Comments on: Contest! Win tickets to the World Rose Festival and $100 in roses

By: Andrea Bellamy

Andrea Bellamy — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:56:28 +0000

Hi Mary,

You can read about the winners here: http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2009/06/why-grow-a-rose/

By: mary

mary — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:53:42 +0000

Well, today is the last day of the World Rose Festival. Will you tell us who won the tickets and roses?

By: Nancy Rutland

Nancy Rutland — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:34:36 +0000

Roses have a place in every garden in that there is an extreme range of colours to compliment most any other of your plantings.
One of the grandest reasons, for me, is that they bring back poignant memories of old homesteads. My grandmother had a rose named Lincoln? I believe she called it. My mother simply had red roses & Lady Banks. “I” actually received a rose as the birthday present I asked for as a child of about 9. It is still blooming in my mother’s garden, tho she has long been passed away from the garden she loved.

By: Darragh Worledge

Darragh Worledge — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:28:39 +0000

In Nanaimo we have many beautiful, natural areas for walking,Buttertubs Marsh for example. Stands of wild Roses are abundant in these native areas,adding immensely to their beauty. Modern shrub Roses recreate this exquisite look in our gardens,doing it even better! There is no better plant than the Rose to provide structure in New American Style gardens(Van Sweden, Oehme). Modern Roses are disease free, drought tolerant, adapt to most soil conditions or light levels and have four season interest. Brightly hued folige unfurls in early spring, promising rebirth after cold, bitter weather. Late spring to fall displays fat buds unfurling into exuberant flowers in rainbow colours. Autumn finds Rose leaves adding to the show with chameleon tones of wine and gold. Winter landscapes are enlivened by stands of twiggy branches bright with abundant berries. Snow damage is minimal, as flexible Rose canes bounce right back after being squashed by heavy drifts! Truely Natures gift,Roses are welcome in all types of gardens, both informal and formal. Roses whisper in our souls,their voices heavy with untold years, sparkling with new dreams. Darragh.

By: Barbara May

Barbara May — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:01:53 +0000

Roses can be grown organically and should be. Many companion plants among the roses are a way to keep the balance between predator and beneficial insects. I grow grasses, lavenders, herbs, chives, and garlic among my roses.

The bloom and smell of a rose is fleeting but so moving and enjoyable to all the senses.

They definitely deserve a place of honor in all modern gardens.

By: R. Thatcher

R. Thatcher — Thu, 28 May 2009 04:06:46 +0000

Rose
sweet smelling
birds, bees, wasps, ants
Where would we be without the rose?
They charm, bewitch and beguile us
their spells enchant us
sweet smelling
r
o
s
e

By: Darlene Mercer

Darlene Mercer — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:40:26 +0000

Ah, the rose in the ‘modern’ garden. You enter a rose garden and close your eyes first. Your nose will lead you to the romantic gardens of Persia, the voluptuous and blousy formal gardens of France, the fruitily scented orchards of our own Okanagan. You open your eyes for the gift of colour they give, the riots of every shade but true blue.

These are ageless beauties that even as hybrid teas, can be cared for easily and organically. The scents, the colours, and the tastes of roses – the benefits of those vitamin enriched and fulsome red hips in jellies and beverages, the sweetly and fruitily scented petals scattered in your favourite soaking tub, scattered about your dining table, and even pressed with almond oil for a wonderful scented perfume. And of course, lest we forget, cut and set in any container, they are blissful.

I have grown roses of many types for many years now – flicking or squirting off maurauding aphids if need be, religiously burying old fish heads and parts deep beside the bushes in spring, and spending most of my time just enjoying them. The first rose I loved was in my Uncle’s garden when I was about 8. That ‘Peace’ rose was beautiful, and the thorns on the new growth would snap off at the stem obligingly, and with a bit of spit, I would gleefully stick it onto my nose and run inside, telling my Uncle I was a rhinosaurus! Of course he’d bluster a bit about my being at his roses again, but I also saw him smile, and he’d tell me about how he would care for them, and how beautiful they were. A love affair was born.

The modern garden? It should never be without at least 1 rose, whether a hardy groundcover, a tough, hip laden rugosa or an infatuously fragrant english or old world rose. Easy, tough, giving of scent, colour, fruit and beautiful memories.

Plant a rose today. I think I will! :-)

By: Tava Henault

Tava Henault — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:54:39 +0000

Roses deserve a place in the modern garden because their “curb appeal” is outstanding. Sure the honeysuckles smell fantastic and squashs are equally fun and unruly but nothing gets the neighbours sniffing, smelling and saying what a pretty flower, great job and green thumb you have faster then a rose in bloom –remember these are the flowers people pay a fortune for at least once a year!

By: Len Bidwell

Len Bidwell — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:43:41 +0000

Roses are known to more people on this planet than the gardners who cultivate them. They are admired for the deeper beauty that parallels life itself. Roses are the marriage of our senses.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:48:52 +0000

Reasons why rose is a must in a modern garden:

1. It creates a beautiful focal point in your garden and grabs yours and your visitors like nothing else does.

2. What other perennial plant rewards with beauty and fragrance for such a long period? Some roses bloom from spring to hard frost while most perennial plants only flower for few weeks in a year.

3. Contrasts to popular beliefs, roses aren’t just for cottages and English gardens. You can find hundreds of modern looking roses in a rainbow colors that will go well with any modern gardens.

4. Roses aren’t diva queens that need lots of pampering to stay alive and look good. They are very winter hardy and a lot of roses are quite low in maintenance.

5. Roses symbolize love and friendship. I think of my loved ones when I see them. Heucheras or herbs just don’t bring out the romance in people.

6. Few other plants are as useful as roses: beautiful flowers to enjoy fresh or dried. Even thorny canes come in handy – I use them to build a fence around an area in my yard that a raccoon uses as his personal dumping ground. He hasn’t pooped there since. Yay!

7. Roses live a long long time, some for a few generations. I think it’s really neat to plant a rose that your grandchilden can enjoy and remember you by.

8. Last but not least, if you don’t like the roses you have seen, you probably just haven’t found the right one yet. Go ask Brad at Select Roses to pick a good one for you. As a serious gardener, I think you need to explore a bit more on rose planting!