• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Red Dirt Ramblings®

Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

  • Home
  • About Me
    • Speaking
  • Garden Coaching
  • Contact
  • My Gardens
    • The Back Garden
    • The Potager
  • Show Search
Hide Search

A very rosy spring

‘Old Blush’ rose wtih ‘Karl Rosenfield’ peony. This is the last of three ‘Old Blush’ roses I had. It didn’t get RRD, and it is thriving this year.

We’re having a very rosy spring at Little Cedar Garden this year. In fact, as I walk down the pebbled paths in the back garden I’m struck by the scent and beauty. It’s enough to take your breath away.

Walking the path and seeing Rosa ‘Desdemona’ almost takes my breath away.

A few years ago, if you lived in Oklahoma or Texas, I would have cautioned you not to plant roses. I had nearly sworn off new roses myself. Rose Rosette Disease was stomping all over my garden along with most of Oklahoma and Texas, and it made me sad. So very sad.

Rosa ‘The Poet’s Wife’ has never looked so good.

Honestly, my struggles with RRV remind me of what Covid-19 is doing as it stomps all over the human world this spring. Seeing my roses bloom so well only a few years after so many were wiped out makes me extremely grateful.

Rosa ‘Boscobel’ took awhile to get started, but she is now taking off.

It is validation that pestilence and even virulent viruses eventually wear themselves out, while we build upon what remains. Yes, Rose Rosette is still part of the rose growing experience, but we now know better what to do when we see it. Every day doctors and scientists learn more about Covid-19 too.

Rosa ‘The Generous Gardener.’ I think this rose would be a great one to give to a garden friend you love.

I know comparing Rose Rosette Virus to coronavirus might be a stretch, but the roses still kindle hope in my heart. After all, only a few years ago, we called Rose Rosette “aids for roses.” I kid you not.

The oldest garden bed in the garden faces the street. It is full of Phlox paniculata which will bloom later, two very hardy roses–the pink one is ‘Old Blush’ and loads of peonies.

Between 2011 and 2014, I removed at least eighty of my 100 roses and burned them or bagged and threw them in the garbage. I didn’t put diseased roses in the compost pile because I didn’t want the tiny eriophyid mite to keep replicating and spreading here or anywhere else. I became known as the blogger/garden writer with Rose Rosette, and people contacted me from all over the country with horror and sympathy. I felt a little like Typhoid Mary. Sound familiar?

  • Arbor and back gate
    Entry to the back garden with American wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’ on the arbor. I planted it when ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ died of RRV.
  • Wisteria and arbor seen from the other side. After it blooms, the foliage stays beautiful until a hard freeze.
    Wisteria and arbor seen from the other side. After it blooms, the foliage stays beautiful until a hard freeze.
  • Bumblebees are many good reasons to plant American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens.
    Bumblebees are very good reasons to plant American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens.

I replaced my dead roses with other plants, and I resigned myself to losing all of my roses, but that’s not what happened. With a lot of due diligence, Rose Rosette left my garden as mysteriously as it first came. Bill, my son, Brennan, and I worked together to make a new daylily bed for the daylily regional, and I hesitantly planted a few roses because it was new soil and didn’t have the roots of any diseased roses. Two years later, I planted a few roses in new spots in the remaining garden.

If you’re still seeing RRV in your garden, here are some native shrubs to replace roses.

Garage border on a stormy afternoon. ‘South Africa’ is the bright yellow rose and ‘The Poet’s Wife’ is in front of it.

A friend visiting last year was disappointed because he didn’t see very many roses. I told him they were there, but were young and would take a while to get going.

Rosa ‘Imogen’ has very small blossoms, but they’re such a pretty color.

When I decided to try again, the folks at David Austin Roses sent me several to start new garden beds. Special shoutout to Sally Ferguson of Ferguson Caras LLC and Michael Marriott of David Austin Roses, good garden friends who suggested disease-resistant varieties for my hot Oklahoma climate. With their help, I chose roses that are both beautiful, fragrant, and disease resistant. Most of these did really well, and I bought more this year.

  • Rosa ‘Desdemona’
  • ‘Desdemona’ rose in a beautiful closeup.
  • Rosa ‘Harlow Carr’
  • Another view of the very thorny ‘Harlow Carr’ named after the famous garden. I’ve been there!
  • Rosa ‘Harlow Carr’ closeup.

This was in 2018. I planted several David Austin roses including: ‘Imogen,’ ‘The Generous Gardener,’ ‘Harlow Carr,’ ‘Thomas à Becket,’ ‘Windermere,’ ‘Desdemona, and ‘The Mayflower.’ ‘Thomas à Becket’ and ‘The Mayflower’ died. I replaced ‘Thomas à Becket’ because Pup Francis dug it up and chewed on its canes. Thomas deserved a second chance. ‘The Mayflower’ was down to half a cane this spring. I pulled it out and planted Rosa glauca in its place. I want that blue foliage. I think pollinators will like this one too.

