The Roses Are Blooming!!

Dear Blog Friends!
The roses bloomed early this year!

In April, we had several garden tours and gatherings to celebrate Spring, the blooming of the roses, and my birthday! So many of you have expressed interest in our farm and gardens and I wanted to share our celebration with you all.

Welcome to my Garden!




This is my Secret Garden looking out towards the farm and new waterfall and Kiwi bed. I created a mandala of sorts including pavers with some of my favorite symbols - hummingbird, butterfly, bee, and leaf.





We built this trellis for Alister Stella Grey last year when she outgrew the porch pillar. I've been so looking forward to her blooming this spring and she has not disappointed me!

Alister Stella Grey is a noisette rose and she will bloom all summer. The fragrance is lovely. This spot is just outside my lab so I can smell her fragrant blossoms whenever I walk outside on the porch!



Sarah Van Fleet (to the left and up close below) is a Rugosa and quite thorny, but beautiful and fragrant. Late winter (February) she was pruned back and has provided lush, healthy growth and good blooming this spring.












Hot Pink Madame Isaac Pereire is a Bourbon rose and smells heavenly! She will bloom off and on all summer.








I call this rose Dorsey in honor of the person's home where I found it. I took a cutting about 10 years ago and rooted the plant in this picture. Since then, I've taken several cuttings to root and pass on to friends.

I believe this rose is more than likely Don Juan. The fragrance and flower are "classic rose". I've featured the bud (far right) on our website header as it is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.




If you ask me which rose is my favorite, I'll answer by saying they are ALL my favorites! But this year I did seem to have a special affinity for Constance Spry seen in these three pictures.


Constance Spry was the first of David Austin's English Roses. As you can see this shrub rose is very graceful with arching branches that reach at least 10 feet wide and six feet high. Instead of pruning her back, I've let her dominate the garden with her lush, yet delicate beauty.


Constance Spry blooms only once in spring, but oh what a blooming! These gorgeous cup shaped, pearly pink, almost translucent blossoms produce the most intoxicating fragrance that David Austin describes as "myrrh".


I simply could not get enough of Constance Spry this spring. Constance Spry, as well as everyone else on this page, have been transformed into our 2011 Rose Hydrosol. As you can see from my basket in front of Constance Spry, I took one last picture of her glorious bloom prior to harvesting her blossoms.



Our big Belinda rose is the show stopper whenever she blooms. Belinda is a Hybrid Musk with one big bloom in Spring. She will bloom a bit off and on throughout the summer, but not the big Spring Show as you see here. The bees love her and there is a constant buzz when she is in bloom.





Well, that ends our 2011 Rose Garden Tour at Stoney Hill Farm! I hope you have enjoyed it!

Back soon with more from The Herbarie - new products and interesting information. Oh, and please be sure to take advantage of our Rose Hydrosol Spring Sale!

Love and Best Wishes for Beautiful Blooming!

Angie