Tina's NEW rose garden

Yesterday evening was our first opportunity to see Tina's brand new garden.  She planted the roses just 4 months ago, but the design and preparation steps done beforehand looked to be considerable.  Rumor has it that a cooperating husband as well as a tractor were employed.  As you can see in the photos below, the results made it all worthwhile.  The roses were looking very good in the early evening light.

LEFT HALF --  September 27, 2018

RIGHT HALF --  September 27, 2018

The lucky attendees are shown below, as well as a stitched-up photo showing the garden from a different angle.  Click on the stitched photo, because it looks better with enlargement.  Many thanks to Tina for hosting us in her impressive garden.

L to R:   Howard, Melanie,
Emily, TINA, Maryann

An expanded view

A busy Summer

This evening we held our third open garden event of the Summer, and hopefully it won't be the last.  Mike C was the host today, and attendees were a mix of old-time rose growers as well as a couple of aspiring newcomers.   Even after a long string of, shall we say, ABOVE average hot days, Mike's roses still looked pretty decent because they're watered daily.  The photos below capture the scene; the second photo was taken by a guest photographer -- Maryann.

Maryann, Laveryne, Melanie,
Gene, Howard

Mike
Out standing in his field

Roses are hardy plants too

Today we were invited to TWO gardens for a cultural exchange with members of the Salem Hardy Plant Society.   What was nice was that both gardens had dedicated beds for some well maintained roses -- way to go, people!  "Beth's garden" and "Mary and Art's garden" were walking distance apart in the same neighborhood.  Beth and Mary are seen in the photos below wearing their maroon gardening aprons of the Hardy Plant Society.  Notice the huge climbing/rambling Cecile Brunner rose behind the ladies taking up the full width of the 1st photo.  There's some  classic boxwood hedges there complementing the roses too.  The 2nd photo  shows the depth of the garden and some rural countryside in the distance.

Beth, Maryann, Laveryne

A pretty rose garden protected
by a "deer fence"

Next we trek over to visit Mary and Art's garden to see more roses and a friendly family pet.  Here we get another look at the vineyards that we also saw from Beth's garden.  To thank our special hosts today, I'm going to provide you with a BIG BONUS LINK to the website of the Salem Hardy Plant Society:  https://salemhardyplantsociety.org/

Laveryne, Mary, Maryann
and a very friendly dog

Laveryne with room to roam.
Art is wearing a white shirt.

Master Gardener meets Rose People

It's been nearly 3 years since we last visited Laveryne and her beautiful garden as part of our open garden tour.  Laveryne is a rare individual who is both a Master Gardener AND a rose person.  Just look at the display of blooms (roses, shrubs, perennials, trees) as we walk up the driveway to begin the tour, and then as we turn the corner on a path leading to the back yard --

We chat in the back yard prior to a closer look at the wonders ahead  (L. to R. --  Fred, Wes, Laveryne, Brad, Joyce, Maryann; and Mike behind the camera) --

Breathtaking views of the backyard, first looking westward and then a "stitched" photo showing the view looking eastward (you may click on any of these photos for enlargement) --

Some tame critters enjoying the garden --