In honor of two of our great president's I'm posting about a couple of plants from my garden, Mr. Lincoln rose and Martha Washington geranium.
Above is a photo of my Mr. Lincoln rose, which isn't the greatest photo, but was the only one I could find in my photo archives right now. Of course, Mr. Lincoln isn't blooming right now, but this summer my Mr. Lincoln will be almost 6 feet tall and covered with very, long stem, fragrant, red roses. The foliage is dark green and glossy and is very resistant to any kind of disease. This rose is probably one of the best known roses grown today.
I wonder if my Martha Washington geranium knows we're celebrating presidents day? This geranium is trying to bloom right now and normally this plant needs hot weather to bloom. In the summer this plant is covered with blossoms and is much hardier than I suspected. It survived the heavy frost of two winters ago when it reached 15 F three nights in a row. After such a heavy frost, I didn't think this plant would recover, but in June it started pushing up new leaves from the soil. I use a heavy duty, ground cover cloth and shredded bark for mulch and I think that helped. If your plants freeze, don't be too hasty to take them out of the ground, the roots may still be alive.
Plants are so resilient, they remind me that with hope, time, and the proper care people and countries can do the same. Happy President's Day.
Beautiful plants! Just repotted some of my own houseplants. If they're doing well, chances are I am too. I like your last two sentences the best. How true.
ReplyDeleteRed roses are my favorite although the only rose I have now is a Sally Holmes. Our foggy summers don't agree with many roses. My geraniums are really forgiving of whatever care I don't give them. Great connection of President's Day, your plants, resiliency and hope.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy, I don't have any houseplants; I really should they are supposed to be good for the inside air especially the peace plant (I always forget what the botanical name is), but my cats would destroy any houseplant if I had it.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, I saw Sally Holmes climbing on a trellis at a nursery in Fresno and it was beautiful. I have Devoniensis and Madame Alfred Carriere on my shed and they are now taking it over. When I lived in San Pablo years ago I had Apricot Nectar and I just loved it, it seemed to do well there.
Here's hoping the frost in the economy goes away soon.
I'm not a huge rose fan - though I do have a fondness for the old fashioned ones. I actually bought a booklet last year from the American Rose Society after hearing a talk at my garden club about roses and developing a new respect for the flowers....
ReplyDeleteHi Cynthia, I became a fan of roses when I learned how easy and carefree they are and they are actually drought tolerant. Roses take little care, only need pruning once a year, and produce a multitute of fragrant (if you grow those varieties) flowers all season long. I'll do a post about my old fashioned roses sometime soon, they are even more rewarding.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Linda! You've certainly got the green thumb. I'm trying to shake the mud off of mine enough to help my hubby with a new succulent garden. It's on the to-do list!
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, thanks, Morro Bay has a nice little nursery with succulents down by the shore, if you haven't been there, check it out. I love succulents.
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