Time for home-grown June roses
June is a glorious month. The weather is fine and most of the garden has been groomed and mulched for the coming season — it’s starting to feel like summer.
Heat-loving plants such as tomatoes, basil, dahlias and canna are settling in their summer positions; in fact, they seem to be celebrating their newfound freedom by stretching out to fill their allotted spaces.
The perennial border is full of promise as we approach the middle of June. Pastel shades of violet, pink, butter yellow along with myriad soft greens paint the borders and soothe the soul. The stars of the June border, cranesbills, catmint, ‘Blue Star’ Amsonia and Lady’s mantle weave a colourful tapestry of colour beneath flowering dogwood, spirea and viburnum bushes.
And then, there are the roses — lush English roses, hardy explorer and shrub roses and fragrant tea roses — I love them all.
It’s not easy to be a rose in my garden. My roses must be self-sufficient and independent, no prima donnas allowed. I give my roses a good trim in the spring, bi-weekly doses of water-soluble fertilizer, a blanket of chipped wood to keep the weeds at bay and trim the spent flowers, but that’s about it. Most of the roses are tucked in the middle to back sections of the borders, if they are feeling strong and want to be noticed, they’ll let me know by putting up some tall branches dressed to nines with colourful blooms. On the other hand, if they are not having a good year, they can settle back and keep to themselves. It’s a system of mutual respect that seems to work.
If you are a rose, June is probably your favourite month. Your stems are strong and gently arching; your leaves are fresh, glossy and unblemished; and you are filled with energy as you offer generous sprays of flowers or plump single buds packed with silky petals. Your energy seems boundless.
It is fitting that most roses put on their best show this month in time for June weddings, graduations and the summer solstice. As a rule, I cut small bouquets of roses to enjoy in the house, but this year, I wanted to try something new. Images of buckets filled with picture-perfect roses haunted my mind — could I recreate the magic? Armed with leather gardening gloves, a pair of sharp pruners and a galvanized bucket filled with water, I set out on a mission.
The earliest flowering old-fashioned roses were past their prime, but sprays of the pink Grootendorst roses, were just beginning to open. The stems of this tall shrub rose are covered with wicked thorns, even the tiny leaf stems have sharp spines. With gloved hands I carefully cut three long sprays and tipped them into the bucket.
Nearby, the English rose ‘Graham Thomas’ was flushed with sprays of soft yellow flowers. Each spray has long stems giving the buds a little breathing space — a couple of sprays are enough for a pretty centrepiece. The scented flowers are packed with silky petals (up to 45 per flower according to the David Austin catalogue), they are quite heavy for the thin stems, causing them to nod. I cut at least half a dozen sprays and single stems and added them to the bucket.
Next, I spotted a Peace rose with five, long-stemmed flowers. Tucked at the very back of the border and virtually out of sight for most of the year, this rose has put on a beautiful show every June for the past 20 years — that’s what I call a good investment. The Peace rose, named to celebrate the end of the Second World War, features huge flowers with creamy yellow petals flushed at the edges with pink, strong, upright stems and glossy foliage. Unlike many tea roses, the Peace rose has a delicious, rich fragrance.
The front garden, with its challenging west facing exposure, is home to hardy Canadian explorer roses, bred in Morden, Man.: John Davis and a hard-working pink variety that came home without a label. Paired with ornamental grasses and a ground cover of periwinkle, these roses stand up to nasty winter winds, and come back to bloom year after year. Both roses feature sprays of pink flowers, the unnamed rose produces a generous crop of red rose hips that decorate the winter garden. Three sprays from each bush and the bucket was full.
Back at my workbench, I cleaned the stems of large thorns and any leaves that would sit below the water line in the vase, then I re-cut each stem after submerging it in the bucket of water (helps the stem absorb more water). I left the bucket on the deck for 24 hours to condition the roses.
Tonight, the stems were trimmed again and cut to similar length before arranging them in a heavy glass vase. The prickly, but very sturdy, Grootendorst roses have earned their keep by supporting the nodding heads of the Graham Thomas roses in the arrangement.
I’ve taken a head count, 55 blossoms, not including unopened buds — that’s what I call a luxurious bouquet — is there a better reason to grow roses at home?