Eye Candy Friday - Early Style

This year the David Austen roses bloomed rather later than the other roses in the garden. We have six, and here are pictures of four of them. You've seen the lovely white Glamis Castle, and Pat Austen has the most glorious copper shades, but isn't a sturdy or heavy-blooming plant and has finished blooming for this round.

The showpiece of our Austens is Gertrude Jekyll, a deep pink and with a heavenly fragrance. Here in SoCal she grows 8-10 foot long canes, and we try to rein her in by pegging some of them into bows. This tends to make lots and lots of flowers covering the arches, and right now she is trying to take over the entire rose bed. The first picture is a happy accident, but I think it's about as pretty a rose picture as can be done with one snap.





My personal favorite is Abraham Darby, a pink/yellow/peach and the fragrance has a hint of citrus. Abraham isn't as aggressive as Gertrude, but the canes are more horizontal, so we still get a lovely show.





Here is Evelyn, a very pale peachy-white. Evelyn is part of the rose blend that makes up the signature fragrance of Crabtree & Evelyn. After a very slow start and one transplant, Evelyn is showing her happiness and a healthy growth.




This pale pink is Heritage, and you can just see it at the bottom right corner of the large picture, with Gertrude overshadowing the plant. We may have to move Heritage, since pruning Gertrude just seems to encourage her to grow more!


Other parts of the garden are looking pretty, too, and the epiphyllums are in the middle of their bloom. The smaller plants that we've had a while have come and gone, but these two new plants are the show right now; the blooms are HUGE. Right behind the yellow one is the one-gallon pot that it's growing in. And yes, the hot pink one is rather fluorescent!



This picture is for some particular friends, who sent us the plant last year. It is the Rio Blanco grapefruit, with a pleasant flavor and a thick skin, according to the ones we've found at the farmers' market. Much to our delight, the tree survived the frost (unlike our avocado), and here you can see fruit. Right now they are the size of large blueberries, and it will be months and months before the fruit is ripe.

Remember, click on the pictures for a larger view!