Christmas Roses!

22 Dec '06 12:40 am

This is Northern Europe! And Christmas is approaching - almost there! But, even so, some Roses in the garden still keep most of their foliage and even bloom timidly, with blooms that have very little in common with their summery counterparts...During the last two days I managed to work a little in the garden, and protected the sensitive perennials - Agapanthus, Penstemons,Gauras, pot-Camelia of the patio. The temperatures vary between 0 and 5 Celcius, not bad for the end of a Belgian December...

22 Dec '06 1:09 am

What a display, Liza! And in these cold, cold days too. Thank you for sharing these with us Very Happy

I received my "free" rose the other day (Gardener's World Magazine were giving away a rose to every reader - just had to pay £2.75 postage and packing!) and on Sunday I planted it against the back wall of my garden so I can see it when I look out the French windows. It's a New Dawn (pictures below) which is a climber, so I'm hoping it'll like growing up the trellises and showing off its blooms to me one day Very Happy

I think Winter has finally joined us now as we're also experiencing temperatures around 0 Celcius - it went down to -1 yesterday evening when I was driving back from work (6-6.30pm) and we're getting morning fogs too, but coming over the brow of the hill this morning was just spectacular! It was like a winter wonderland (I know that's a bit of a cliché, but it's true!!) with the fog creating a wall around me and my car, giving the impression that nothing else existed outside it, and all the trees and the grass in the field were covered in a delicate covering of frost - I'll try to remember to bring my camera with me tomorrow and take a picture if it's like that again.

22 Dec '06 1:38 am

She is just gorgeous, Bambi! Gorgeous! I adore this light cyclamen -- so tender!-- shade of colour! I wish you to see her established and happy the soonest possible, like the ones of your beautiful photos.

22 Dec '06 3:53 pm

It's lovely that you still have roses blooming even at this time of the year. It's one of the things I love about roses, there's usually some even through early winter.
I remember my Monsieur Tillier (although it may have been an incorrectly labelled Archiduc Joseph) at the old place blooming well into winter.
Must get one for here but I'm waiting for an area here to be 'developed' before I buy one.

I've wanted a New Dawn for ages. Perhaps it'll be on next years list (have to budget carefully).

23 Dec '06 3:16 am

Absolutely beautiful roses, Liza, and so nice that you can enjoy them this late in the year. I particularly like the orange one. Mine are all having a rest and I have cut them back and they are re-shooting already. If there were in a sunnier site, they would still be blooming for me as for other people here ... and you, Liza!

Bambi, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you will enjoy your New Dawn this coming year.

At this point, I would like to wish you Liza, and Bambi and Anna a wonderful Christmas weekend ... just in case I don't come back on before then!

Boas festas!

23 Dec '06 10:41 pm

Dear Vicky , it was such a pleasure to read your friendly message! This Christmas in Belgium is the warmest I have experienced here! Not the....sunniest , though...

I hope, you have a wonderful festive weekend, surrounded by all your beloved ones, humans, animals, and plants! As for me, I feel a little sad not having all my children around me... Well, the oldest ones are coming next week for 3-4 days only...Not bad...And now, I am going to ...the kitchen!...See you later ...next year! Love!

My lovely friends, Bambi and Anna, I wish you, too, the best of Holidays, full of Love, Harmony ,and Health, together with all your loved ones!! See you...next year!

24 Dec '06 1:35 am

Dear Liza - how wonderful to still have roses at this time. In the much milder SA climate I often find that roses bloom into midwinter. When I prune in July/August - your January/February - I even often pick wiry stems of Iceberg with lovely flowers and orange heps and arrange them in old-fashined 'floral pins' put into a large flat copper bowl (which has since become my dogs' waterbowl!).

26 Dec '06 10:33 am

Liza! How wonderful, roses for Christmas! Did you bring them inside for your table decoration? Very Happy

My (soon to be) neice-in-law Very Happy

grew these beautiful flowers in her garden and bought them to me for Christmas. The scent from the lillies is just amazing...

26 Dec '06 11:28 am

Dear Pumkin! What an adorable bouquet! Lovely , scented blooms! And ....a great photo-again!!

Dear friend, be always happy, optimistic, full of your very personal humor that I love! Yes, it has beem amazing to see a snoozing , wintery, garden with some ...Rosy blooms here and there !With Roses keeping the most of their leaves!

6 Mar '07 7:28 pm

Liza - I just looked at your collections of pictures on Flickr and they are outstanding! I loved the ones of the arboretum and the calendar, as well as those of the butterflies in your garden! It has given me the urge to go back to photography as an art form once again. I used to do that (even sold some of my nature pictures to an art gallery!), but gave up after my cameras were stolen twice in a row. Now with a new digital camera to learn about, perhaps it's the time again. Heaven knows that now that I've retired early, I can take the time at any season to get out when the light and weather are what I want for my pictures!

I place my still pictures on Photobucket, but there still aren't very many of them there. I'll have to search around that site to see whether or not I can make a slide show there as you have done. That's a very good idea!

Also, I made a couple more videos and figured out about the sound: all I have to do is to speak and the camera records it!! So now I'll be able to do some little tours of my garden with running commentaries to explain what is being seen! Wow! The joys of technology!! Now I'll have to get outside and clean up the garden Very Happy

!

I'm going to go back and look at the rest of your pictures tomorrow (it's very late here now), and I'll post another note about them afterward.

Cheers,

gordonf

Christmas Roses!

Christmas Roses!

New Dawn climbing Rose.

Christmas roses!

What a scent!

Flickr Pictures