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A Closer Look at Winter Damage

But first, take a look at this gorgeous rainbow that we had on Friday! The five-day stretch of warm temperatures last week really jump-started the garden. Now that plants are putting out new growth, it is easier to see what kind of damage the winter left. Back in mid-January, we experienced five straight days of below-freezing temperatures. This caused much damage in Portland and areas where frigid winds were a factor. Here, we were fortunate to not get the wind and the cold temperatures were dampened by a blanket of snow. That said, it was a tough time for the garden and there are noticeable casualties but no outright deaths that I have seen. The bottlebrush ( Callistemon 'Woodlander's Red') did not like the cold at all. It was planted six years ago, in the north-facing garden no less, and I've not experienced die-back on it until now. A local expert said to cut it all the way back so that is what I did. If it doesn't make it, I won't be too distraught. It is

Raindrops on roses...



Hallelujah, we finally got some rain! Not a lot, I'm guessing around 3/4 inch, but anything is welcome at this point. We also got a brief sprinkle this afternoon.

This is the shrub rose Gruss An Aachen. Considered to be the first floribunda rose, it is a low growing (under 3 feet) upright shrub which is covered with plump, pale pink flowers that fade to creamy white with age. The name means "greetings to Aachen" which was the city where Emperor Charlemagne made his home and also the hometown of the rose breeder.

Comments

  1. Despite the rain dance Ranunculus and I did yesterday, we only had about 1/2 an inch last night--but down the road, I think the Tidewater Gardener and the Transitional Gardener got several inches (I hope not too much!) At least my hydrangeas had a little drink. Anyway, lovely photo--

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  2. Beautiful photo! Thanks for the history too :) I'm so glad we finally got a little rain!

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  3. Beautiful Rose! Here in our neck of the woods (GA) we only had 1/10 inch which is nothing for a rock hard dry ground! A few miles up the road they had up to 2 inches! I was kind of hoping Dolly would come our way but she opt for Texas instead. Sigh, in time I reckon...

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  4. You are showing off those raindrops with pride! I know you were so happy to get some sky water. We went thru the same thing last year. It would even rain in sections of our neighborhood and miss our street. The ground was so hard I actually dug holes for plants with a pick axe at some points.

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  5. Lovely rose and it's wonderful that you got rain! Now your beautiful garden will continue to bloom!
    Gail

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  6. Great timing-I just finished one of the big ones-it was so good-thank you again! Glad you enjoyed the post-we have three lady bugs in the garden now! Harold has made friends :D

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  7. That is a lovely photo. I have one planted with some May Night salvia--very pretty combination. Mine stays short enough to fit very well near the front of the border.
    Marnie

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  8. I live in Tupelo, MS and have been reading your blog for a while. You're fortunate that you got the rain. We got a very short shower, immeasurable, and all the while the sun was shining! I enjoy seeing the beautiful pictures and your lovely garden! Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  9. Well, the rain wasn't that much and I hope we get more soon - ditto for all you other rain-starved gardeners as well. Thanks for dropping by Judy!

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  10. I love Gruss An Achen, although my plant is being crowded and shaded out to the point that it's not looking great these days (that describes lots of the things in my garden!). Never knew "Gruss" meant "greetings"; I had years of Latin, and I've done a lot of singing in German, but rarely know what I'm saying when I do.

    Your whimsey is a whole lot classier than mine (as is your whole garden, by the looks of things!). My latest project is mounting a staghorn fern on a set of (broken - I have to fix them first)moose antlers I found by the curb one garbage day a few weeks back. That's where lots of my garden art comes from; I think it's genetic.

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