OLD ROSES IN SPOTLIGHT . . . LOVE YA, PEGGY MARTIN! . . . HANG THOSE VEGETABLES!

 

By BRENDA BEUST SMITH

 

A great opportunity for everyone who is interested in, or curious about, antique, heritage and/or old roses will take place at Nature's Way Resources near The Woodlands.
 
The Texas Rose Rustlers will conduct their annual Spring Symposium on Sat., May 16, 9:30am-4pm at Nature's Way Resources, 101 Sherbrook Circle. We have these hardy, determined folks for the fact that so many antique roses are now available in retail markets. This year's symposium will include special treats for new homeowners interested in incorporating antique roses and other super hardy flowers into their landscaping.

As Audrey Beust McMurray, TRR Chairman (and, in the interest of total honesty, my baby sister), explains: "Technically, a rose is considered an antique, or 'old garden rose' (OGR), if it was introduced before 1867, the year the first modern hybrid tea, LaFrance, appeared on the scene.  It's just easier, though, to think of them as the wonderful old garden roses that our great-grandmas grew."

Left, the first identified antique rose: LaFrance. Center and left: To help new homeowners along (5 years or less), Rustlers will be lotto-ing off super hardy roses and companion plants including Candy Corn Vine (donated by Molly Buenrostro) and 'Schulenberg Apricot' 

When antiques first came to the fore, one way they were easily distinguished is by the growth pattern at the base of the plant. Grafted plants have a "bump" where the graft took place. A less-hardy rose stock that boasted phenomenal color and shapes was grafted onto a hardier rootstock.  The graft (or "bump") is easily visible.

Antique roses, on the other hand, were own-root shrubs that produced multiple stems from the rootstock since they grew on their "own roots." They tend to have pastel colors and old-fashioned flower shapes. 

Today, however, modern own-root roses are everywhere. Makes it more difficult to distinguish old from new, but it's often worth it to know the difference. Some newer own-root varieties do quite well here.  Others may not. 

So if you're interested in true antiques, it pays to meet with experts like those you'll meet at this symposium to get you off to the right start.

Antiques tend to be more carefree, but with the heavy recent rains, especially in poorly drained areas, you may see a flare-up of blackspot. (Quite literally, black spots on leaves.) Although this can be a major problem with grafted or newer roses, with antiques it can pretty much be ignored. 

As Audrey put it: "The leaves will develop black splotches, drop off, and should be raked away, but eventually the plant will return to health.  Most antique rosarians are not into spraying chemicals that will end up in our bayous and estuaries, and will just wait patiently for the plant to recover on its own.  Remember, these are bushes that have survived, uncared for, in cemeteries and along country roads for decades."

Also on the agenda will be a free tour of Nature's Way Resources, which should be a must for anyone interested in recycling, as well as in the healthiest possible soil and mulch routes to take. To me, one of the most mind-boggling aspect is the way so much widespread waste from The Woodlands area and beyond is both recycled and made available to community gardens and other nonprofit entities by NWR. I am so proud to be working with NWR's John Ferguson and Mark Bowen, I don't have the words to express myself. So grant me this opportunity to say this now!

More details on the Texas Rose Rustler Symposium topics and offerings: www.texasroserustlers.com

 

Peggy Martin rose blooming, left to right, at the Antique Rose Emporium, in Dr. Bill Welch's garden and in my own Hurricane Ike Memorial Garden Niche.

 
Speaking of antique roses, I don't think my Peggy Martin has ever bloomed as spectacularly as it is right now. 

Do you know the story of the Peggy Martin rose? 

Katrina's devastating salt water floods and high winds almost totally destroyed botanical gardens throughout lower Louisiana and Mississippi, not to mention everyone else's plants as well.

In the private New Orleans-area garden of Peggy Martin, a lone rambler rose not only survived, it amazingly continued to bloom prolifically every spring amid the devastation. It was a passalong rose - no one, not even Peggy, knew its exact origin or variety name. 

