Roses
Okay. More roses.
Mme Isaac Periere. One of my can’t-live-without roses. Although a beautiful bush she is not. You want some serious disguise action for the bush part. Inadvertently what I’ve got is eight square feet of Fantin Latour lying all over the landscape. Mme Isaac pokes her head up through just fine, although one of these years I’m going to plant a clematis to climb through her (and perforce Fantin too). I rave about Mme Isaac’s perfume every year. So, here we go: rave rave rave rave smell rave perfume rave whole house rave rave lie in bed at night with windows open rave. *
Lichfield Angel. She’s an Austin,** and is doing the standard Austin thing of producing long floppy stems but I said to myself two years ago when I bought her, this is an Austin, she is going to be floppy, prepare. So I put her in a pot, and, lo!, she flops out of it very gracefully. This is her second year and so long as she stays healthy and produces flowers like these she can be as floppy as she likes.
Chantelle in bud.
HERE WE SODDING BLOODY GO AGAIN WITH SODDING BLOODY WORDPRESS AND ITS REFUSAL TO LEAVE YOUR TEXT WHERE YOU PUT IT. OKAY, THE PEACHY-ORANGE BUD IS CHANTELLE. THE PEACHY-ORANGE FLOWER IS CHANTELLE.
Chantelle in flower.
THEN YOU HAVE THE PALE CREAMY-PINK-YELLOW COMTE DE CHAMPAGNE.
AND THE DARK RED ONE AT THE END IS SOUVENIR DE DR JAMAIN.
Comte de Champagne. Another Austin. Guess why I had to have her. *** And I get around the floppy thing by having her grow among Ghislaine de Feligonde of whom there is a lot for growing among. Even more than Fantin, but you’re expecting it with Ghislaine. Ghislaine is also denser: Ghislaine contains multitudes; Ghislaine is a jungle. If you’re ever chased by an axe murderer and you have a Ghislaine in your garden, go hide in her and you’ll be fine.
She’s not out yet. You’ll have pictures of her later.
Souvenir (there are actually many Souvenirs. It’s just in this garden, ‘Souvenir’ tends to mean the Creamy Pink Monster Menace, which is to say Souvenir de la Malmaison) de Dr Jamain. This is the one I mentioned a few days ago: I’ve had something like three die on me, and while I’m not promising anything, I put this one in a pot where I can keep a beady eye on her, this is her second year, and she’s actually thriving. But ask me next week.
And Black Bear asked which amusing All Stars would I have worn to the cathedral yesterday if I’d had time to change my shoes. These:
* * *
* As I recall the chemistry of rose scent says you aren’t going to get any in the middle of the night. Tell Mme Isaac and Souvenir de la Malmaison.
**Yes, I grow way too many Austins for someone who keeps saying she doesn’t like them much.
*** I have Champagne Moment on order. They ran out last year.
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