Heirloom Roses - Summer's Blessing .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

After a few parched years, rain at Christmas heralds a summer blessing this year.  Days of soft drizzle offer a gentle reprieve from the recent humidity and heat.   

The soft rain has generously endowed the mid-summer garden with lovely vignettes:

Brimming bird baths afloat with rose petals;

Luscious blooms of Red Pierre, a modern climbing Hybrid Tea reminiscent of old fashioned roses, decadently be-jeweled with rain drops;

Mrs B R Cant, a Tea rose, glorious in her lightly dusted mid-summer plumage;

Porcelain-like Tea roses, Safrano and  ...

G. Nabonnand, delicately lovely under their crystalline dusting of rain drops;

A splendidly plump bud of the modern shrub rose, Elina, luminous against dark rain clouds;

New plum-coloured growth of the Tea, Mrs Reynolds Hole, promising an abundance of crimson, richly perfumed late summer blooms;

Shy English Mary Rose peeps out, splendid with jewels, from under her shelter of feverfew;

And the exquisitely nodding heads of the rare Tea rose, Carlsruhe Maria Bruhn (purportedly the true Mlle de Sombrieul) are delicately pale and lovely under a drift of soft, summer rain.

Oh, and then there's the perfume of rain showers mingled with fragrant roses ... 
Summer's blessing at Christmas.  

A Christmas Wreath Workshop .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

We love Christmas here AT MY ROSE GARDEN.   

One of our favourite Christmas traditions is making and decorating a Christmas wreath to herald in the season.  And the most satisfying way to do this is to gather (or forage with permission of course) locally grown natural materials.  

(NOTE:  Some plant materials have sap that may be an irritant to human skin, or the entire plant may be toxic, so ALWAYS check that your plant material is safe before you handle it.)

 

A wreath made with fresh greenery greets visitors with the wonderful fragrances of Christmas; Eucalyptus and lemon-scented Leptospermum softened with the mulled perfume of an Australian summer. 

 

 

 

Along the Sunshine Coast, Hibiscus bushes grow boisterously with long, flexible stems; perfect for wreath making.   At our Christmas wreath making workshops we used bundles of these stems, stripped of leaves and flowers.  We added supple summer shoots from our tropical ‘ice-cream bean’ tree.  Woven together they make lovely, textured natural wreath bases. 

 

 

 

And as each workshop progresses, an array of unique, beautiful wreaths begin to take shape, using fragrant leaves and flowers from our collection of locally gathered plant material.  Accents of juvenile silver wattle leaves, seed heads, rosemary, tiny bunches of thyme, and herb flowers are added to give texture and fragrance. 

 

Our own Christmas wreath, stuffed to overflowing with bunches of gathered green leaves and studded with fragrant herbs,  hangs country style on our front gate ... 

 

 

 

On Christmas morning I will sneak a quiet moment to tuck in a fresh rose bud  ... symbolising the birth of the Christ-babe.

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings and joy to all ...

 

Heirloom Roses - An Impossible Choice .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

An impossible choice; deciding on a favourite rose.   

With so many heirloom roses taking their turn to offer exquisite blooms, it is impossible to choose just one;

Perhaps in the cool of the evening I might decide on a long-time favourite; Souvenir de St. Anne’s, circa 1917, reported to be a sport of the Bourbon rose, Souvenir de la Malmaison.  Discovered in a Country Estate garden near Dublin, she has pale pink blooms that appear as though shaped from the finest porcelain, until you snatch a sweet, cinnamon spiked perfume.  But don’t be fooled, Svnr de St.Anne’s is one tough rose, continuing to bloom through drought and heat.

Or perhaps the handsome 1894 French tea rose known in Australia as Francis Dubrueil. Richly perfumed to match his luxuriant velvet-like dark red roses, this is a surprising member of the usually less showy Tea rose family.  An aristocrat in the garden.  

Or in the early morning, just as the sun is spreading over the garden, a warm glow greets your eye.  Not strictly heirloom being an English rose, Benjamin Britten’s coral hues are a surprising blend of bright and warm reds, softly yellow at its base.  The full blooms are strongly perfumed, held tall on prickly limbs. 

  

A new favourite is one of the lesser known Hybrid Musks, Nur Mahal, released by Rev. Pemberton in 1923. 

A deep primrose pink, with a spicy perfume, Nur Mahal is as exotic and beautiful as the Indian Empress for whom she was named.  The influential wife of the early 17^th C Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Nur Mahal supported the cause of women in the Empire, providing land and dowries for orphan girls, even modifying women’s clothing to suit the hot climate.  Brilliantly clever, Nur Mahal used her intellect to promote culture and the arts, increase revenue from trade, influence architecture and create beautiful gardens.  These she opened up for the common population to enjoy.  Nur Mahal is also credited with discovering ‘attar of roses’ through observing fragrant oil floating on water strewn with rose petals. 

