UNLIKELY FRIENDS

Here we are in Southern Hemisphere mid-Winter here in Melbourne, and in the cold and wet weather, our garden has produced these two flowers concurrently: An Autumnal Chrysanthemum (usually in bloom around April) and a 'Pierre de Ronsard' rose (usually in bloom in November!) Climate change? Confused flowers? Strange weather conditions? Extreme microclimate conditions in our back yard?

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ROSES, ROSES, ROSES

Roses are in season and every florist shop is full of them. Especially so, this time of the year, with Valentine's Day tomorrow. If you celebrate it, Happy Valentine's Day!

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A ROSE...

And what a rose! The magnificent 'Mr Lincoln' currently in bloom in our garden.

Rosa 'Mister Lincoln', also known as 'Mr. Lincoln', is a dark red hybrid tea rose cultivar. Bred by Herbert Swim and Weeks Rose Growers in 1964, the rose was named an All-America Rose Selections winner in 1965.

The stock parents of this rose are the hybrid tea rose cultivars 'Chrysler Imperial' and 'Charles Mallerin'. The plant was introduced into the United States via California by Star Roses in 1965. 'Mister Lincoln' was the best-selling crimson rose in the US for many years. Known as the "California drought friendly native rose", it won the All-America Rose Selections award in 1965.

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ROSE HIPS

The roses have well and truly said goodbye for this growing season and only the hips are now evidence of their passing. Waiting for their yearly pruning so as to ensure more blooms in Spring.

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SPRING IN AUTUMN

Walking along a church garden in Kew, my eye caught sight of this Pyrus calleryana. It is also known as the Callery pear or Bradford pear, and is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae.

Now we are nearly at the end of Autumn here in Australia, and you can see the fallen yellow brown leaves on the ground. However, this tree was blooming as if it were Spring, some of the flowers opening next to the ripening fruit on the same tree... How odd!

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AUTUMN ROSE

We are seeing the last of the roses in our garden. This is a beautiful rose, just after a rain shower. It is Rosa 'Mister Lincoln', also known as 'Mr. Lincoln', which is a dark red hybrid tea rose cultivar. Bred by Herbert Swim and Weeks Rose Growers in 1964, the rose was named an All-America Rose Selections winner in 1965.

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MR LINCOLN ROSE

Rosa 'Mister Lincoln', also known as 'Mr. Lincoln', is a dark red hybrid tea rose cultivar. Bred by Herbert Swim and Weeks Rose Growers in 1964, the rose was named an All-America Rose Selections winner in 1965.

'Mister Lincoln' is a vigorous, tall upright shrub, 121–213 cm in height. Blooms are very large, 15  cm or more in diameter, with 30 to 35 petals. The rose has a strong damask fragrance. The high-centred, deep red petals are generally borne singly on long stems and do not fade, even in the hottest climates.

The shrub is a repeat bloomer.The buds are deep red and open up into large, velvety red, double blossoms. The foliage is dark red when young and becomes leathery and dark, matte green when the plant is older. It is generally healthy and heat tolerant, but is susceptible to blackspot. 'Mister Lincoln' is hardy to zone 5–9.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

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BOUQUET

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SPRING ROSES

Roses from our garden. Although it's mid-Spring, we've been having cold, wet and windy weather with snow falling above 900 metres altitude. Nevertheless, our rose bushes are blooming and we're able to pick and enjoy the fragrant blossoms indoors.

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SPRING ROSES

We know it's really Spring when our hardy red climbing rose (an unknown hybrid!) is in bloom like this.

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QUINCE IN FLOWER

The quince (Cydonia oblonga) is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the family Rosaceae (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits). It is a small deciduous tree that bears a pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear, and bright golden-yellow when mature. Throughout history the cooked fruit has been used as food, but the tree is also grown for its attractive pale pink blossom and other ornamental qualities.

The tree grows 5 to 8 metres high and 4 to 6 metres wide. The fruit is 7 to 12 centimetres long and 6 to 9 centimetres across. It is native to rocky slopes and woodland margins in South-west Asia, Turkey and Iran although it can be grown successfully at latitudes as far north as Scotland. The immature fruit is green with dense grey-white pubescence, most of which rubs off before maturity in late autumn when the fruit changes colour to yellow with hard, strongly perfumed flesh.

