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The Gardens of Mien Ruys - a book review

I don't know how I missed her, but I was totally unfamiliar with Mien Ruys. A beautiful new book The Gardens of Mien Ruys details her life and work. Born in the Netherlands in 1904, she was the daughter of Bonne Ruys, who founded Moerheim Nursery in 1888. She grew up in a liberal atmosphere and encouraged to learn and study. She found great comfort in the natural world around her and learned all the plants in her father's nursery at a young age. After leaving school at the age of 19, she knew that she wanted to work in the garden center. The Moerheim Nursery, in addition to selling plants, had an on-site design studio where they published a detailed catalog and sold landscape design plans to customers. It was in the design studio where Ruys first began to work and she was soon encouraged to venture beyond her country and study abroad. Her father's connections helped her secure a traineeship with Wallace & Sons Nursery in Tunbridge Wells in England. There, she met Gertr...
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Shrub Roses

'Mutabilis'


In previous posts, I've shared the climbing roses and the David Austin roses but have neglected the shrub roses.

One of my favorites is "Coral Cove". This is a rose from the "Easy Elegance" series that was introduced by Bailey Nurseries. I have found this rose to be very disease resistant and I love the glossy green leaves. Not to mention the color of the blooms!



'Coral Cove'


"Coral Cove" has gotten much larger than I anticipated but I have found this to be the norm when reading rose labels. Ours is easily 5 ft. tall but it is advertised to get only 2.5 - 3 feet. It blooms like a maniac and sometimes the flower branches flop over after rain. Still, there is much to admire about this rose.

Another rose in the "Easy Elegance" series is "Champagne Wishes" and I've been impressed with it as well. It got too large for the spot I put it in (in all fairness, the label does say 3-4 ft. tall). I wanted a low growing rose and find that this one is out of proportion. I plan to move it to another location.



'Champagne Wishes'


Sometimes plant sizes vary according to where you are located. In Alabama, the polyantha rose 'Marie Pavie' stayed at a modest 3 feet. It was a favorite of mine and I bought it again after moving to Washington. Here is quickly grew to a 5 x 6' shrub.

'Marie Pavie'


Another favorite that we grew in the previous garden - 'Marjorie Fair' aka 'Red Ballerina'. This is a hybrid musk rose that gets rather large - about 5' x 8'.


'Marjorie Fair'


And the largest of them all is 'Buff Beauty', over 5 ft. tall and 8 or more feet in width. This one can be grown as a climber, which I've never done, but now wish I had.

'Buff Beauty'



I discovered 'Chinatown' at Joy Creek Nursery. It is a beautiful yellow rose.

'Chinatown'


'Chinatown'

And the rest -

'Kardinal Kaleidoscope'



'Plum Perfect'


'Robin Hood'

'Home Run'


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Lisa at GreenbowJune 30, 2020 at 1:31 PM

    It is amazing to me that you have room for all of these roses what with all your other plants. These roses are gorgeous. I really like the yellow one with pink edges. Champagne Wishes doesn't look too large for its spot to me. It might grow larger though. Love seeing all your roses.

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  2. ksJune 30, 2020 at 5:43 PM

    I am in the process of removing Buff Beauty -a daunting task. Love it so much but it started to decline dramatically last year so off it goes. What to replace it with is the question.

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  3. Endah MurniyatiJuly 2, 2020 at 10:40 PM

    Beautiful roses! I love it!

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  4. MarijkeJuly 3, 2020 at 10:52 PM

    I love the Plum Perfect rose. Can it grow without chemicals? I am asking this because I don't use chemicals in my garden. Thank you!!
    Marijke

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJuly 4, 2020 at 8:10 AM

      Marijke, I don't use chemicals either. Plum Perfect does get blackspot sometimes although it isn't too bad. I would say it is "moderately" disease resistant.

      Delete
  5. KatrinaChicagoJuly 4, 2020 at 10:47 AM

    I am so amazed at how mature your garden is now Phillip. What year did you relocate? I remember receiving you relocating some years ago. Just fabulous! I've been in our 1889 Victorian since 2012 and I'm still working on a mature garden. Well Done!

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJuly 5, 2020 at 8:24 AM

      Katrina, we moved here in 2015 - this is the 5th year. Things have grown so fast!

      Delete
  6. Hoover BooJuly 6, 2020 at 2:53 PM

    You are had 1 rosy June! How does rose growing in the PNW compare to AL?

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverJuly 6, 2020 at 10:12 PM

      They are more robust and colorful here. I have problems with powdery mildew which rarely happened in AL. Blackspot was insects were more of a problem in AL. I've never seen a Japanese beetle here (thank goodness!).

      Delete
  7. Tarpaulinz UkApril 29, 2024 at 6:49 AM

    nice

    ReplyDelete

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