I love that three centuries later, in the early 20^th C, a Reverend from the United Kingdom acknowledged this extra-ordinary woman’s intellect and influence.  Had he not, I may never have heard of Nur Mahal’s incredible legacy. 

And so it is for her legacy brought to life through a visionary rosarian, that I planted Nur Mahal amid the heirloom roses.  The lovely semi-double blooms are exquisitely and vibrantly wrought; a worthy testament.

Aaaah, such choices ...

  

Vintage - Nostalgia in the Garden ... AT MY ROSE GARDEN

Heat, humidity and limited rainfall can reduce even the hardiest roses to producing overblown blooms that fade rapidly.  

This is the state of our rose garden in the last stages of Spring; a Spring that has ushered in the season of storms in sub-tropical SE Queensland.  

And although a traditional florist might faint at the sight of our faded and torn tissue-paper blooms as they appear just now, I think they are delectable ... 

The warm pink of Duchesse de Brabant is offset by the faded loveliness of Mrs R M Finch ... and the perfume is delicious!

Amid the transient beauty of the rose blooms, our vintage garden pieces come to life.  They add a touch of whimsy and nostalgia to the garden as it sighs its way through the bright, hot days.

 A patient basket bearer awaits the fall of sun-crisp rose petals.

 An angel’s wing, caught on a rustic trellis while a climbing rose catches its breath between blossoms.

 A spent rose, beautiful in its simplicity, echoes a rustic mirror.  

And throughout it all, Devoniensis continues to shower us with soft as silk, sun faded blossoms. 





Nostalgia at it's best  ...

Heirloom Roses - An early morning walk ... AT MY ROSE GARDEN

A cup of tea in hand (rosehip of course), stepping half awake around the garden to see what the night has brought, is one of the daily pleasures of having a garden.  

In our typically dry Spring on the Sunshine Coast hinterland it has been unseasonably hot, so an early morning inspection is necessary to see how the roses are coping, and which ones may need a little extra attention.  

Yet even in the midst of this routine walk, there are gorgeous surprises waiting to be discovered in the morning light.  

Altissimo, Delbart-Chabert,France,1966 - Modern Climber 

For many years I longed to have room to grow the modern climber, Altissimo, with her brilliantly red, single roses and had wistfully designed a country garden for a friend featuring this rose.   Now that I finally have two Altissimo roses growing on either side of a large arch, I find myself sometimes taking their hardiness and on-going rose display for granted ... until this morning when the vibrancy of their brilliant, unfading red blooms took my breath away.

Mrs Reynolds Hole, Nabonnand, France, 1900 - Tea

Sending out long arms to tangle with Altissimo’s spiky branches, Mrs Reynolds Hole has very double, dark pink blooms that have a surprisingly strong, real rose fragrance, unusual for a Tea rose.  She is one of the later Tea roses, named for the wife of the famous English clergyman, Dean Samuel Reynolds Hole.   Many rose books suggest this rose be planted with the long branches pegged to form a large rosette.  I prefer to allow this rose to grow freely, forming  a  very large bush. 

Gloire de Ducher, Ducher, France, 1853 - Hybrid Perpetual

Further along in a separate bed, Gloire de Ducher grows on a rustic pillar.  I believe this gorgeous rose deserves to be grown more often in Australian gardens.  In less than ideal conditions with minimal water, Gloire de Ducher offers a stunning display of quilled and buttoned crimson/purple blooms.  Exquisitely perfumed, the Spring display of this tough rose is worthy of any garden. 



Wife of Bath, Austin, UK, 1969 - English Roses 
Another tough rose in our garden is the gorgeous Wife of Bath.  One of David Austin’s earlier English roses, she is almost always covered in full, clear pink blooms, spiked with a strong myrrh fragrance.  The most exquisitely fat pink buds surround each of the cupped blooms.  Because of the enduring nature of this rose through drought and flood, she has become a firm favourite.  

Buff Beauty, Bentall, UK, 1839 - Hybrid Musk

Next is the lovely Buff Beauty, a favourite Hybrid Musk covered in sweetly perfumed, full blooms of soft apricot.  Always in bloom throughout the warmer months, this is one of the oldest roses in our garden, with lichens covering the grey trunk.  A deceptively tough rose that also survives our dry Springs with vigour and beauty. 

Each morning is a little journey into the unknown, wondering what lovely alchemy has brewed overnight ...  a gentle way to ease into the new day.  

  

Tea Rooms - Preserved Rose Petals ... AT MY ROSE GARDEN

Preserving the bounty from your garden is a time-honoured skill.  And preserving the fragrance, colour and flavour of rose petals will add an extra dimension to your favourite recipes... 

