07/7/07

Yoyo, a Rose Sport

Yoyo is a sport, or mutation, of the well-known and loved Gizmo. Both are miniature roses, singles (4-8 petals). Gizmo is orange, while Yoyo ranges from a deep velvet red with a white eye in cooler weather, to a deep velvet red with a brilliant white eye but orange stripes in warmer weather. The stripes are individual for each rose, and give each bloom a “hand painted” effect.

Yoyo

Yoyo

Yoyo

Yoyo

05/26/07

Albuquerque Arrangement Results

DIVISION II – ARRANGEMENTS
A RIOT OF ROSES

SWEEPSTAKES
For the largest number of purple ribbons in Division II ARS Sweepstakes Certificate

Debbie Butcher

————————————————————–

SECTION A – ROYALTY
  QUEEN ELIZABETH – a traditional mass design.

Laurie Price

Roses: Black Magic, Veterans Honor

ARS Royalty Award Rosette

Royalty Award, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
———————————————————-

SECTION B – ARTIST
CHIHULY – any type of Modern design other than Underwater or Parallel

Nancy Core

Roses: Fourth of July

ARS Artist Award Rosette

Artist Award, Albuquerque, May 26, 2006
————————————————————

SECTION C – ORIENTAL MANNER
Standard arrangements in the Oriental manner

ORIENT SPICE – utilizing a tall container

Lois Brandt

Roses: Trumpeter

ARS Oriental Award Rosette, ARS Gold Medal Certificate

Oriental Award, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————-

SECTION D – PRINCESS
Standard arrangement with fresh roses with fresh rose foliage only. Hips, canes (with or without foliage) and roots may be used. 

PRINCESS OF INDIA

Lois Brandt

Roses: Flower Girl, Marriotta

ARS Princess Award Rosette

Princess Award, Albuquerque, MAy 26, 2007
—————————————————————-

SECTION E – DUCHESS
Standard arrangement with fresh roses with dried and/or treated dried plant material only. No fresh plant material other than roses. 

MORNING LIGHT

Debbie Butcher

Roses: Love and Peace

ARS Duchess Award Rosette

Duchess Award, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
—————————————————————–

SECTION F – DUKE *NEW*
A small arrangement limited to no less than 10 inches and no greater than 20 inches in height, width, and depth. Any type of rose(s) may be used in the arrangement. 

THE SQUIRE – using all fresh plant material; no accessories.

Nancy Core

Roses: Kings Mountain

ARS Duke Rosette, ARS Silver Certificate

Duke Award, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
———————————————————–

FAIRHOPE – fresh roses with dried and/or treated dried plant material only. No fresh plant material other than roses.

Lois Brandt

Roses: Yoyo

ARS Bronze Certificate

ARS Bronze Certificate, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
———————————————————-

SECTION G – COURT OF ETIQUETTE

COGNAC – Functional beverage tray for two. 

Debbie Butcher

Roses: Daydream, Sweet Chariot

ARS Court of Etiquette Certificate

Court of Etiquette Certificate, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————

SECTION H – KEEPSAKE
Not awarded

SECTION I – ROSECRAFT
Not awarded

SECTION J – MINI-ROYALTY
GOLDEN JEWEL – Line or line-mass design not to exceed 10 inches in height, width, or depth

Royce Weil

Roses: Best Friends, Palmetto Sunrise

ARS Mini-Royalty Award Rosette

Mini-Royalty, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————

SECTION K – MINI-ARTIST
Miniature modern arrangements, using miniature or mini-flora roses only.

 ALBUQUERQUE ENCHANTMENT – Not to exceed 5 inches in height, width, or depth

Susan Graham

Roses: Best Friends

ARS Mini-Bronze Certificate

ARS Mini-Bronze Certificate, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007

——————————————————————-

YOYO – Not to exceed 10 inches in height, width, or depth

Tim Price

Roses: Pride and Joy, Earthquake

ARS Mini-Artist Award Rosette

Mini-Artist, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————-

SECTION L – MINI-ORIENTAL MANNER
Miniature arrangements in the Oriental manner, using miniature or mini-flora roses only.

CHINESE PUZZLE – Freestyle, and not to exceed 10 inches in height, width, or depth

Lois Brandt

Roses: Ruby Baby

ARS Mini-Oriental Award Rosette, ARS Mini-Gold Certificate

Mini-Oriental, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
———————————————————-

SECTION M – MINI-PRINCESS *NEW*
Miniature arrangement with fresh miniature and/or mini-flora roses with fresh rose foliage only. Hips, canes (with or without foliage) and roots may be used. 

