Greetings everyone and a warm welcome to all my new readers this month.
On Wednesday it is Winter according to the calendar, but nobody told my roses as they continue to throw out blooms here and there.
The rose at the top of the page is Penelope, a hybrid musk bred by the Rev. Joseph Pemberton in 1924 who succeeded in his desire to breed roses with an extended blooming season, as this one is likely to continue for some time yet.
And it is not just the roses having their final fling for the season, with a mystery visitor to my garden in the form of a chrysanthemum turning up around Mother’s Day, and a five-metre tall tree dahlia inviting all the bees into the garden to visit on World Bee Day.
Here’s my Autumn scrapbook for you to enjoy!
On the first day of May each year, I stop deadheading and let hips form on the rose bushes. The rose hips release a hormone that tells the rose to stop forming buds, and this allows the roses to have a rest before they start the bloom cycle all over again. I prune my
roses at the start of July, and this, along with milder temperatures, stimulates them to put on abundant new growth and plenty of buds.
So, for the next month as the roses rest, I will still go on my daily rounds and remove any yellowing or diseased leaves to keep the spore load down for a healthier garden next bloom cycle, and because it is fun.
I had to look twice when a small plant with the leaves of a daisy appeared in my rose border. What could it be, I wondered? I knew that I would have to wait for it to flower, hoping that it would be pink to blend in with the colour scheme. Suddenly it seemed to take off, the small plant becoming a medium sized shrub, me still none
the wiser about what it was. Then it was in bud, and still I waited. Then right on cue, a few days before Mother’s Day it burst into bloom and has been in bloom ever since, vibrant yellow chrysanthemum flowers brightening up cool grey days!
And to brighten up your day please enjoy these paintings of yellow chrysanthemums from artists familiar and new.
Chrysanthemums by Henri Fantin Latour, 1879. I knew Fantin Latour loved painting roses but it seems he loved painting chrysanthemums too!
It appears that Monet was a fan as well, this is his Bed of Chysanthemums from 1897. It is always nice to discover a Monet painting I haven't seen before.
A new artist discovery for me was American artist Daniel Ridgway Knight who specialised in painting portaits of woman working in the garden. This is simply entitled Chrysanthemums from 1898.
And below, I couldn't resist, is Julia Gathering Roses from 1900.
The one below was a real surprise, painted by Igor Grabar in 1905. Igor was a Russian post-impressionist painter who painted portraits, still life and landscapes.
Observe the lovely light in his landscape (below) entitled Autumn Evening from 1923.
For a little bit of magic in the garden you can’t go past the tree dahlia or Dahlia imperialis. The closest thing you will get to Jack and the Beanstalk, this amazing plant grows really tall, really quickly, up to 5 metres in a season, and then produces a flower head full of lavender handkerchief-like flowers with bright orange stamens
which are bee magnets. With about 20 flowers on the stalk, the bees had a real field day when they visited, you should have heard them humming! They then descended on my lemon tree, and I am now expecting a bumper crop of lemons. Thank you, bees, for dropping in.
Once the flowers have finished and the leaves start to yellow, the plant gets cut down to the ground and the stem can be cut into foot long pieces from which you can grow new plants, planting them horizontally at least 10cm deep. Because they grow straight up, they could even be planted in a small courtyard, if space is an issue, and close to fences which give them a bit of protection from strong winds.
They amazing height of these plants encourages us to look up for a different perspective on life and you never know what you might see!
And that brings us to the end of May, and whilst the temperatures may be getting cooler there is still lots of fun to be had in the garden. And as one wise person once told me, if you are feeling the cold in the garden, then you are not working hard enough!
Until next time,
Love and roses,
Michelle
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My Novel: Rose Garden Reverie
A story of transformation set in a rose garden with rose care tips throughout the seasons.
The soft cover book is 110 pages long and costs $20 (Australian Dollars) per copy via the button below with free shipping worldwide.
Also available from online book sellers.
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May the beauty of nature inspire you everyday
Michelle Endersby Art
www.michelleendersbyart.com
phone: 0400 473 173
[email protected]
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