Well, Finally!
After about two or three years of waiting for the roses to come into their own in my SJC garden, I am finally starting to get some big, full beauties! These are just a few of the lovely 'Graham Thomas' roses that are opening right now. Although the blooms are great, the stems are still too weak to hold them upright very well. 
I attribute this long wait to my impatience about getting the garden planted and not doing diligence with the soil. The soil in my Laguna garden was so hard packed clay that it had to be double dug and amendments worked in just to be able to dig a hole to plant anything. The soil in SJC was not hard and so I just went ahead with the popular "do not disturb the soil" method and added top dressings in the way of organic fertilizers, compost and mulch. Unfortunately, the soil was workable, but dead. Where there are flower beds now, were once lawns treated with all kinds of chemicals and there was not a worm in sight when the holes to plant something where dug. I wish I had done the hard work of double digging nutrients into the soil to give the plants a better foundation for growing, but now I know. In my next garden...
After about two or three years of waiting for the roses to come into their own in my SJC garden, I am finally starting to get some big, full beauties! These are just a few of the lovely 'Graham Thomas' roses that are opening right now. Although the blooms are great, the stems are still too weak to hold them upright very well. 
I attribute this long wait to my impatience about getting the garden planted and not doing diligence with the soil. The soil in my Laguna garden was so hard packed clay that it had to be double dug and amendments worked in just to be able to dig a hole to plant anything. The soil in SJC was not hard and so I just went ahead with the popular "do not disturb the soil" method and added top dressings in the way of organic fertilizers, compost and mulch. Unfortunately, the soil was workable, but dead. Where there are flower beds now, were once lawns treated with all kinds of chemicals and there was not a worm in sight when the holes to plant something where dug. I wish I had done the hard work of double digging nutrients into the soil to give the plants a better foundation for growing, but now I know. In my next garden...
4 comments:
Very pretty. I think Austin roses have a tendency to have their faces in the dirt for the first few years. I rarely see any earthworms in my garden, either, although not due to chemicals. I think our clay is just too hard for them to wiggle through! Enjoy your beautiful roses!
Shelia they are such a beautiful rose.Well worth the wait. Now I never thought of clay soil in your area. Is the US all clay? LOL!I think Ohio was made from clay. It is a challenge.
Your Graham Thomas is beautiful, and I bet the fragrance is wonderful too. I am sorry about your soil problems, hopefully if you keep topdressing, they will resolve eventually.
Your Graham Thomas rose is a real beauty. It seems that Austing get better with each passing year. I know mine do!
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