The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, 6–11 cm long, with an entire margin and densely pubescent with fine white hairs. The flowers, produced in spring after the leaves, are white or pink, 5 cm across, with five petals. Quince jam, jelly, paste and stewed fruit are all quite delicious and easily made. Quinces are also used as an ingredient in savoury food. You can find several recipes here.

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SPRING BLOSSOM

Prunus cerasifera, or the purple leaf plum is a small deciduous tree commonly planted for its deep reddish-purple leaves and white/pale pink flowers that are among the first to appear in spring. Although it is short lived, it is fast growing and great for use as a specimen or shade tree. It is in the Rosaceae family, and this like many of the stone fruits are part of the Prunus genus.

Purple leaf plum grows to approximately 4-6 m tall and wide at maturity, and has a rounded shape. It should be planted in a location with full sun. The leaves will turn green if grown in the shade. Most cultivars for sale have the reddish-purple leaves, there are ones with green foliage also available.

Flowers are small, fragrant and either white or pale pink. Purple leaf plum is one of the first trees to flower in the spring, with the blossoms appearing before the leaves. Although the fruits are small at only 3 cm, they are edible. These little gems can be yellow, purple, or red, depending on the cultivar chosen. Birds love to eat these fruits off the tree, too.

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JAPONICA

Chaenomeles × superba (hybrid C. speciosa × C. japonica).

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ALMOND BLOSSOM

The almond (Prunus dulcis, syn. Prunus amygdalus) is a species of tree native to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and North Africa, classified in the Rosaceae family. The almond is a deciduous tree, growing 4–10 m in height, with a trunk of up to 30 cm in diameter. The young twigs are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed to sunlight, then grey in their second year.

The leaves are 7-12 cm long, with a serrated margin and a 2.5 cm petiole. The flowers are white to pale pink, 3–5 cm diameter with five petals, produced singly or in pairs and appearing before the leaves in early spring. Almond grows best in Mediterranean climates with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters.

The optimal temperature for their growth is between 15 and 30 °C and the tree buds have a chilling requirement of 300 to 600 hours below 7.2 °C to break dormancy. Almonds begin bearing an economic crop in the third year after planting. Trees reach full bearing five to six years after planting. The fruit matures in the autumn, 7–8 months after flowering.

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BERRIES

Pyracantha coccinea, the scarlet firethorn is the European species of firethorn or red firethorn that has been cultivated in gardens since the late 16th century. The tree has small white flowers. It produces small, bright red berries. Its leaves are slightly toothed and grow opposite to one another. The fruit is bitter and astringent, making it inedible when raw.

The fruit can be cooked to make jellies, jams, sauces and marmalade. It ranges from southern Europe to western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and cultivated there as an ornamental plant since the 18th century. In England, since the late 18th century, it has been used to cover unsightly walls.

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BUTTERFLY AND ROSES

An unidentified rose with the small white butterfly (Pieris rapae). This is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is also known as the small cabbage white and in New Zealand, simply as white butterfly. The names "cabbage butterfly" and "cabbage white" can also refer to the large white butterfly.

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ROSE SEASON

Fragrant roses freshly picked from our garden. It's a good season for them this year.

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ROSES

Roses in the garden. We've had a cool and wet Summer so far, which seems to have benefitted the roses... An unidentified cultivar, which always looks pretty when in full flower like this.

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ICEBERG ROSES

Rosa 'Iceberg' was introduced over 40 years ago by Kordes and is still one of the most popular roses. The first hybrid was that of pure white double blooms, which are produced continuously all season. They are borne on a healthy bush ideal for massed display, but are also popular as a standard. One of the World's favourite roses, inducted into the Rose Hall of Fame in 1983. In the 1990s, pink hybrids were introduced and in the early 2000s, burgundy variants appeared. Here are all three types growing together.

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PINK WEEPING CHERRY

Prunus subhirtella "Rosea" – Pink Weeping Cherry has pendulous branches grafted onto standing trunks. Young leaves are reddish-bronze becoming green when mature. Autumn foliage is in shades of yellow, orange, and scarlet. Wonderful single rosy pink blossoms in large clusters that form in mid-spring, make this a spectacular feature tree.

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