It takes two to three years in the garden for roses to truly find their legs and really perform. ‘Desdemona’ and ‘Harlow Carr’ are splendid this spring as is ‘Olivia Rose Austin.’

If you can only buy one David Austin rose, I would suggest ‘Olivia Rose Austin,’ the pink rose in this photo. It is always good, rarely has blackspot and cheerfully flowers next to this White Meidiland® rose, another easy one to grow.

Perhaps, because I took drastic measures–I hate to jinx myself–RRD is gone. Now, it may come in again on another rose, and if it does, I will burn that one too.

‘Carefree Beauty’ rose just finished blooming. I need to deadhead it. I think we’ll get even more bloom in June because the weather has been so mild.

Today, I went out and planted two Molineaux shrub roses on either side of my kitchen door. I think I’m now out of room.

Bill would say let’s dig another bed, but he’s an eternal optimist that man. I’m trying to remain optimistic too, but no more gardens for me. Stay safe everyone, and people, in Oklahoma, enjoy the spring flowers. They’re here to give us hope and joy. At least I think so.

Previous Post
Next Post

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Related

9 May, 2020 By Dee Nash

Filed Under: Gardening, Roses Tagged With: Best David Austin Roses, Best David Austin roses for the south, Coronavirus, Covid-19, David Austin roses, Growing roses in Oklahoma, Oklahoma roses, Planting Hope, Shrub roses

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sonia

    14 May, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    Beautiful roses throughout your garden. What a lovley tour!

  2. Carol

    12 May, 2020 at 7:34 am

    A lovely post, filled with all kinds of hope. Love it!

  3. Gail

    11 May, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    It’s great to see roses in your garden again. They all look splendid and I am imagining their fragrance. Happy gardening my friend. xogail

  4. Phillip Oliver

    11 May, 2020 at 8:05 am

    What wonderful news! I am so happy for you. And even better, you have lots of the Austin roses (my favorite!). I have the Olivia rose and it is just starting to bloom. I sure hope that the RRD is a thing of the past in your garden.

  5. Della J. Nash

    10 May, 2020 at 12:00 pm

    This is a lovely Mother’s Day gift, from you, to all of us staying home. Thank you for another excellent gardening blog.

    • Dee Nash

      10 May, 2020 at 4:15 pm

      Happy Mother’s Day Aunt Della. I hope this is all over soon. Love you.~~Dee

  6. Diana Cole

    10 May, 2020 at 8:18 am

    Loved your column!! I have The Poets Wife, Wollerton Old Hall, Ambridge Rose, zephirin Drouhin,White Gold and Soul Sister.

    • Dee Nash

      10 May, 2020 at 4:17 pm

      Thank you Diana! You have quite the collection too. There is nothing quite like the lovely Zephirine. I may try to find a place for her again one day.

  7. Rustic & Refined

    10 May, 2020 at 6:23 am

    Stunning garden. I have only been a follower for maybe almost 2 years, so I didn’t know about your rose burning days. Wow, that must have been a seriously bad day, month and even year. I am glad to see you kept going and powered through that bad time. But that’s what gardeners do isn’t it! ??

    • Dee Nash

      10 May, 2020 at 4:16 pm

      Thank you! I’ve had a lot of time to work in it this spring. LOL! The rose debacle went on for three or four years. I was sure I would lose every rose I had. It made me a much more mature gardener, and I appreciate the roses even more now.~~Dee

Primary Sidebar

About Dee

Hi, I’m Dee, a professional garden writer and speaker born and raised in Oklahoma. Here you’ll find all my best dirt on gardening and travel. Welcome!

Read More

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Subscribe Here To RDR Updates.


* indicates required
Email Format

Garden Coaching

Garden Coaching

Grow a beautiful and manageable garden with personalized pointers from Dee!

Learn More

Give my podcast a listen!

Our podcast logo! The Gardenangelists.

Search me baby!

Blogs I Dig

  • Clay and Limestone–TN
  • Cold Climate Gardening–NY
  • Each Little World
  • Growing With Plants
  • May Dreams Gardens–IN
  • Plant Postings–WI
  • Redeem Your Ground
  • Rock Rose–AZ
  • The Garden Diary
  • Toronto Gardens–Canada

Red Dirt Sisters

  • Curtiss Ann Matlock
  • The Not Always Lazy W

Footer

Popular Categories

  • Basics
  • Color
  • Featured
  • Garden Design
  • Gardening
  • Lifestyle
  • Oklahoma
  • Perennials
  • Roses
  • Summer
  • Reviews

Follow Us!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Let’s bring back the Monarchs

Let’s bring back the Monarchs
For more info about speaking, visit my speaker's page!

Dear Friend and Gardener

Join our virtual garden club and share all summer

Join our virtual #garden club and share all #summer

Disclosure Notice

Red Dirt Ramblings participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and its affiliates.

Occasionally, I also accept some garden items for review. If I review one of these items, I will let you know in the post. Thank you.

Copyright © 2025 · Privacy Policy Sitemap

© Copyright 2023 Reddirtramblings.com · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Sitemap

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...