29 Nov '07 5:37 am Last week the Rose festival and 'NZ Rose of the Year'was held in Hamilton.Smiley and I visited the gardens yesterday.(check the 'Hamilton gardens' website.)The gardens have a reputation of being among the best in NZ.As well as all the roses,they have many specialist gardens,such as self-sufficient/organic home garden,and gardens from other countries-Italian,Japanese,etc.
However we spent over an hour wandering among the roses.The summer light was very strong,so it was hard to get a good photo as the colours get bleached out.
From a distance I noticed a very unusually-coloured rose-going over I saw its name was'Midnight Blue'.Of course,like everyone I take note of all the roses I like,but this one is now a 'must' for my garden next year.I have just been reading about it in a NZ rose catalogue,and I see it is classified as a floribunda,is compact,and is almost thornless.
dixie.
walking back to the car along the stream.Rengarenga lilies cover the bank and are in bloom now
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Liza
gardening consultant
Waterloo, Belgium
What a Rose Display!!
30 Nov '07 9:14 pm Thank you, dear Dixie, for sharing all those delightful....Rose garden moments of yours!!! We are SO lucky! LOVED these captures!
Dixie
garden enthusiast
Waikato-New Zealand
Midnight Blue
1 Dec '07 5:00 am Thank you dear Liza,
Yesterday I looked up'midnight blue' on some rose sites and found some more information...
It was developed in the USA and released only recently-2005.It is hardy,floribunda and thornless.I was telling a rose friend about it,and we have decided we must make room for it in our gardens.Now to find it in NZ !!
This is not my picture,so I hope I am not doing anything wrong.
Dixie.
Mark
Home gardener & plant fetishist
Berkeley, California, USA
Hi Dixie,
3 Dec '07 6:10 am what interesting roses you've found! That Midnight Blue is news to me. Such an interesting color. Now what would you grow near it I wonder? True blues should be avoided I think. Its yellowish buds make a nice contrast but make it seem more of a burgandy than blue. Perhaps something between scarlet and orange would make it seem even more blue by way of complimentary colors? It seems when such colors are accomplished other requirements are relaxed. I'd be a little concerned to find out how disease prone it might be. I usually insist on scent from roses now but I can be coerced by good looks.
That little bronze rose is another interestingly colored rose. It reminds me of the last rose I bought for color alone, Hot Cocoa. I've been happy with it. It lives in a mixed border packed pretty tightly with other plants and seems to retain its health while holding its own spacewise.
What a fun trip. It still surprises me sometimes to think of you 'downthere' basking in summer's sun while our nights have gotten so much colder and the sun has become so much less intense. We have a word here for people, usually retirees, who live further north for summer and then head South for winter. They're called snowbirds. I suppose if one were just filthy rich it would be possible to extend that migration to include the Southern hemisphere from October to March and then the Northern hemisphere from April to September. However, they would miss out on fall colors and the lull of winter. Guess it just isn't possible to have it all with out losing something.
Happy summer!
jacqueline
Thankful Gardener
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4 Jan '08 3:36 am Such lovely garden sites and beautiful roses! And splendid captures too! Indeed, Midnight Blue has a captivating shade. Thanks for sharing, Dixie and best wishes for a great and blessed New Year 2008 to you and family.
