Passion of Wombats XXXIX

I've noticed we tend to be a passionate lot. There seems to be no half measures; whether it's Pat's shiny things, Steve's baseball or golf for Ken and Dave. We must not forget John's passion for digging holes.

I'd like to share my other passion and invite you to share yours. Inspiration is every where when you are talking/writing about your passions.

I love, love roses. I say they are a passion. If I'm to be honest they've been something of an obsession.

There are literally hundreds of classifications for roses, with subclasses, which I'm not going to bore you with. We're just going to look at the Modern classes today. A modern rose is one which was bred after the Great Depression.

The most common are:

 The hybrid tea. A hybrid tea should have an upright growth habit with blooms borne mostly single. These are what you find in the flower shops. Classification is decided by the breeder, and some are debated like Heirloom; the mauve in the grouping below.

  Floribunda; as the name suggests they are abundant bloomers. Floribundas bloom in sprays (multiple blooms on a single stem) They tend to be easier to grow than hybrid teas and most of them are prolific bloomers. If you want vase roses, floribundas aren't what you want.

Grandiflora- I don't have many of this class in my garden. A grandiflora is supposed to bloom in sprays and ideally show a bloom at each stage on one stem.

I have about 200 roses of 135 varieties growing in my yard. I have antique roses, Hybrid Bourbons and Perpetuals.. If you like the really fragrant, full blooms on an independent bush which would rather you not fuss over it, I'd recommend these two classes. Sorry I'm at image limit. You can look at the classes and research roses at helpmefind.com/rose

I also have shrub, mini and mini-flora rose bushes. While I like to look at miniature roses, I really don't like to take care of them. They are a pain to dead head, but I will admit they are far sturdier than you would think.  Tough as nails, that's most minis.

Hybrid Teas are my favorite class. Unfortunately my winter losses have brought me around to the fact that it is best for me to grow shrub roses and floribundas. Sniff, I miss them. When faced with losing 71 roses in two seasons, denial is no longer an indulgence I can afford.

David Austin has managed to combine cabbage rose blooms with consistent re-blooming. His roses are fragrant, sturdy, lovely and winter hardy... so don't feel too sorry for me.

; 0 )

I'm moving toward a no spray garden. I've decreased my spraying to once in the spring and only if disease shows up during the growing season. If you don't like insects, don't look too closely in my garden. My husband proclaimed the beds were infested with spiders. ROFL  If any of you are wondering that's why J.K.'s horror entry tickled me so. I like seeing assassin bugs in my garden.

What is your OTHER passion? and how does it tie into your writing?