Long story short, with Peggy's consent, Dr. William C. Welch, the Garden Club of Houston, the River Oaks Garden Club and the Garden Club of America, among others, cuttings were taken of this rose, which Bill named for Peggy. Participating growers were not only persuaded to market this unique rose, but to donate $1 of every sale to the restoration of botanical gardens from Beaumont through Louisiana and Mississippi. That's still true today. These destroyed Southern public gardens will take decades to return to their former glory. 

For the whole story on this truly fascinating history, read Bill Welch's "The Peggy Martin Rose" in which he notes this rose "has become a symbol among gardeners and rose lovers of a tenacious plant associated with a spirit of renewal and regrowth in the aftermath of a devastating blow of Nature against those living and gardening in the Gulf Coast area."  

Peggy Martin roses, which are practically thornless, will be available for sale at the Texas Rose Rustler Symposium and at Nature's Way Resources. 

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EVER HEARD OF ORNAMEDIBLES? Below, we spotlight one of my favorite "Local Experts" - Angela Chandler. Angela has two fantastic blogs: her own www.thegardenacademy.com and regular postings on The Arbor Gate blog http://arborgate.com/blog/, in addition to the classes she teaches for Urban Harvest and other activities too numerous to mention.  Below, however, is a piece that especially touches my own slightly-quirky, slightly off-center heart - gardening tips for those of us with too little space and/or too many challenges when it comes to bending and digging (like, energy-challenges when it comes to all us lazy gardeners). 

If you've developed any "off-center" techniques for growing fresh fruits vegetables and/or herbs in spite of challenges, do share!

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OOPS! MUCHO THANKS to Betty who pointed out that in the April 16 column, in the 3-photo strip that identified the caterpillar as a "monarch" - wrong! It's feeding on fennel which would make it a black swallowtail. (I always appreciate feedback - especially if I've printed something wrong.) If you'd like to attract black swallowtails, Betty adds she's found Black swallowtail caterpillars much prefer Bronze Fennel to Green Fennel.

*  Brenda's "LAZY GARDENER'S GUIDE" - a when-to-do-what in Greater Houston area gardens - is now available on CD only (pdf file). $20. Checks payable to Brenda B. Smith and mailed to: Lazy Gardener's Guide on CD, 14011 Greenranch Dr., Houston, TX 77039-2103.

Great for hanging - sweet potatoes (eat those greens!), ice box melons and sugar pumpkins.

ORNAMEDIBLES - THE CLIMBERS

by Angela Chandler

The Garden Academy 

(www.thegardenacademy.com)

Ornamedible gardening is the practice of growing edible plants in ornamental ways, 

including blending them right into our existing landscapes as features.  It's a lot of fun and is a great way to put your creativity to work.  Any edible plant that is attractive to you can be used as an Ornamedible.  One of my favorite groups is climbing edibles.

There are certain edible plants that can be real space hogs in a traditional row-and-furrow or wide-bed garden, such as melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes.  Many gardeners forego growing them because they can take up more space than is practical in a suburban garden.  But these plants, and more, can be grown vertically, taking up no more garden space than a rose or a clump of iris.

The key to success with climbing Ornamedibles is strong trellises and healthy, fertile soils. You will need to give some thought to varieties as well.  Opt for ice box melons and sugar pumpkins, not their larger cousins, which are better suited to a farmer's field. There are a few cultural techniques to apply, such as providing slings for heavy melons, and training the plants to the support. 

Sweet potatoes grown this way will produce fewer tubers since they are only produced on the portion of the vine that is anchored in the ground at the base of the trellis.  But the bonus is the greens.  Yes, greens!  Sweet potato greens are not only edible, they are a delicacy.  Chefs have written cookbooks dedicated to them.  You might be surprised at how much you can grow when you grow upward and onward!  Read more about Climbing Ornamedibles on my blog at http://arborgate.com/blog/ornamedibles-the-climbers/

 

ON SAT., MAY 2, Angela is teaching a SPRING VEGETABLE GARDENING class for Urban Harvest. Details:  http://urbanharvest.org/classes-calendar. Address questions to her through her blog links above.