I have 15 different roses in my garden right now. Each year I select a winner of roses for my garden. I fought with naming St. Tropez as the 2023 winner. It is a fantastic rose with a nice yellow color and wonderful scent. I purchased mine from Heirloom Roses bareroot, own root. It has been slow to take off, and I haven't gotten a ton of blooms. But when I do have some blooms, they always make me smile. They really are something amazing. The Heirloom Roses website names this as apricot color but my color has only ever been yellow. The photos and reviews on the Heirloom Roses website also only have yellow mentioned or in the photos. They say the fragrance is very fragrant but, I think it's just average in fragrance. I am excited to see how it performs in the 2024 growing season. It is an amazing rose and as you can see from the photo, and I recommend it for your garden. There is no back story on the Heirloom Roses website about the naming of the rose. I was able to find information elsewhere on the internet. The rose was bred in France before 2016 and came to America in 2018. St Tropez is located in southern France, so it seems it was named after that. St Tropez is a hot but expensive tourist destination along the French Rivera known for its beaches and wineries. It is also said that this rose was dedicated to Rose Alleyson, French singer of Country Music. Of whom I wasn't able to find any information on her. Either way, dazzle yourself in a French yellow rose with wonderful blooms and great statement in your garden? I say so.
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Proven Winners has been getting into the business of selling bulb collections. I found mine at Home Depot, however they are available elsewhere as well (I heard Costco also). I chose the Blushing Blend that includes various shades of pink. As I look to move my garden toward more pastel colors of white, pink, and purples, this kit of bulbs works well. There are glads (gladioli) dahlias, & lilies. 20 Gladioli Bulbs "Louise" I have planted various colors of glads before, but never took them out of the ground for the winter. They are a tender bulb in our area. However, sometimes they do come back up depending on how and where they were planted in our gardens. If you want be certain that they return in our area, it is safe to over winter the bulbs the same as is done with dahlia bulbs in our area. However, I am excited to see the way this put off a show in my garden this year. Next up is 2 Dahlias "Cactus Cherry Cake" These are smaller but a vibrant brust of bright pink that will grab anyones attention. This like the glads, will need to be dug up and overwintered inside- if I want them for 2025. Next is 2 Dahlias "Rosella" These are dinnerplate dahlias which are the largest bloom size of any of the dahlias. I love them and the number of blooms they put out each season is amazing. These tubers will have to be dug up and overwintered inside. Lastly are 6 oriental lilies "Sorbonne" This is the only perennial in our zone, so I can leave these in the ground during the winter months. I love a plant that is lower maintenance. The fact that you can plant them in mass of 6 together, is going to put on such a show, I am excited about these. I have a collection of various colors of these throughout my gardens and I can't wait to add this one as well. I also just love a plant that also tells a story. These were named after the famous Université de Paris. Yes, Paris- France not Paris, Texas.
I am adding a bunch of other plants, bulbs, tubers and shrubs in 2024 but this blog post about the Proven Winners collection that I picked up today. For $30 I think it's a great buy for 30 bulbs. Most dinnerplate dahlias sold by the bulb companies are $20 for one or two tubers. To get this entire selection of bulbs and tubers for $1 a bulb is a great buy. Considering 6 of them are perennials is awesome. Proven Winners is partnering with Garden State Bulbs on getting these out in mass. The fact that Proven Winners is willing to put their name on them, should turn out to be a decent product. 2023 Supertunia Vista Bubblegum in my sidewalk garden. It really was something amazing. The number of compliments I received from neighbors and passer-by's was awesome. It really looked its best throughout the season. It just took extra watering in the height of summer with the dry spell. It was planted along the front of the planting bed with various shrubs and a crape myrtle tree with white blooms. By the end of the season, it was growing over the sidewalk. A customer of mine gave me the pink crape myrtle bush and the Supertunia was growing into the bush and blended in so well with the blooms from the bush. I had several people stop and take selfies with the blooms in the background. So, I think I would say, I will never have a gardening season without Supertunia Vista Bubblegum. I will also say that Proven Winners should give themselves a pat on their backs for this one.
