Northland Rosarium Display Gardens

Last Saturday I left the kiddos with my husband and went on an outing to the Northland Rosarium, located just southwest of Spokane. It was fun to take a break from being Mommy and just be another rose-loving gardener.


The rosarium sells own-root, virus-free hybrid teas, floribundas, climbers, ground covers, rugosa, english and old garden roses. There is a lovely display garden surrounding the nursery.


It was the perfect time of year to visit, as most of the plants were in the midst of their first and finest flush of blooms. Can you tell that the climbers really caught my eye?


I was sad to miss meeting the owner, Carol Newcomb, as she was away for the day. But other knowledgeable employees patiently listened to me whine and rant about my thrips and rose curculios (both insects - much worse than aphids - who destroy rose flowers by sucking their juices). Unfortunately they couldn't recommend any easy or organic solutions. Nasty sprays might be in my garden's future. Yuck.


Other than the climbers, my favorite parts of the garden featured roses mixed with perennials. Personally, I think roses planted together without other plants tend to look blobby. But salvia and sedum are the perfect foil for this peachy-pink Chicago Peace rose.


Rozanne geranium (cranesbill) was obviously a favorite plant, as it grew happily all over in sun and shade. Of course the name makes it a perfect fit for a rosarium.


Would a rose garden be complete without a gazebo? This white one added nicely to the ambiance.


The formal lavender circle hummed merrily as bees went about their work.


It was a treat to see some of the old-fashioned roses in person, instead of in a catalog picture. No wonder so many people swoon over Reine des Violettes, pictured above.


Shaded benches were strategically placed around the garden, perfect for affectionate but bored husbands to rest upon while their wives exclaimed over this rose and that. I smiled sympathetically at one such man and was glad I'd left my hubby at home.


Of course fragrant Abraham Darby was there, and the employees informed me that he doesn't have a rust problem here in Spokane. Hmmm. I spent the entire ride home dreaming about where I could place a shrub or three of good ole Abe.


Or maybe I'll go with the low-care OSO Easy Paprika rose, pictured above. It would certainly leave fewer petals to clean up. But if I'm going to battle thrips and curculios, I might as well get some fabulously fragrant flowers in the end. I'll probably be back to pick up a few Abe Darby plants.


My eyes seem to appreciate the single-flowered roses more lately than in the past. Does that mean my taste is becoming more refined than the stereotypical 'bigger is better' American? Probably not, as I still love the full roses, too.


And finally, here is a parting shot of another spectacular pink climber. More information about Northland Rosarium, including their catalog, can be found at www.northlandrosarium.com. Best wishes to Carol and the employees of this charming local nursery.

The Tree at My Window, A Dogwood

Perhaps you’ve notice the words of Robert Frost in the upper right corner of my blog. While I love all my trees, the three dogwoods are my favorite. In the front yard we inherited a vivid reddish-pink flowering dogwood, pictured above. On the east side of my home, I planted a small white-flowering tree, pictured below.


The newest addition counted as my Mother’s Day present this year and shows off its soft pink blooms right outside the windows of my living room (see the photo below). Silly me, I was only thinking of the backyard layout when I placed it there. As soon as I walked inside, I realized that it would be the most-viewed tree in our landscape, thanks to the positioning of the couches in the living room. I am so pleased that it has become The Tree at My Window.


Unlike my reddish-pink and white dogwoods, which are Cornus florida hybrids, the new light pink dogwood is Cornus rutgersensis 'Stellar Pink.' Plant breeders at Rutger's University developed the C. rutgersensis hybrids by crossing C. florida with C. kousa (Korean dogwood). The resulting plants are highly resistant to the diseases which trouble so many C. florida types.


Besides my 'Stellar Pink' (flowers shown above), the Rutger's hybrids include 'Aurora', 'Celestial', 'Constellation' and 'Ruth Ellen'. All of these other hybrids are white, though the form of their crowns and flowers differs. They bloom later than C. florida and earlier than C. kousa.


Dogwood blossoms last a lot longer than the blooms of crabapples or flowering cherry trees. The leaves are lovely in summer even when the flowers disappear, and their reddish-burgundy fall color is gorgeous. In the photo above you can see that the new growth is touched with red.


Though my C. florida trees don't produce any fruit, you can see little ones developing on 'Stellar Pink'. I was told the birds love them, so they don't last long when ripe.


Above is another shot of my littlest white-flowering dogwood. The old-fashioned dogwoods are bothered by a number of serious diseases in humid, rainy climates. Thankfully we don't have many of those problems in Spokane. The limiting factors for dogwoods here are that they require plenty of moisture for their roots and do best with protection from afternoon sun. Otherwise I would have filled my yard with them. As it is, I'll enjoy the three I have from indoors and out. What a perfect window tree!

Peony Season at Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington

Last weekend my husband and I visited Seattle for a couple of days without the kiddos. Sunny weather, temperatures in the 70's and a gentle breeze made wandering around downtown Seattle feel rather like heaven. We stopped at Pike Place Market twice, and I was delighted to see thousands of locally grown peonies and other blooms lined up in long stalls.

These peonies reminded me of a giant, fragrant pillow. I have a few pink and crimson peonies blooming in my yard, but nothing like this display!

The cool violet and crisp white hues of dutch iris created a lovely contrast with the pink shades of the peonies. This picture almost makes me regret that I ripped out all my dutch iris last year when I got sick of the dying foliage that hung around all summer. How much nicer it is to let someone else deal with the foliage issues and just buy the flowers here.

We passed people - mostly women, of course - carrying armfuls of sweet peas and other flowers. I expect that putting one's nose into a bouquet of sweet peas was an effective way to block out the fishy smells from the fresh seafood stalls across the way.

Floral workers made breathtaking bouquets from stems of peonies, delphiniums, dutch iris, calla lilies, sweet peas and many other flowers.

My jaw dropped at the incredible prices - huge bouquets were only $15, and there were plenty of smaller choices for $5 or $10. Similar-sized bouquets at my local grocery store are three times as expensive, not as fresh, and not as pretty.

Seeing the different color combinations was inspirational. As usual, I was most struck by bouquets with vivid, cool hues like magenta, violet, and deep blue. Those were always my favorite crayon colors as a girl.

 

We chose a bouquet for my mother to thank her for watching our kids. Of course it had to include her favorite color, hot pink.

 

I especially enjoyed the dramatic delphiniums, like the deep blue ones above. My white delphs are just starting to bloom, and all the purples won't be far behind.

This blue and white combo is breathtaking. I love cobalt blue in arrangements, but it's hard to come by in flowers. Delphs and iris have some of the best deep blue flowers. I often 'cheat' when blue flowers are scarce and add the color to an arrangement by placing it into a blue vase.

This white bouquet reminded me of the white flowers I carried at my wedding. I did feel a bit like a bride as I carried the gorgeous bouquet for my mom back to our hotel. Our tenth wedding anniversary was the reason behind our trip to Seattle, and enjoying all these beautiful flowers seemed a fitting way to celebrate.