The weather and rose garden ideas.

 We had some hot days last year but don't remember having to run the AC almost 24/7 for three days. It is now day four of temps in the mid 90's with only a ten degree drop overnight. Though it did drop into the 70's last night it was unbearable when we woke up because by 10 am it was already 83 outside and we had our bedroom door closed.

What does that have to do with gardening? I didn't go outside to check on the garden until after sunset but before dark and it was still mid 80's.

 

 

Holes everywhere in the corner. Big ones too, so whatever is making the holes is going gangbusters. I also had to pull the bean in the back corner, it was toast. Literally.

 

Bean in front is still looking okay and yes, those brown leaves in the left picture are the bean I pulled. I watered with the nozzle to soak everything really well and will go out tonight, hopefully before dark, and check on things. 

A whole month before things are going to be cooling down in the least little bit consistently and then another month, maybe more before we've got the money and energy to try and use that raised bed. But when I do, I have so many plans. I have seeds left over from the spring, hopefully they're still good.

 

The flowers are dropping off both the pepper and the beans, they're stressed from the heat no doubt and I haven't given them any extra food. That mulch though, am so glad I got that because it is a water saver for sure. I keep yelling it from the rafters but seeing it first hand is validation and still awesome. 

Still don't know if I'm going to be planting in the north bed this winter. Gophers still have access to it and I might have some screen left over from the raised bed but not sure it will be enough. Quick math: 20 feet left over, raised bed is 40" x 2 is 80", (72+8 = 6'8") which leaves little over 13'. That should be enough to do something for the other bed. In the middle of winter.

 Oh remember that house with the awesome and huge rose bushes? They never deadheaded them or even cut any that I know of so we drove by and all the flowers are just brown ugly heads all over these huge bushes. So many bouquets or just random flowers given out from those bushes but they were just, left there. The bushes have been pruned meticulously to create those flowers and were deserving of a flower show. I couldn't see if they cut any from the house side of course but the side facing the street were gorgeous for weeks. 

I have plans you see, for a beautiful rose garden with no more than a handful of bushes. If a little old lady in her 80's can manage a garden so can I. As soon as I get one. It takes years for a bush to get decent sized and not fail or get lopsided or diseased. But I would have mostly cutting roses so I can give them away, as many scented ones as possible of course and colors across the rainbow. 

One idea is a curved garden (or square) with a color progression of varieties. That's difficult for roses since there's no true green or blue but substitutes will do. All the other colors, white, red, orange, yellow (no true green), blues would have to be lavender and then purples. Then you have the odd color ones the mixed colors which are fun for going red/orange/yellow and for green the closest would be a St. Patrick which is more greenish in bud then opens to yellow so that's a good bridge color. 

Pick blazing white and a more creamy white then go to Double Delight for white/cream red and then into your pink/ reds then reds, then blended red/orange, then maybe for fun go for a red/yellow stripe and yellow/orange and the one greenish, then changing over to lavenders which are difficult. There are a few roses that were for florist only crops that might fit in because you'll never get a true blue, there's Blue Girl but it's still a lavender and Sterling Silver but that's considered a white but if you leave it on the bush too long it turns an ugly grey. I know, I saw one. But then there's the purples of Intrigue and a few others. 

So it's doable, possibly expensive and need the space but it can work. My other idea was a full on rose garden with an archway covered in climbing roses, 'Stairway to Heaven' then on the other side, all the roses that are named after dead celebrities. In no particular order there is Henry Fonda, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana (since renamed), Princess De Monaco (named for Grace Kelly), Cary Grant, Julia Child and many others (I keep wanting to put Barbara Streisand in there but as of this writing she's still alive as far as  I know).

Don't get me started on finding roses named for all 50 states in the US. Now wouldn't that be a hoot! Plot out enough room so you can have three or four bushes for each state and big enough that the paths are the state lines (roughly). Gets rather dicey in the northeast of course with such tiny states but expand the area a bit to accomodate. There is a rose named for San Diego but is not on the market and as of about ten years ago it was only grown in Germany. Go figure.

Anyway, rambled enough on that rose topic.... aha.... haha.... yeah.