Hello Dear Rose Friends,
Let’s remind you that it is now the middle of autumn, so make time to undertake some gardening during this Easter Holiday break.
An Australian farmer was showing a visiting Texan farmer his property. He showed off his big wheat field but the Texan was unimpressed. “We have fields that are twice as big.” the Texan said boastfully.
He then showed off his heavy cattle, but the Texan was still unimpressed. “We have Longhorns that are twice as big.” he said.
The Texan then sees some kangaroos hopping by. “What are they?” he asked.
“Don’t you have any grasshoppers in Texas?” replied the Aussie farmer!
PLANTING WINTER BULBS
I enjoyed a day of planting new daffodil bulbs this past week – many are in planters around the back door and along the driveway to make a spectacular display for us all to enjoy this winter/spring.
I popped a few bags of Tulips into the crisper section of our fridge. They’ll be there for about 4-6 weeks because when I do that I seem to get much longer stems on all the Tulips. By the way, did you know that when you put Tulips in a vase you should use a very small amount of water so the stems don’t rot.
We learned this from Diana’s aunt when we were visiting her family in Holland some years ago and it truly makes a great difference to vase longevity. So you be sure to remember this when picking tulip flowers in spring.
FORMULA FOR CALCULATING
RAIN-WATER FROM YOUR ROOF
For every square metre of roof (the pitch of the roof doesn’t matter), one ml of rain will produce 1 litre of water. As a rough guide, if you measure the front of your house and multiply it by the depth of your house, this will give your approximate roof size in square metres.
Let’s say your calculation is 120 square metres. For every 1ml of rain, you will be able to ‘harvest’ 120 litres of water.
Hope this has taken the guesswork out of knowing the amount of ‘free’ water each ml of rain is worth to your garden.
A giggle to make you smile...
Q: What did the shark do when it caught a cold?
A. It took vitamin sea.
Weeping Roses
This week, we feature our magnificent weeping roses because they look absolutely stunning and are ready to plant right now.
If you have a very visible space 2 metres in diameter then a weeping rose would be magnificent in your garden. Plant it so that you can enjoy it from within your home as well as to delight your neighbours and visitors to your street, by planting it in your front garden!
PLEASE NOTE: ALL WEEPING ROSES ARE PICK-UP ONLY AND WILL FIT IN MOST VEHICLES – PREFERABLY WITHOUT BACK-SEAT PASSENGERS!!!
We can supply the ring and pole kit to ensure your weeping rose stays beautifully straight and well supported for the life of the rose, more than 50 years for sure!
This Crepuscule weeping rose was purchased from our Kilmore nursery at least 30 years ago and is still a spectacle in main street Kilmore. When Mrs. Wilson bought it, it was more than 150cms tall but it has shrunk and thickened up! (I can remember being a bit taller and not as rounded 30 years ago too! Diana)
OUR RECOMMENDED WEEPING ROSES
Varieties of weeping roses which flower for more than nine months each flowering season are available to plant NOW:
PINKIE - A very highly recommended rose that produces masses of mid-pink clusters of blooms continually from season start to end and everywhere in between. The foliage is lush and healthy and the whole plant creates an impenetrable screen in a very short growing period.
PIERRE DE RONSARD - One of the most popular climbing roses which produces masses of creamy-white to pale pink blooms deepening to carmine at the edges in cooler weather. Flowers freely and repeatedly. Only very lightly scented but this rose makes up for that by its abundant health and massive production of flowers over a very extended season.
CREPUSCULE - Climbing/rambling rose which freely produces the most amazing flushes of clusters of apricot blooms which fade to cream and literally smother the bush with flowers throughout the season on relatively thornless canes. This highly versatile rose can be used to cover arches, adorn fences of variable height and is so easy to maintain because of the beautiful flexible canes.
SEAFOAM - Great showy white weeping rose. This weeper will not disappoint. It produces small pretty white flowers throughout a very long flowering season. It is thorny but don't let this deter you. Highly recommended for a healthy, pretty feature weeping rose in your garden.
LAMARQUE - Old Fashioned climbing/rambling rose produces masses of medium-sized lemon centred blooms throughout the season. This lovely rose is pure white with lemon centres, and quartered blooms. It features a healthy mid-green foliage and is a highly fragrant rambling rose.
BUFF BEAUTY - Featuring apricot yellow medium-sized blooms, this rose forms a well-balanced arching shrub with smooth stems and striking dark green foliage. Buff Beauty produces flowers in small and large clusters and with its strong fragrance makes an ideal choice for an archway or pergola.
OUR ROSY CARPET - (not a true weeping rose however, super spectacular) This rose is an extremely healthy, very free-flowering ground covering rose which weeps well when budded as a weeping rose - spectacular sight always! This stunning weeping rose is very, very free-flowering and is highly recommended.
Pick-up Only Weeping Rose Offer
Make a beautiful investment in your garden with our Easter Weekend Offer. Buy one of our beautiful weeping roses and ring and pole support kit and save $30. Call in and pick up at Silkies Rose Farm, Clonbinane. Visit us this weekend!
Have a lovely Easter weekend with friends and family! See you soon at Clonbinane. Gra, Diana, Mooi and the team …