Heirloom & Antique Roses

Dear friends,

I'm happy to say that the roses are doing well here this year after the large amounts of rain we've had. When we moved into our little 1930s cottage, there were 81 rose bushes--some almost dead, some doing well. Over the last four years, I've managed to save most of them. Thing is, except for a few where I found the original metal tag, I have no idea what they are.

I CAN tell which ones are the hybrids planted years ago by former residents and which ones are the antiques or heirloom roses--the antiques don't have black spots on the leaves. Of course, these are my favorites.

One of the  roses I did identify (from the original metal disk) is the Eutin (pronounced "oy-teen"),  a beautiful rose that has also been sold under the name “Hoosier Glory” and, turns out, is also an antique rose from 1940. It was also sold as Russtler's Skyrocket, according to the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas.

A bouquet of Eutin roses gathered during house renovation and plopped into the nearest "vase'

I'm in the process of moving, pruning and taking inventory of the roses here--so many of them still haven't been identified. Here are some photos from my previous rose garden, all of which were blooming in April in years past.

Antique rose growing in Leander, Texas

Pink antique rose

Pink antique blooming rose

Pink antique rosebud

My favorite pink heirloom rose

I'm going to look at the new Knock Out roses and other easy-care bushes and ponder them for a future border hedge between our house and the neighbors. That should be fun!

So get out and plant something this weekend!

bobbi c.

A new rose

Dear friends,

I've mostly been over on my Two Sisters Cottage blog lately since remodeling is taking a lot of our time. But in between marathon painting episodes, I'm tending the garden here at the new/old house (built in 1930). One thing I discovered after owning the home for about a month was that there are at least 82 rose bushes here. Over the horrible droughty summer, one or two of them died and I yanked them out, but I decided to leave the rest to see what happens. I gave them a really good whacking back and drenched the soil with liquid seaweed. Turns out, they weren't dead; they were just dormant. Now that the weather is cooler here, and they've been watered a bit, they are coming back and it's a continual surprise to me to see their colors. The newest one is pink. I'm 99% sure it's an heirloom/antique rose.

Several other bushes are loaded with buds, and those will also be a nice surprise to me when they bloom, too.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Antique roses for the soul....

Earthly Gardener by Bobbi A. Chukran

Dear earthly gardeners,

I love antique roses! If you thought you couldn’t grow roses, try some antiques. Also know as heirloom roses, they are low-maintenance, gorgeous plants that actually smell like roses are supposed to smell! I have nine antique rose bushes growing in my small garden, and each one is different. Unlike hybrid roses, heirlooms require no pesticides, strong fertilizers, or a rigid training/pruning schedule. I cut mine back when they get too large and that’s about it. I bought all of our roses at the wonderful Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX, but they also do mail-order. Here’s a photo of some of them, just opened.



Yesterday I noticed that another of my favs, Mutabilis, has started blooming profusely all of a sudden. The roses on this large bush look like little butterflies, and each one changes color as they open! You can see a great photo of a Mutabilis rose HERE. Mine is actually taller than the six-feet mentioned on there, and covers part of the front fence. Here's a photo!

Check out the information on the Antique Rose Emporium website…..lots of great color photos, inspiration, and you can order from there, too. And if you’re in the area, visit their gorgeous display gardens and take a picnic and a camera! You’ll find acres of blooming roses, antique buildings and other native and heirloom plants for your “inspirational” garden. And please, tell ‘em I sent ya!

dig it!

bobbi c.

Copyright ©2005-2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved to text and photos.

Freezing on Easter

Posted April 9, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran.

Mornin’ earthly gardeners,

I have to tell ya, I’m not in the mood for talking about fresh tomatoes right now….it’s been freezing here! We had a freakish late freeze on Saturday night, and at the last minute we were scurrying around covering plants, hauling the EarthBox into the garage, turning off the water in the garden hoses, checking the pump house, etc. etc. It was supposed to get up to the 50’s yesterday, but it didn’t. We got some sleet Saturday morning, and friends just north of us got up to three inches of snow. People who don’t believe that our climate is changing need to get a clue…..80-degrees in December and freezing on Easter eve….NOT normal. I’m worried about the hummingbirds since I haven’t seen any out today.

To cheer us up a bit, I dug around in the files and found a photo of one of my antique roses blooming in April of last year. Several people have expressed an interest in growing heirlooms, but wanted roses that they could cut. This particular one grows on a long sturdy stem, and makes a wonderful cut flower.



My other bushes are blooming now, too, and have been for about a month. I hope this one short freeze doesn’t do them in!

Keep warm, and dig it!

bobbi c.
Copyright©2007 bobbi a. chukran. all rights to photos and text reserved.

Bloomin' roses!

april 17, 2007 by bobbi a. chukran

Mornin’ earthly gardeners!

All of a sudden, every rosebush in my garden is blooming! I still have to get some overall view photos, but I don’t think we’ve ever had this many blooming at one time. The bees are still here working on the blooming yaupon holly tree, and I’ve also seen some hummingbird moths flitting about.

I thought I’d share this one photo with you this morning before I have to go visit the dentist. Blech.




More photos later this week!

dig it!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved to photos and text.