CHARISMATIC

Debbie Butcher

Roses: Golden Sunblaze

ARS Miniature Princess Rosette

Mini-Princess, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————

SECTION N – MINI-DUCHESS *NEW*
Miniature arrangement with fresh miniature and/or mini-floraroses with dried and/or treated dried plant material only. 

CITY LIGHTS

Susan Graham

Roses: Yoyo

ARS Miniature Duchess Rosette, ARS Mini-Silver Certificate

Mini-Duchess, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————–

SECTION O – MINI-KEEPSAKE
Not awarded

SECTION P – MINI-COURT OF ETIQUETTE

 CREPE SUZETTE – a miniature exhibition breakfast exhibit, with a rose arrangement (“decorative unit”), the whole not to exceed 16 inches in width or depth, with no height restrictions other than height should be proportional to the remainder of the exhibit.

Debbie Butcher

Roses: Cupcake

ARS Mini-Court of Etiquette Certificate

Mini-Court of Etiquette, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————-

SECTION Q – JUNIOR ARRANGEMENT AWARD
Not awarded

SECTION R – NOVICE AWARD
For those who have won no more than three purple (blue) ribbons in arrangements in ARS-sponsored rose shows. 

BEDAZZLED – Miniature design, not exceeding 10 inches in height, width, or depth

Royce Weil

Roses: Fresh Pink

Award: Permanent trophy

Novice Award, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
—————————————————–

SECTION S -PERSONAL ADORNMENTS *NEW*
Rose exhibits that contain fresh roses and are worn, carried, or used by a person: contrived for personal adornment

Not awarded

SECTION T – JUDGES
TRULY FAIR

MaryLou Coffman

Roses: Peace

ARS Visiting Judge’s Certificate

Judges, Albuquerque, May 26, 2007
————————————————————

Congratulations to everyone for bringing such beautiful arrangements!

05/4/07

One Albuquerque Garden: A Private Oasis

Private Garden, Albuquerque

Thanks to the owner of this garden for allowing me to photograph it and use the photos here. All photographs were taken May 4, 2007. Click on the thumbnails for a larger view.

This is a very small city garden, but is artfully arranged to utilize a variety of plants. Roses are the featured plant throughout the garden, but are just beginning to bloom in early May. At the time of our visit, the brightest spots in the garden came from clematis. The clematis was truly spectacular.

Clematis ‘The President’
‘The President’

Clematis ‘The President’ with rose ‘Gold Medal’
‘The President’ with rose ‘Gold Medal’

Clematis ‘Ernest Markham’
‘Ernest Markham’

Clematis ‘Ernest Markham’
‘Ernest Markham”

As soon as walked into the garden, I was hit by the sweet scent of an Oriental lily. The flower was as lovely as the scent:
Oriental lily, FABULOUS scent!
Oriental Lily

Here is a sampling of roses in this garden. There will be many more in bloom later this month. Continue reading

05/4/07

Large-Flowered Climber: Royal Sunset

Royal Sunset is an oldie but goodie for the desert Southwest. It has dark green, leathery, disease-resistant leaves, large flowers that can have great form (especially for a climber!), a nice scent, and color to knock your socks off. To top it all off, it has long, shapely buds.

Royal Sunset bud; large-flowered climber

Royal Sunset, large-flowered climber

It takes about three years for this climber to get fully established. It is well worth the wait. This is a great choice for the Desert Southwest if you are looking for a large-flowered climber.

05/4/07

2007’s First Hybrid Tea

The first hybrid tea bloom of the year is always exciting in the high desert. One never knows exactly when to expect it, nor what it will look like. What have the late cold spells and especially the prolonged high winds done to the buds? Have thrips already damaged the bloom (for those of us who don’t like to spray, or spray very little)?

My first hybrid tea bloom this year was Gemini, one of my very favorite hybrid teas that thrives in the Desert Southwest. Someone once asked me how I could love a rose that did not have much of a scent. Take a look:

GeminiGemini

(Gemini, Keith Zary hybridizer, AARS 2000)

What is not to love? This rose blooms prolifically from first bloom to frost, has essentially disease-free foliage, and perfectly formed blooms.

According to Bob Martin, well-known rosarian, it was the top exhibition hybrid tea in 2005 (the 2006 data has not yet been provided). Also check here.

The fact that it is a top exhibition hybrid tea should not frighten away desert gardeners who just want a nice rose for the garden. This is a rose that thrives in the Southwest, is relatively disease-free, has many beautiful blooms that hold their size even in the heat, and can provide a lot of pleasure with routine care.