The before shot is certainly a longer range shot of the back yard. But still covering the same area to show the state of the landscaping on the day I purchased the home. The landscaping the in the back yard wasn't at all in place. The only plant that was in the backyard in this area was a butterfly bush that had been damaged and was salvageable only down to a small piece. The savaged butterfly bush is now growing back and is being pruned to grow over the mini koi pond in the exact corner of the yard as the before photo. I was happy to be able to save it and work with it to bring it back to a healthy plant. The blooms are amazing both in the dark color purple and in smell. In the distance between the tall grasses, I planted and the shed I repaired and painted, you can see the portion of the fence that was repaired and painted. I am still at the time of writing this working on completing the rest of the fence. Hopefully, the fence project is complete in 2024. Doesn't everyone always have a to do list? The trees next to the tall grasses are a plum and peach which looking back at how small they were when I planted them to where they are today is simply amazing. I love the fruit trees for the color they bring in the spring (1 white, 1 pink) and the foliage to provide needed shade for the koi pond, and privacy for the patio retreat. You may take the time to look at my other posts in 2023 and find that the patio retreat was completely redone in 2023. Unable to see in this photo due to the catmint that I planted on either side of the bridge I added, but there is a dry stream that I dug out to help to empty rainwater from the yard during heavy rains. My grandparent's birdbath is in the center of the photo which I purchased a new top for it in 2023 because it was in poor shape when I purchased the home. The sidewalk that was where the pea gravel pathway is now on the left side of the photo was in poor shape and a trip hazard. The old sidewalk wasn't very wide either, so the new pea gravel pathway was extended out to the edge of the dry stream. The chartreuse green foliage above the pea gravel on the left is in a large pot, that was supposed to grow a large black elephant ear, that only ever grew about 1" tall. The chartreuse green is sweet potato vine. Which I learned does in fact grow sweet potatoes, when I pulled them out, there they were. However, I had heard they are not edible. The marron color beyond the sweet potato vine is a line of autumn joy sedum. There are many other plants in area, but you aren't able to make them out in this photo. Well except for the right hand by the bridge. There is a scotch broom Sister Rosie that really grows fast and gets too big and maybe should have been planted somewhere there was more room. And my favorite coleus called Kong Rose, which is a must for every garden. Here you can see the same area very early spring. There was still some frost cloth in the distance. But it was late enough that iris was in full bloom, and the catmint had just been planted in full bloom, but not grown out as it was at the early end of the season photo. You can see the grasses before they were grown up for the season. The grass looked fantastic before we hit all the hot dry summer weather, we had in 2023. You can see the large pot before the sweet potato vine had taken off. You can also see the patio retreat to the left top corner. And some various other shrubs that weren't as visible in the first photo. You can also see the dry stream that starts at my grandparents' bird bath and continues under the bridge. It was my goal to replace the bridge with a larger one in 2023 so I planted the catmint back away from it on one side, and its foliage grew up to it anyway. I never got to working on the larger bridge in 2023, so that is a 2024 project, right? You can compare the growth of the fruit trees from the beginning of the season until the almost end of the season. It is really something amazing. Writing this post in January 2024, it really has me excited for spring 2024. This is going to be my 3rd spring in the garden this year.
First, the prior years winners were-
2021 Growing Season Rose of the Year- Don Juan- Climbing Rose 2022 Growing Season Rose of the Year- Ebb Tibe- Floribunda And... 2023 Growing Season Rose of the Year- Gram's Rose The winner for 2023 Growing Season Rose of the Year is what I refer to as "Gram's Rose". It is unknown to my family if it was a rose that was existing from when my grandparents owned the house. However, it is widely known that my grandma loved this type of rose. So, for that reason, I have named it "Gram's Rose". The smell is special, the color is fantastic and really, it is an all-around lovely piece in the front of my house-garden. I love that it always surprises me with a few late blooms in early November. Last year I had gone away for a weeks' vacation and came home to a small flush of blooms to enjoy welcoming me home. It is my hope that you add at least one or even 5 roses to your garden because they just really are the quintessential piece of any garden. Topiary has become a love of mine. I think it adds style to anyone's garden and home. If you have ever considered adding topiary, I would totally encourage you to do so. There are many types of and styles to choose from. Of course, the bigger you chose the more money it will cost you. I have seen simple table top topiary to start at around $15-$20 and some go for over $500 for larger size selections. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong. One biggest thing to consider is the growing zone that you live in. Some may require that you over-winter them inside. For that if you are looking for low maintenance- I would consider topiary that you can leave outside- in the ground. This can be boxwood or yew to be the most common topiary for our growing zone, that can be left outside in the ground. In this photo shows a few of the ones I've added to my collection.
Winter always puts houseplants in focus. Everyone is stuck inside instead of outside working on their gardens. I am no exception to the rule. However, my lack of light inside really hurts. Even though I have a big grow light in my "plant room" the rest of the rooms lack proper light required by most houseplants. So, I recently found that this palm is receptive to low light and of course had to come home with me. What are your favorite low light plants? Or do you opt for fake plants or none at all?
I only begun to love Trader Joes sometimes last year for flowers and plants. Their arrangements and options when you first walk in are always tempting. Recently, I picked up a pink hyacinth. This year I did not force any bulbs like I did last year. So, this was a nice refreshing treat. The smell is amazing. And because the container is reusable, I may try using it to force bulbs like this in the future. Have you ever checked out Trader Joe's selection of plants and flowers? Do you enjoy the smell of a fresh hyacinth? I have mine in the kitchen window and its smell fills the kitchen and beyond. I encourage you if you get the chance to check it out!
This sign was headed to the wastebasket of a rental property, who long had a neglected garden. I was happy to give it a new home in my garden. The sign reminds us, to stop and smell the flowers and enjoy all the hard work that we all put into our homes and gardens. I hope you took time to stop and smell the flowers in your garden this growing season. Of course, roses are one of my favorite things to smell in my garden.
Whomever was responsible for naming this hydrangea did not do it justice. Since Bobo means stupid, this is certainly not a stupid but simply amazing hydrangea. It started off strong and continued with beautiful big white blooms all season. Later fading to a magical white/pink fade something absolutely stunning. I would HIGHLY recommend Proven Winners Bobo Hydrangea for low maintenance, easy care and a special plant to have in every single garden. Prior to trying Bobo, I always had struck out with hydrangeas. I had told several people I was completely done with them. However, when Bobo put on such a great show in a container in my new patio garden this 2023 season, I had to give a try at 3 more different varieties and so far, so good with those as well.
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AuthorKeith Bentzel operates a full-time lawn care business and a full-time gardener at home! Archives
February 2024
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