First bloom of 'South Africa' |
In 1785 Robbie
Burns wrote
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
It all started during Christmas week when we had several days of below zero temperatures. I’d covered the roses in pots in my “Driveway Garden”. The roses in my cottage garden all had a nice blanket of leaf mulch around the canes. Everything seemed to make it through the cold pretty well.
By early April I noticed several of the driveway roses had turned brown. The Christmas cold and several late freezes had taken them out. Then I brushed against one of the roses in the main garden and it toppled over. The roots were completely gone.
The same thing happened with two rose trees and six other bushes in the cottage garden.
Bloody Voles.
It
was sad and infuriating. I have tried to put two of the roses (‘Emily Bronte’ and
‘Double Red Knockout’) into intensive care in pots. We’ll see if they make it.
But in the meantime, I had a lot of roses to replace.Vole photo courtesy Britannica
So,
I placed orders with Roses Unlimited and Plant Addicts. Three weeks ago, ‘Music
Box’, ‘True Gratitude’, ‘Bonica’, ‘Outta the Blue’, South Africa’, ‘Flamenco
Rosita’, Caramella Fairy Tale’ and ‘Snowbelt’
arrived. I already had ‘True Sincerity’,
‘Iceberg’ and ‘Peach Drift’, and ‘Baby Ballerina’ standing by from the driveway
pots (all looking very healthy, I might add.)'Emily Bronte' is on life support
Before
I gave the voles more goodies to chomp, I did a little research. I read that
putting a layer of chicken wire at the bottom of the hole should keep the
varmints out. Another suggestion was a layer of pea gravel. I decided to do both
and yesterday had a gentleman come out and help me plant nine roses with the
wire and gravel protection. Everything looks terrific as of this writing.Hope my 'Flamenco Rosita' is as pretty as the one at the Biltmore
I feel very confident I have done everything I humanly can to keep my new roses
safe and healthy.'Music Box' at the Biltmore
Fingers crossed, my efforts will make vole plans go awry this time.
The polyantha 'Snowbelt' and 'Cat's Pajamas' nepeta
8 comments :
Wonderful post. So glad for another opportunity to begin another season of growth and blooms!
Yes Chris, as sad as it all was, I am super excited about starting again with new roses.
Oh yes, here's hoping the voles and critters will leave the roses alone, and that next winter won't be so cold for you. That's normal for us, but quite cold for you, right? Your roses and photos of roses are always so beautiful!
Hello Lynn, I get so mad when plants succumb to pests like this. We don't have voles, but have vine weevil and chafer grubs that happily chew right through plant roots just under soil level to the point where you can just lift the top growth out - it just comes away. I hope your chicken wire and gravel will keep them out for good. I'd be putting in double layers!
Fingers and toes crossed!! Just loved this newest entry!!
Thank you Plant Postings. I sure appreciate your comment about my photos and roses. I'll keep 'em coming!
Thank you, Sunil. It has been heartbreaking and maddening. But gardeners must be optimists! Fingers and toes crossed for your Open Garden Day. Can't wait to read how it went.
Thank you Anonymous! I'm so delighted you liked the posting. Take care!
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