In the beginning

NOTE:  You may click on any of the photos in this blog to enlarge them.  To return to the blog, click on the x-box in the upper right-hand corner of the photo.

When I moved to Salem in 2007, one of the first things I did was plant four 'Queen Elizabeth' roses in the back yard.  At that time, a big (and dangerous) Douglas Fir tree was occupying the area which was to become my large bed of rose seedling bushes.  So, I was forced to plant the 'QE' roses in the lawn area.  From their humble beginnings as $4 bare-root bagged roses,  these plants became the 7 and 8 foot giants pictured below.  The cluster of blooms in the second photo is typical of what a 'QE' rose bush produces if you treat it kindly.

Photo taken:  August 1,  2020

Photo taken:  July 11,  2020

Standing TALL

There's two rose bushes in my backyard that rise above the rest, each standing a stately 8 feet tall.  They were both grown from seed from the same parent rose and were "born" just 8 days apart back in 2009, which now makes them 11 years old.  The parent was one of my 'Queen Elizabeth' roses which I just let open pollinate to obtain hips and seeds.  It's highly probable that the 'QE' rose just self-pollinated, as the two seedling roses bear likenesses to their parent (and grandparents).  Surprisingly, when I looked back at the "baby photos" that I saved for the seedlings, I re-discovered that they had their very first blooms on the same day -- June 1, 2009.

The featured TALL roses are in the rear.  The other roses seen in the photo are also seedlings,  and are also "children" of 'Queen Elizabeth' --

Photo taken:  May 25,  2020

And here's what the first blooms looked like when the plants were less than 3 months old.  I positioned the two photos so that the roses would be directly underneath their "future selves" --

Seedling born on:  March 11, 2009
First bloom:  June 1, 2009

Seedling born on:  March 19, 2009
First bloom:  June 1, 2009

Evening magic

It's as if a flock of pink butterflies descended on one of my seedling rose bushes yesterday evening.  You might doubt that the parent of this rose bush seedling is the great 'Queen Elizabeth' grandiflora rose.  Where's all the missing petals?   For the answer, you're going to have to do some work --  please refer back to my post of May 31, 2012 (eight years have sure gone by fast) which I titled "Singles are nice, too".  But for now, enjoy the photos;  the blooms have a diameter of 4 inches.

Photo taken:  May 10,  2020

Photo taken:  May 10,  2020

A long wait

It's been a long 5 months since my last post, but the first open bloom of this year has me ready to go.  Just like last year, one of my "German" seedlings is the first to bloom.  The rose bush is one of several that I've grown from seed "imported" from Germany.  More precisely, the seed for this rose was from Cologne, and of course its blooms have the sweet fragrance of rose-scented cologne, and a beautiful color to match.  The rose bush is now over 11 years old -- born in September of 2008, but it first bloomed in July of 2009, and I've been enjoying it since.

The very first bloom --
July 4,  2009

Today's bloom --
May 4,  2020