The Orchid Garden

Summer is coming!!!

Question:

With a bit of time on my hands and some good weather I finally got stuck into my new rosegarden and weeded it, dug in some compost and planted my new roses which have bee heeled in for the last couple of months. I have a row of about 10 Austins and for some bizarre reason half are pink and half are apricot, so I alternated colours all the way down. It will look very interesting when they are all in flower.  At the end I tacked on Pascali (had it in a pot and not doing well) Sylvia and Superbowl. So from left to right this is what you see: Pascali Sylvia Superbowl Brother Cadfael St Cecilia Warwick Castle Jayne Austin Sharifa Asma Tamora St Swithun Ambridge Rose. I have just bought a couple of minis to tuck in the front, Orchid Lace and Strawberry Swirl, but I might yet put them in pots. Summer rose flowering is lookng good here Down Under!! Stacey – all excited Stacey Hill (note spambuster in my address if replying by e-mail) "Men are like parking spaces: the best ones are taken and the only ones left are handicapped!"

Response:

Summer rose flowering is lookng good here Down Under!! Stacey – all excited

Hi Stacey, Not too sure about your colour co-ordination, but regardless a mass of colour is a mass of colour!!! Looking good – too bloody good!! I’ve had to start "pinching" varieties to stop them flowering too soon!! City of London has just produced 3 good blooms already! BTW, where are you now? Regards, Doug Bone Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens Aotearoa-New Zealand

Response:

Summer rose flowering is lookng good here Down Under!! Stacey – all excited Hi Stacey, Not too sure about your colour co-ordination, but regardless a mass of colour is a mass of colour!!!

Yes, on reflection the colour scheme might be a bit horrendous, but it was a spur of the moment thing, and as I have never seen these varieties in actual flower (and photos are never true to colour in our harsh NZ light) so I was a bit helpless either way. Looking good – too bloody good!! I’ve had to start "pinching" varieties to stop them flowering too soon!! City of London has just produced 3 good blooms already!

That is amazing, course your climate is much milder.  I would be lucky to get any flowers any sooner than a month away I think, we are still getting the odd frost here. You might be on your third flush when I make it up there in December! BTW, where are you now?

Still at home in Geraldine.  At this stage I am working from home, we have started our own business and I have some consulting work in Chch but lookin for work locally if I can get it.  So I may get to see my garden do its thing this year. Stacey Stacey Hill (note spambuster in my address if replying by e-mail) "Men are like parking spaces: the best ones are taken and the only ones left are handicapped!"

Response:

With all this rain we have had today and what we received last week, the roses are on their home run towards flowering in the not too distant future! Hopefully the summer will be good although the weather forecasters keep going on about this El Nino which is due to hit this summer and bring more??!! rain. Colour combinations sound errrr wonderful, great.. be interesting to see — Happy gardening  :) Elaine Kiwiland

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -What rain? We only had a trace last night – mind you we *did* have 7 points last weekend which was thankfully received. Here in Timaru we have to water, water, water, if we are to keep the flush of spring growth going. The cold south easterly winds have slowed the roses out front of the house but in the shelter out the back they are bolting away. Dublin Bay has a tremendous amount on this season, last year it was a miserable sight with black spot – lost all it’s leaves and kept right on flowering. : Hopefully the summer will be good although the weather forecasters keep : going on about this El Nino which is due to hit this summer and bring : more??!! rain. Not here, it will probably be hot winds and as dry as a chip. I can cope with that, what I dread is weather such as that last November and again in early January, ten days of unremitting drizzle and warm temperatures that brought out the black spot and mildew on even the hardiest of roses. I nearly went crazy going around and taking off the multitude of balled up slimy unopened roses. Noeline.

