I know very little about roses, and I don’t totally understand their appeal. (Gulp! I can’t believe I just admitted that on a gardening blog! I feel like the Rosarians are going to target me for a hit now. Better watch my back.)

So when the fine people at the World Rose Festival asked me if I wanted to host a contest offering Heavy Petal readers a chance to win two tickets to the World Rose Festival being held in Vancouver from June 19-21, 2009, as well as $100 worth of rose shrubs from acclaimed nursery Select Roses, I actually had to think twice.

A rose show? Was that really a good fit for this blog? Weren’t most rose fanatics in the pinkies-held-aloft and blue-hair-rinse crowds?

Of course, I know that’s not really the case. Some of my favourite garden writers are rose nuts. (Hi Dee!) My mom is one of the most down-to-earth women you’ll ever meet, and even she gets giddy when ‘Heritage’ blooms in her garden.

So why do I have this prejudice against roses? In my head, they’re fussy divas that don’t offer a lot beyond the short time they’re in bloom. And as for how well they fit in a garden – like mine – that could never be described as “English” or “cottagey”? They just don’t go.

Of course, I could be completely off base.

I’d love to hear from you: do you think roses can be chic, easy, un-schmaltzy, and of value in an environmentally-conscious garden?

Now about this contest. First, a little bit of background: the World Rose Convention happens every three years in a different country, and this year is being hosted by the Vancouver Rose Society. The VRS decided that not only would they host the convention, but they would also organize a World Rose Festival, featuring a rose show, display gardens, workshops and lectures, floral design display, kid’s gardens, and a marketplace. You know – kind of like a small-scale Northwest Flower and Garden Show, but with a rose theme. I can just imagine how sweet the air will smell at this event!

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me why you think roses deserve a place in the modern garden. Convince me. The commenter who has me shoving aside heucheras or herbs to plant a rose wins.

The contest winner will receive two tickets to the World Rose Festival, held in Vancouver from June 19-21, 2009, as well as $100 in rose shrubs from Select Roses. Please note: Select Roses does not ship or otherwise transport roses; you must pick out and pick up your roses from their nursery in Langley, BC. Contest closes June 1, 2009 at midnight PST.

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 10:59 am | Permalink | Comments (74)

Nickel herb markers from Nina Gibson Designs. $28 for four.

There’s nothing worse than a garden littered with nursery plant labels. Where each plant has a little plastic tombstone. Sure, labels might come in handy if you’ve forgotten whether it was Euphorbia ‘Blue Lagoon’ or ‘Blue Haze’ you planted, but does every pansy need to carry its own ID?

Still, there are some cases where a plant label is entirely appropriate. With perennials, I usually just slightly bury the nursery label at the same time I’m putting the plant in the ground, so if I need to replace the plant or for some reason am just desperate to remember the name, I can poke around in the dirt and (usually) find it.

Write-and-erase plant tags from Allsop Home and Garden. $16 for six.

But with vegetables, plant labels are a necessity. They’re a place holder, so that a week after you do your sowing you can distinguish among the nearly-identical little green seedlings. And even though I swear I’ll remember which tomatoes I’m growing, at the end of the summer it’s hard to tell a Purple Calabash from a Purple Brandywine.

Birdie plant markers from The Modern Gardener. About $9 for 10.

There are a million kinds of plant labels on the market, from the most basic – white plastic tags and wooden tongue depressor types – to the clever, the cute and the Betty Boop.

So what makes a great plant marker? For me, it’s gotta be one you write on yourself. Although some herb marker sets are lovely, inevitably they don’t include all the herbs you plan on growing, leaving your herb garden haphazardly labelled. The horror!

Hairpin-style rose markers from Lee Valley. $16.80 for 25.

Ask a bunch of gardeners about their favourite labels and the talk turns to permanence and DIY pride. Which type of Sharpie to use, how to clear coat a rock so that your Latin is legible next year – that sort of thing. I’m less concerned with longevity because I buy or make ‘em cheap, don’t need that many, and because I’ll be planting something different next year anyway. And if I can make ‘em myself? Awesome.

Set of metal herb stakes from Spoon Sisters. $22.50 for nine.

Homemade plant markers range from the utilitarian – such as cut-up Venetian (aka “mini”) blinds, milk cartons and pop cans – to the kitschy cool – such as these Shrinky Dink markers – to the truly artful – such as these quilted plant markers. I still like the old stone plant markers a la Martha, and I’m quite happy with the hand-stamped wooden ones I just whipped up the other day (see below).

Wooden markers stamped with permanent ink. $1 for 100 extra-large popsicle sticks. $6 for the alphabet stamps. $10 for the ink.

What’s your take on plant labels? Any favourites I’ve missed?

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 7:29 am | Permalink | Comments (22)

So this contest closed a couple of days ago, and I’m finally getting around to announcing a winner. Sorry to keep you in suspense.

And I’m still not going to name names (skip to the end if you’re impatient!)… because I wanted to say a couple of things about the entries. 76 of you entered, telling me why you needed a copy of Home Outside by Julie Moir Messervy.

Seems like we all face similar issues in our gardens. Many of us are overwhelmed. “I really want to transform [my garden], but knowing where to start is really hard,” says Abby.

Like Lisa, who wrote, “right now all I see are the jobs that need to be done…” some of us see our gardens not as pleasurable but as guilt-inducing sources of anxiety. Yikes!

And, like Michelle, who wrote, “I’d like something more interesting but I don’t know what,” we’d all like some inspiration, please.

Finally, we all just like a good, weighty garden book with luscious photos. As Jim puts it, “I need this book because I don’t have nearly enough gardening books.” Ha!

But I had to choose just one winner, and with the help of randomizer.org, I chose Jenn S. Here’s what she had to say:

“I’m a beginning gardener with a large lot. I really need to do something more to spruce up the place, but I’m feeling totally lost. I’ve put in hours and hours of work, but my garden is lack luster and I am criticised by my neighbors. Help!”

Can we all agree that Jenn needs this book? (Criticized by her neighbours? What the hell! Don’t you just want to tell them where to stuff it?) Jenn, I’ll email you for your address.

There you have it. I’ll leave you with the words from one last entrant that had me giggling.

There once was a lady in Texas,
Suffocating in the weeds of her “ex’es.”
Her soul’s soil is depleted -
Loamy inspiration is what’s needed -
A lush book has the nutrients in excess!

-Stemme Fatale

Posted by Andrea Bellamy at 9:50 pm | Permalink | Comments (4)