Sweet little morsels of dark red and pink Preserved Rose Petals are easy to make and keep indefinitely.  Because of our humidity I like to keep these refrigerated. (Unlike some recipes for rose petal preserve, this is not a paste but a delicious concoction of candied rose petals.)

These sweet preserves can be used to add a lovely dash of rose flavour and colour to lots of well loved deserts, or you may like to invent additional uses for these little jewels.

Here are a few suggestions ...  

Sprinkle your Preserved Rose Petals over home-made vanilla ice-cream; fold through whipped cream with strawberries, swirl through a luscious egg custard.   Top an iced cup cake with a few bright pink rose petals, or add them to a baked rhubarb tart.  They also add a special touch to chocolate mousse and can be used as a special ingredient in rich, gooey chocolate brownies.   

As in all recipes using rose petals – use only pesticide free roses, rinse under cool running water and snip off the bitter white base of the rose petals before use. 

Preserved Rose Petals

Ingredients:

Rose petals drained from the Rose Petal Syrup (If you have not made Rose Petal Syrup you will need to follow the recipe posted previously).

To make:
Take your drained rose petals (that have been soaking in the sugar syrup - Do NOT skip this step) and place in a small heavy based saucepan.  Do not add extra liquid.  Place the saucepan over a low to moderate heat.   

Using a wooden spoon, stir the rose petals briskly.  As you stir, press the rose petals against the base and sides of the pan with the wooden spoon.    The heat will aid the breaking down process but prevent the petals forming a paste. (Your kitchen will be filled with the most amazing rosie aroma.)  

As the rose petals shrivel and darken they will start to clump loosely.  This will take from 5 to 7 minutes, depending on the rose petals you used (some rose petals are thicker than others and will take longer).  It is at this stage that you can take the pan off the heat and allow to cool.  Do not add a lid  as this will form droplets of water as the petals cool and will spoil the preserving process.

Once the petals are cool, store them in a sterilised glass jar.  Your rose petals will keep their bright colour and fragrance with a sweet, rosie flavour.  

Serve in a pretty china dish as an exotic sprinkle for your favourite desert.

For a touch of luxury for the health conscious, add Preserved Rose Petals to a ‘healthy’ desert of chia seed soaked in chilled almond milk.

Delicious ...

Tea Rooms - Rose Petal Syrup ... AT MY ROSE GARDEN

Rose Petal Syrup captures the fragrance and colour of red roses.  

This simple sugar syrup is used cold to flavour numerous recipes; in whipped cream for cakes and deserts; frozen as a delicious sorbet;  to make home-made lemonade pink, or as a simple cordial with chilled sparkling water. 

The basic ingredients are raw, granulated sugar, water and fresh rose petals.  As for any recipes using rose petals make sure your roses have NOT been sprayed with any pesticides or anti-fungal solutions. 

Rose Petal Syrup

Ingredients:  

4 cups of fresh rose petals; 200 grams of raw granulated sugar, 175 millilitres of tap water.

To make: 

First, pick six red, fragrant just-opened roses.  

For this recipe I chose a mixture of highly perfumed, dark pink Tea roses, Mrs Reynolds Hole, Mrs B R Cant and Francis Dubrieul; the very fragrant, deep pink Bourbon rose, Mme Isaac Periere and the bright red modern climber, Red Pierre.

To prepare the roses, shake them upside down to remove insects and dust.  Rinse quickly under cool running water.  Shake dry.   Now pull the rose petals away from the green base of the rose and snip off the bitter white bases of the petals.  This can be done in one snip as you hold the rose petals together after you have pulled them away from the base.  

Measure the rose petals.  You will need approx 4 loose cups or around 60 grams of rose petals (measurements do not need to be exact).  Place the petals in a heat-proof glass bowl.  The volume of rose petals should be loose and not pressed down at this stage. 

To make the simple sugar syrup measure 200 grams of granulated raw sugar and place in a heavy based saucepan.  Add 175 millilitres of tap water.  Bring the sugar and water mixture to a light boil and stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Take the syrup off the heat and pour over the rose petals taking care not to splash the very hot liquid onto your skin.  The syrup will wither the rose petals and reduce their volume by at least two thirds.   Push all of the rose petals into the syrup with a wooden spoon.

Cover the bowl with cling film (this will preserve the volatile oils released by the rose petals) and allow to steep until cool.  

Strain the rose petals off but do not discard (save the rose petals for my 'rose petal preserve' recipe coming soon).  Now pour the cool liquid into a clean, sterile glass jar with a screw top lid.  You should have a  pink and lusciously fragrant syrup.  Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.  

Your Rose Petal Syrup is now ready to use.  (Recipe adapted from Geraldine Holt’s ‘Complete Book of Herbs’.)