Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Last Roses of ... Summer?

While I'm working on shutting down the garden, Mother Nature is not agreeing that summer is long gone and the first frost is on its way.

It was a nice surprise to see this bunch of roses on a sunny but cold and windy day.

FYI, the Plainfield Garden Club is planning a "Closing of the Garden" at 10 a.m. on Nov. 5. The club takes care of the city's renowned Shakespeare Garden in Cedar Brook Park, with help for heavy chores from the Union County Parks Department. Wonder what last-minute blooms they may find.

As gardeners know, the time comes when there is nothing to do but clean up the tools and wait for those flower and vegetable catalogs in the New Year. (Seed savers like yours truly have been busy getting a jump on spring.)

And then the growing cycle starts all over again.

--Bernice

2 comments:

  1. Bernice,

    I am confused, aren't roses, some of them, to bloom around this time of the year? I remember my first Fall here in NJ twenty some years ago and the surprise that it was to see roses bloom, so, do roses bloom twice a year or do they just have different blooming times? Thanks!

    Maria Pellum

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  2. @Maria, Roses usually bloom in June but seem to catch a second wind in the fall.
    http://heirloomgardener.blogspot.com/2008/10/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-autumn.html

    A lot of plants that go dormant in the heat of mid-summer revive after it cools down and rain soaks the soil.

    If you want to see roses at their peak, visit the Rose Garden in Colonial Park next June:
    http://www.somersetcountyparks.org/parksfacilities/colonial/RoseGarden.html

    Happy gardening and don't forget to smell the roses, whenever they bloom!

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