John Paul II Rose

Jackson & Perkins John Paul II Rose

In 2006, Jackson and Perkins released a variety of gorgeous white hybrid tea rose named for Pope John Paul II.

Often called John Paul The Great by his admirers, he was loved throughout the world by both Catholics and non-Catholics.  One of the distinctive features of his pontificate was his frequent travel throughout the world. He made more pastoral visits than any pope before him.  When totaled, the number of miles he traveled equal three trips to the moon and back! Along with President Ronald Reagan, he is largely credited with ending the cold war. He is also known for his humility and his gift for encouraging young people to live holier lives.

Pope John Paul II will be beatified this Sunday. (Click here for a definition of beatification.)

While I enjoy the many plants that grow well here on the Gulf Coast, I miss hybrid tea roses. They do quite well in gardens in California and the Pacific Northwest (Check out the rose gardens in Portland, OR).  But, in the subtropical humidity we have here, they quickly succumb to fungal disease.  That is why most rose lovers in this region are so fond of disease-resistant antique roses.

If you live in coastal California, bare-rooted hybrid tea roses are generally available at locally owned nurseries and garden centers in the fall.  In colder regions where there is danger of frost, late winter and spring are better times for planting roses, as new plants should not be allowed to freeze. 

Since this particular rose is owned by Jackson and Perkins, you will want to look for it at establishments that feature their products. If they do not carry it, ask! Small, locally owned nurseries are particularly likely to be willing to help you get your hands on what you want, even if they do not have it in stock at the moment.  Their employees are also most likely to know exactly how to care for hybrid tea roses in your particular climate.

If you live in a region that is friendly to hybrid tea roses, and want to commemorate the occasion of John Paul II's beatification in your garden, consider planting this rose.

What to do with Easter Lilies

(Source)

Every year toward the end of Lent, we start seeing Easter Lilies for sale outside of our churches and in stores, and their bright beauty graces our homes during the Easter season*.

The question is what to do with them once those lovely flowers drop off.


The short answer: Keep them!


Kathy Huber at the Houston Chronicle gives a brief answer for how to do this.


The Aggie Horticulture website gives a long answer. They include the history of the plant, tips for choosing a healthy specimen, and detailed instructions for transplanting.


According to Dave's Garden, these bulbs like neutral to slightly acidic soil and are able to survive  temperatures down to around five degrees Fahrenheit,  which is well below what we generally experience here on the Gulf coast.  Most people recommend transplanting these in a sunny location and insulating dormant bulbs during cold weather by mulching.  As these plants prefer good drainage, that means containers or raised beds for those of us with heavy, alkaline gumbo soil.

Though we call them "Easter Lilies", Lilium longiflorum is not gauranteed to bloom exactly at Easter Sunday. Very often the ones that we see in the stores have been forced by their growers to bloom at just the right time.  But their flowers are just as pretty, regardless of their timing!

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*Keep your cats from eating your Easter Lilies, as they are toxic!

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New Template

Did a little blog redecorating today.  I have tabs now! Yay!

Off to do something really useful now...

Unwelcome Garden Guests

Every now and then when I was in my teens,  my family used to slather on the bug repellent and sunscreen and take our alaskan malamute with us for day hikes up in the hills around where we lived.   She loved it. So did the ticks.  Inevitably, within a day or two of our hikes I was helping my mother pull these little vermin off the dog.  I'd feel crawly for days afterwards.

In the region of California in which I was raised, deer ticks are very common in the grassy places where people often love to hike and camp. Learning to recognize ticks was just like learning to recognize poison oak.  They were a fact of life if one wanted to enjoy the great outdoors. Aside from dealing with the dog,  I never had any trouble with them on me. Probably because I made good use of bug repellent. That hasn't stopped me from being a little unnerved at the thought of encountering them on my person.

So, when I saw what looked suspiciously like a tick crawling around on a branch I had just pruned from a long-neglected shrubbery this morning, I got that old creepy-crawly feeling again.  Ewwww.  It's so easy to forget about such things in the supposed civilized safety of one's own backyard. Thank goodness I had been using the rake instead of my hands to load the pile of cuttings into the wheelbarrow.

American Dog Tick (Photo Source)

After a tick check and a run for the bug repellent, I finished my work (still using the rake of course), tossed my gardening clothes straight into the washing machine, checked myself again and ran for the shower. This time I appear to be unscathed, but I shall be more careful in the future.

In my transition to Texas from California, I have had to learn a few new things and re-learn a few old things. Fortunately, what I know about ticks applies in both places.

Ticks like wooded areas, thick shrubberies, and tall grass, so consider the following if you plan to be in such places:

• Wear light colored clothing, to make ticks easier to see.
• If you can, wear long pants and sleeves, and tuck them into your socks/gloves.   This can be difficult in hot regions.  If you are a "belts and suspenders" type of person, you can also use some old shoelaces to tie off the bottom part of your pants to make doubly sure. Just tie them too tight. You still need circulation in your feet!  
• Wear insect repellent that is labeled as effective for ticks. Treat clothes and exposed skin, following label directions. (I'm usually not crazy about chemical repellents such as DEET. If I'm just going to a barbecue, I usually wear a bug band to keep mosquitoes off, but for hiking or gardening in a tick-infested area, I make an exception.)
• Check yourself thoroughly for ticks upon coming indoors. Pay special attention to all cracks, crannies, and crevices, and places covered by hair or close-fitting parts of your clothing.  Use a mirror or a spouse to help you check hard to see places.
• Take a shower and wash your clothing as soon as possible. (CDC recommends within two hours.)  If you've been playing in the dirt or hiking, chances are you'll be hot and sweaty and will want to do this anyway.
• Keep pets indoors if you can, check them often if you can't. Give them flea/tick preventatives regularly either way.
• If you find one attached to you or your pet, see the links below for more information on removal and symptoms of tick-borne disease. If you develop such symptoms, seek medical care.

A few links:
Tickinfo.com
Texas A&M Tick Research Labaratory
The Gulf Coast Tick (TAMU profile)
UC Davis: Ticks of California
Control Biting Pests in the Organic Garden
Consumer Reports: Tick Control with Landscaping Techniques
Centers for Disease Control Tick Info Page
The Big Game Hunt: Preventing Tick-Borne Disease
P. Allen Smith: Tick Control
DogsAndTicks.com
ASPCA Tick Page
CatHealth.com: Tick Parasites of Cats

Book Review: The Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations

While decorating books help you find inspiration for your home, Tony Lord's Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations is a guide to help you get ideas for aesthetically pleasing assortments of plants in your landscape. 

The book offers general advice on design, including varying color and texture in the garden, as well as  basic information on planting and establishing new items.  Chapters are arranged by types of plants, and offer profiles of specific plants, along with lists of species that make attractive companions for each.  It is fairly easy to use as a quick reference for finding plants that will look attractive together.  The book is loaded with beautiful photographs of a variety of plantings to help the reader visualize some of these planting combinations.

The author himself states that his book is meant only to be a general guide with suggestions, and that is exactly how it functions.  The gardener who uses is must have a workable understanding of her own local climate and soil conditions.   Many of the plants profiled in this work are popular in gardens across the country, and may or may not be suited to the tastes, needs, and time constraints of the individual gardener. 

While not an essential component of a Gulf Coast Gardener's personal reference library, it can be a handy resource when one needs ideas,  especially in combination with gardening books specific to one's own region.