roses and research

[marycatelli]

Went to Elizabeth Park today to look at the roses.  Which are, indeed, quite impressive.  And inspired philosophical musings.

This was particularly inspired by our most frequent comments -- namely, this or that rose faded badly or well.  There were roses that, on first blooming, were pretty single blooms with apple blossom colors and turned a dirty white.  Quickly.  And there were far more of the past-their-peak blooms that new ones.  Orange-yellow blooms that collapsed into messy heaps of disarrayed petals.  Roses that acquired brown spots whatever their color as soon as past their prime.  The really sad ones were those that faded to a color that clashed with their new blown color.

Then, there were violet roses that turned paler and paler shades of violet.   A white double-rose (where you had to look closely to see the other petals beneath the first set) where the white got a little less bright.  And one mixed rose of bright red and orange that faded to a pink and white swirl instead.

Which inspired the musing since you seldom see roses past their peak in a books.

'cause while our first instinct is to head to the library for research -- especially seeing as we writers are overwhelmingly bibliophiles -- and often you have to, because there is no other source of information., there's nothing like real stuff for real details.  Even interviews don't do the trick because you don't know what to ask and they don't know what to tell you.  I have read numerous fantasies by people who had clearly never gone hiking in the forest, or seen what happens in the field while the seasons change, or for that matter, watched the moon closely.

Comments

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Rose societies advise people write notes on what they like both at shows (where you see them at their best and maybe get a hint of their proper scent) and in public rose gardens where you can see how they pass out of bloom. Some just look terrible, like dirty tissues.
Also, some rose varieties look totally different in different climates. Pix of things that look great in catalogs often get washed out in my climate. One rose that I love in my climate, a lovely buttercream frosting color here, turns a surprising shocking pink on the edges when the buds develop slowly in in a cooler climate. This year's cool spring allowed it to show me that yes, it does indeed retain that ability here too. You'd never know it was the same plant unless you saw this happen, or read notes from other gardeners reviewing it.
Which goes back to the experience-in-person thing.

[marycatelli]

Dirty tissues with brown spots, sometimes

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

The brown spots are generally infections with bortrytis fungus, which is a problem in damp climates. In hot climates, you get fried tips and petal edges instead, which doesn't look much better.

[marycatelli]

looked just like wilt to me. . . then I tend to see all sorts of flowers in damp climates. . . .

[kriz1818.livejournal.com]

Wait, *my* Elizabeth Park? The one I used to bike over to and wander gloomily around in when I was a teenager? Straddles the town/city line, and now has the hideously upscaled "Pond House" restaurant? Is less than a half-hour's drive from my current residence?

Woah. And yeah, those roses are awesome.

[marycatelli]

In Connecticut. Sure.

[kriz1818.livejournal.com]

... It's just that I had no idea you were located anywhere nearby. People on the Internet *could be* anywhere - which is usually somewhere else.

:Waves across the river:

[marycatelli]

waves back

Can be cool.

Then, so can the other way. I once was in another venue and after some time I had posted an extract for Isaiah, and someone else commented on how odd it felt to read it in English. . . .

Our pink multiflora

[notr.livejournal.com]

continues to baffle me as to whether it's worth keeping. The first year we were here, it was all just dull and dingy-looking, so I chopped it way back but didn't decide whether to rip it out. Last year it was faded, but not icky, but all the other pink roses in town were faded too, so I left it. Now, we've got one branch of bright pink blooms that opened up this week, one of pale but nice ones, and one of yucky, dingy ones.

The candy-striped rose I transplanted from the shady, sandy side of the house got dug up three times before I smartened up and surrounded it with rocks, but it seems to have taken root and has several sets of leaves growing now, so maybe next year it'll finally bloom again.

Re: Our pink multiflora

[marycatelli]

Sounds like some of the branches are sports.

Re: Our pink multiflora

[notr.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing more likely variations in water and sun. The yucky ones face south. The bright ones are from a new stem that branches off fairly low. Hmmm, if that winds up holding true for other nice blooms, maybe the answer is just to cut it down to that height every year once it's done. That would also make it a lot easier to chop out the barberry that's tangled up in its roots.

Re: Our pink multiflora

[marycatelli]

Sounds like an issue worthy of testing!