It is a hybrid tea that I can recommend for anyone in the Southwest who wants to grow a great rose!

04/15/07

Mother-Daughter Clerking Team at the Tucson Rose Show

Yesterday I had the privilege to judge at the Tucson Rose Show. Judging roses is always fun, but the Tucson show was especially enjoyable this year.

One of the things that made it so enjoyable was meeting new clerks, Cathy and Lena Rose, a mother-daughter team. Lena is eight years old, and not only clerked, but also did the art work for the cover of the printed schedule! As if that were not enough, she also entered an arrangement, and won the Novice Arranger Award! Way to go, Lena!

Mom didn’t do too badly either. Cathy won the Mini Royalty and Mini Silver Certificate in arrangements.

It was really wonderful to see this mother-daughter team involved in such a wonderful hobby together!

Lena and Cathy Rose
Lena and Cathy Rose, clerking team at the Tucson Rose Show

Novice Award, Tucson Rose Show, April 14, 2006
Lena’s winning arrangement in the Novice category

MiniRoyalty Award and MiniSilver Certificate, Tucson Rose Show, April 14, 2007
Mom Cathy’s Mini Royalty and Mini Silver winning arrangement

(More arrangements from the Tucson Rose Show here.)

04/14/07

Death and Rebirth in the Desert

The desert and the native plants growing there never cease to amaze me.

Prickly pear cactus is a native plant used in a lot of landscaping in Tucson and the Sonoran Desert in general.

Yesterday I saw this large piece of prickly pear that had been broken off its main stem and roots by a late freeze followed by high winds (click to enlarge the picture):

Broken Prickly Pear

“Oh, well, that’s the way it goes,” I thought. But closer inspection showed something rather amazing: the dying plant was giving birth to new prickly pear cacti:

New plants arising from dying prickly pear

This is just another example of why hope springs eternal among gardeners (and plant lovers) in the Southwest Desert.

04/14/07

Another Challenge: Late Hard Freezes

This weekend I am in Tucson, located in the Sonoran Desert of the southwest, rather than the high Chihuahuan Desert in which Albuquerque is located. Many years ago I lived here for seven years, and although many things about the city have changed, the plants have remained pretty much the same. Palm trees, which do not grow in the Albuquerque area, are pretty much a staple of cities in the Sonoran Desert.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived yesterday was that the palm trees looked very strange: the centers were green, but the outer fronds were brown and looked dead. I did not recall ever seeing all of them look like that before (click to enlarge image).

Palm trees, Tucson 4/13/07

“What happened to the palm trees?” I asked.

“All the palms had been trimmed up this spring, but after that there was a late freeze that lasted several days.”

In all the years I lived in Tucson that had never happened. Fortunately, the palms seem to be recovering well.

I have certainly seen that happen to roses in Albuquerque, and I hope I have no pictures of that to show you later this season.

(There are some photos of roses with this type of damage, however, and an excellent discussion here.)

04/12/07

Wind: Another Challenge in the Desert Southwest

New Mexico is the only place I have ever lived where Spring is not my favorite season.  And that is because of the high winds that are a staple of Spring in the high desert.

Gardeners here learn very quickly to keep their plants well-hydrated, at this time of the year as much for the winds as for the temperatures.  Nothing can dry a plant out as quickly as the wind!

For the last several days we have had very windy weather.  On April 10, we had gusts up to 40 mph, but steady winds around 25 mph.  Not good for plants, especially tender young shoots on roses.  A lot of new leaves on my roses are looking a little ragged now, but the worst damage was to a new cane, which was snapped completely off:

(Click on thumbnails for larger view)

Cane snapped by high wind 4/10/07

The rose looked pretty bedraggled with the shoot just hanging there:

Wind damage 4/10/07

Fortunately, this is not the kind of damage that kills a rose. It can be frustrating to see promising shoots damaged so that they have to be removed, but the rest of the plant is fine.

Wind – just another challenge in the desert Southwest.

[ETA 4/14/07: Apparently wind was widespread across the entire Southwest, including California, at about this same time. For photos and discussion of damage in the high desert of California, there is an excellent link here.]

04/10/07

My First Hummingbird of the Year!

Less than 48 hours after posting “Attention, Hummingbird Lovers” and getting my hummingbird feeders up (three weeks late!), I saw my first hummingbird of the year feeding at one of the feeders.  This is the earliest I have seen a hummer in my garden any year.  It was a Black Chin male, and I hope he likes the looks of the place for a home for the season!