You state a good case here for downunder to be divided into gardening zones. North, South and Central perhaps?  And  I suppose we shouldn’t forget that rather large West Island. Brom

Response:

: With all this rain we have had today and what we received last week, the : roses are on their home run towards flowering in the not too distant : future! What rain? We only had a trace last night – mind you we *did* have 7 points last weekend which was thankfully received. Here in Timaru we have to water, water, water, if we are to keep the flush of spring growth going. The cold south easterly winds have slowed the roses out front of the house but in the shelter out the back they are bolting away. Dublin Bay has a tremendous amount on this season, last year it was a miserable sight with black spot – lost all it’s leaves and kept right on flowering. : Hopefully the summer will be good although the weather forecasters keep : going on about this El Nino which is due to hit this summer and bring : more??!! rain. Not here, it will probably be hot winds and as dry as a chip. I can cope with that, what I dread is weather such as that last November and again in early January, ten days of unremitting drizzle and warm temperatures that brought out the black spot and mildew on even the hardiest of roses. I nearly went crazy going around and taking off the multitude of balled up slimy unopened roses. Noeline.

Response:

Welcome to another Kiwi, it’s great seeing all these names around. Your Dublin Bay sounds like mine this year, it is certainly looking a lot healthier than I have seen it. Good luck with the gardening, and I’ll try to send some rain your way sometime soon. today have been out in the garden putting another feed of Nitrophoska on before it’s due to rain tomorrow!! (again!!) Have you been to Trevor Griffiths roses at all? — Happy gardening  :) Elaine Kiwiland

Response:

What rain? We only had a trace last night – mind you we *did* have 7 points last weekend which was thankfully received.

in the last 48 hours I’m sure we’ve received at least 7 points, this one’s unprecedented, have never seen the wheelbarrow completely full of water–that’s quite a few points, you know.   Everything else has been weird this year, why not??  Presumably a point is a tenth of something.  el rainyo. Here in Timaru we have to water, water, water, if we are to keep the flush of spring growth going.

So how long does it take to cross the Cook Strait Bridge over to Wellington? m

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -. What rain? We only had a trace last night – mind you we *did* have 7 points last weekend which was thankfully received. in the last 48 hours I’m sure we’ve received at least 7 points, this one’s unprecedented, have never seen the wheelbarrow completely full of water–that’s quite a few points, you know.   Everything else has been weird this year, why not??  Presumably a point is a tenth of something.  el rainyo. Here in Timaru we have to water, water, water, if we are to keep the flush of spring growth going. So how long does it take to cross the Cook Strait Bridge over to Wellington? m

Interesting notion, a Cook Strait Bridge, so I’ll run with that and say if there was a bridge and the speed limit was say 83k pr hr – all things being equal – don’t know about tractors – it would take an hour to drive. Loosely speaking there is a bridge in the form of a roll on, roll off, roll around while you’re on it 3 hour car ferry.  Good option. To fly means missing the run down Queen Charlotte Sound which is extraordinarily beautiful. btw Noeline, speaking rain, what is a point a tenth of, a cm? What does a wheelbarrow full score? And how many ks in a mile. 2.2? Brom

Response:

So how long does it take to cross the Cook Strait Bridge over to Wellington? m Interesting notion, a Cook Strait Bridge,

hahahaha, interesting notion, that’s good.  Bet there’s a pretty good current going through there.  I picture violent waves and craggy outcroppings all about. … so I’ll run with that and say if there was a bridge and the speed limit was say 83k pr hr – all things being equal – don’t know about tractors – it would take an hour to drive. Loosely speaking there is a bridge in the form of a roll on, roll off, roll around while you’re on it 3 hour car ferry.  Good option. To fly means missing the run down Queen Charlotte Sound which is extraordinarily beautiful.

I bet it is, will have to do that run sometime, probably in my next lifetime, but you never know. btw Noeline, speaking rain, what is a point a tenth of, a cm? What does a wheelbarrow full score?

Actually got out the big Stanley yesterday and measured it, had to average–at the deepest point was 6 and a half, at the shallowest point, 4, so I figured over five.  2.54 cm/in, at’s a lotta rain, especially considering the average for a year is, I do believe, somerwhere around 8 around here. And how many ks in a mile. 2.2? Brom

1.61 km/mile, ~.61 miles/km.  Although it didn’t do any damage, the hurricane off the coast of Mexico that brought all this, I do believe, was the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Pacific? Wednesday or Thursday, we should start seeing the clouds rolling up through Mexico from the followup ‘cane (that’s what they call em in Miami), fixing to get dumped on again probably.  Cool with me if we have a couple days to dry out.   m

Response:

And  I suppose we shouldn’t forget that rather large West Island.

Heh, heh.  I almost missed that one. Steven, far from there

Response:

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