Greetings everyone and a warm welcome to all my new subscribers this month, our second month of Autumn. We are now enjoying proper Autumnal weather with crisp dew laden mornings and bright sunny days, now that the remnants of summer warmth and humidity finally left us over
the Easter weekend when it was still warm enough to swim in the clear waters of Bonbeach.
This month I have highlights from an Autumn Rose Show, a story of a lost artwork finding its way home, a special event for historic rose lovers and a few other treats.
Autumn roses develop slowly and take longer to open than the roses of Spring and Summer, but the reward for your patience is an intensity to the colour and longer lasting blooms.
The Rose Society of Victoria held an Autumn Rose Show this month to showcase the beauty of these Autumn blooms.
Please enjoy this gallery of my favourite images from the day.
Warm Wishes, a hybrid tea bred by Gareth Fryer, United Kingdom, before 1991.
Peach Profusion, a floribunda bred by Kordes, Germany, 1999
April Hamer, an Australian, hybrid tea, bred by Ronald J. Bell, 1983
Savoy Hotel, a hybrid tea bred by Harkness, United Kingdom, 1987
Brass Band, a floribunda, bred by Jack E. Christensen, United States, 1993
Called the Thank You Rose in Australia, a floribunda bred by Kordes, Germany, 1997. Known overseas as Vodacom and Plum Perfect
A Sunny Morning in Mornington
What a joy it was to join the heritage team working bee at the Mornington Botanical Rose Gardens on a beautiful sunny Autumn morning.
The Mornington rose (above) with it’s distinctive frilly, white-edged petals greeted us at the gate.
In the tea rose bed, it was a very elegant affair with Monsieur Tillier, bred by Alexandre Bernaix (France, 1891),
Madame Antoine Mari bred by Antoine Mari (France, before 1890),
and the Comtesse de Labarthe, bred by Pierre Bernède (France, 1857).
Around the corner, a rose with small, delightfully shaped blooms and a medium fruity fragrance, was Hermosa, bred by Marchesseau (France, 1832).
Hermosa means beautiful in Spanish, a very fitting name.
The Mornington Botanical Rose Gardens is included in the itinerary of the optional Post Convention Tour from Adelaide to Melbourne following the exciting upcoming World Rose Convention 27 October – 3 November 2022.
Return to the scene of the crime
Whilst we are on the Mornington Peninsula, an interesting story has come to light concerning The Briars historic homestead at Mt Martha (pictured above April 2022).
The Briars is one of the first houses built by Europeans on the Mornington Peninsula.
In 1846 Alexander Balcombe moved into The Briars with his wife Emma and their baby daughter.
Alexander’s descendants, the Murphy and a’Beckett families, remained at The Briars until 1976.
In that year, Richard a’Beckett gifted The Briars Homestead and surrounding eight hectares of lawns, trees, gardens, and outbuildings jointly to the Shire and the National Trust.
Alexander Balcombe was born on the island of St Helena, where Napoleon was exiled in 1815 after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. The former emperor stayed with the Balcombe's while waiting for his own residence to be completed and a friendship was forged. Alexander’s granddaughter, Dame Mabel Brookes, bequeathed her collection of Napoleonic memorabilia to the National Gallery of Australia and it was loaned to the National Trust
to be on display at The Briars.
In 2014, ten items from the collection were stolen with little hope of them ever being recovered.
This month, however, one of the items, a rare miniature portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte's wife Josephine (pictured above) was returned. Art dealer Leigh Capel bought the portrait on eBay for $250 before discovering it was one of the ten stolen artifacts.
I decided to visit The Briars after an absence of many years. The homestead is currently undergoing restoration works and many of the roses in the garden (pictured above and below) are sadly overgrown and suffering from what looks like rabbit damage. I hope that the garden, in time, can be returned to its former glory.
I searched through my old photographs to see if I could find evidence of what the garden used to look like, and I came across this one (pictured below) from October 2000, coincidentally on my wedding day, when the Banksia roses at the front of the homestead were lush and green and the gardens and lawns were tended carefully by volunteers.
Thanks to the wonders of technology, rose lovers from all over the world can enjoy a wonderful series of online presentations courtesy of the Historic Roses Group.
The series entitled The Rose, will take place on five Monday evenings in May, from 18.00-19.30 hrs British Summer Time. Each talk costs just £5 or £20 for 5 talks. If the time doesn't suit, once you've booked your place, the link that's sent to you remains valid for a week, so you can view it at any time within the next seven days.
This is the programme:
Mon 2 May: Catherine Horwood, author of Rose - the book traces the botanical, religious, literary, and artistic journeys of the rose across the centuries
Mon 9 May: David Stone, RHS Associate of Honour, on Graham Stuart Thomas and Mottisfont
Mon 16 May: Michael Marriott on David Austin Roses
Mon 23 May: John Wood on Hinton Ampner and its roses
Mon 30 May: Jenny Potter, author of The Rose: a True History
Follow this link to purchase your tickets:
or join via the Historic Roses Group website
I have certainly booked my place and I am looking forward to it very much.
And that brings us to the end of April. I hope you enjoyed this celebration of my Autumnal pleasures. Until next time,
Love and roses,
Michelle
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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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