briar rose..Therese Bugnet

Pretty fresh colour!

Thankyou Kate... I have two roses both labelled as "Therese Bugnet" bought 6 years apart... both extremely thorned and dangerous but the flowers are deliciously scented. I should post the flower of the first one, it's almost magenta...while this one is a soft pink...The petals would make excellent rose water or turkish delight.

How lovely. I love turkish delight. Sounds like a plan!!!

Hi Kate! I've thought about doing that for a few years now...but there is a red-legged beetle that arrives just after the rose begins to bloom and they literally shred the blossom and lay their eggs in the hips! Horrible creatures... I've pruned mercilessly this past fall and the growth is behind by comparison with other years, but it's healthy and the buds look good. will have to keep my fingers crossed for turkish delight.. yum.. maybe this year?

Oh heavens! Sounds a horrible little monster! Is there anything that would kill it or deter it? I guess you’ve tried everything over the years! I do hope it does well, as you say, fingers crossed! Turkish delight, heavenly!

one of the things I've learned since moving here is that out in nature...country/farm gardening... is that plagues..insects especially, come in yearly cycles... and a lot depends on the climate. we had a beastly winter with a late cold spring and many plants and insects are behind in their development.. e.g. monarch butterflies, dragonflies, perennials..etc. so I'm hoping that the red legged curse has been affected too. I'm a squish and swish type of gardener. squish the creature and swish with soapy water. I know that chemicals will work effectively my concern is with the residue which can recombine with other elements in the soil to produce other (unintended) byproducts that are harmful. hope you don't mind my explanation... i've seen some horror stories in my time. <3

Lori, I don’t mind your explanation at all! It seems the best way. I bet you’ve seen some horrible beasties! 😀

lol... one or two! tent caterpillers... last year was a complete nightmare trying to protect my apple trees from them...and they defoliated whole swathes of forest. suppposedly they're on a seven year cycle... very few so far this year. odious creatures.