Iris, they are lovely and your Roses and Rhododendrons are spectacular. Happy Gardening.

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    1. Thanks, Amelia, the Siberian irises do seem to spread better than the regular Irises, they become quite large clumps.

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  9. Hello Hannah, your roses are gorgeous. I also love your rhododendrons.
    The irises are one of my favorites. Lovely blooms and images. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your week ahead!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, I guess you can telll I mostly stay home and garden. I admire your travels and visits to wild sites.

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  10. Oh all those roses Hannah - lovely!- and they are clearly happy where they are too. I love the colours of your first vase, but the patterns on your iris are fascinating. Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thanks, Cathy, I'm glad some roses like my garden.

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  11. Thank you Hannah, I am always so appreciative of you sharing your lovely photos with Today's Flowers. Have a great week :)

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    1. Thanks, Denise, it's great of you to host.

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  12. That first rose is incredible. You're way ahead of me now--no roses, irises, or rhododendrons are blooming here yet. 'Champney's Pink Cluster' looks so pretty growing over the trellis.

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    1. Thanks, Beth, Zephirine Drouhin does put on quite a show. And then reblooms as well! I hope your flowers get going soon!

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  13. Two vases, yes everything looks like it enjoying Spring at your end! I too like the fancy patterns on your Irises! We have a surprising amount of colour still around, but we've not yet had much in the way of cold weather here - hooray!
    Have a great week.
    Wren x

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    1. Thanks, Jenny, the flowers are very exuberant this year. The Siberian irises make up for their small size with larger bee guides on their falls. Perhaps they contain hidden messages. Have a happy fall!

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