Tag: city of roses

Garden Corner: Two 10 minute tasks to do now!

Posted on by Lita Batho
A hellebore in full bloom

A perennial favorite is getting ready to bloom in Portland: the hellebore! If you’ve recently purchased a home, keep an eye out for these low-to-the-ground flowers this month. Popular in Portland as an early spring bloom, you might be lucky to find some in your new garden.

These long lived plants’ best season is when they bloom in February through April with a variety of white, purples and pinks. Once they’ve bloomed, the foliage tends to blend into the garden until the following year.

Now’s the time: cut last year’s leaves

new growth on a hellebore

For tentative gardeners I like to mention that if you do nothing, they will survive, so don’t worry. To give them an extra boost, now is the time to cut off any older, mature leaves, to encourage new growth: as new flowers emerge, cutting off old foliage will encourage new growth, showcase flowers, and help prevent disease and pests. The plant in the image above shows the new growth with old leaves removed.

Second task- check out your roses!

prune slightly above an outward facing leaf bud

One more task for early spring is to prune your roses. In this City of Roses, I find that many homes come with a rose (or a dozen) and new homeowners aren’t sure how to care for them.

When pruning, remove any tiny stems (smaller in diameter than a pencil). Another rule of thumb is to reduce the height of the plant by 1/3. You’ll be looking to create a shape like a cup, or an upturned hand, so trim off extra inward-facing canes. Lastly, cut an an angle, and look for new leaf buds, which will ideally face outward (think “cup like shape”).

reducing the number of canes, and cultivating a ‘cup’ like shape

For either job, always use clean, sharp pruners, and for roses it’s recommended to wash the pruning shears between uses, (or between plants) with soap and water to avoid spreading any disease.

Now is a great time to embark on these two small garden tasks: they take a just a few minutes and will provide an outdoor winter break.

Why don’t my roses smell good?

Posted on by Lita Batho

Portland is full of roses at this time of year! Have you purchased a home with roses in the yard but now you find that they don’t have that beautiful rosy fragrance??  You’re not crazy- some roses have strong fragrances, while some don’t.  In this short post, I’ll try to set your garden on the path to fragrance wonderland.

Jude The Obscure, bred by David Austin Roses: my favorite for fragrance and the whole reason I started growing roses!

As you visit local rose gardens, or your own yard, and rose fragrance is lackluster, you are not alone. Home gardeners choose roses based upon the features that are important to them, just like we do with houses.  While some home buyers may want a 2 car garage, some may not care at all.  Similarly, the previous owner may have chosen roses for qualities they prefer. These can include thornless, shape, color, hardiness…  not always fragrance.

Even within the subject of ‘fragrance’, you’ll find different types.  Myrrh, Old Rose, Tea, Fruit and Musk are typically the five different categories of fragrance.  The best way to determine what you like is, of course, to smell some roses, and take note!

The very first rose that I fell in love with was along a sidewalk where I frequently walked.  It smelled so good, people would stop and smell them, and remark upon it.  Finally I ran into the home owner, and they shared the name of the rose with me.  It was Jude the Obscure, bred by English breeder David Austin.  This started a pandemic-era deep dive into roses.   There was a time when I didn’t want to plant anything prickly in my garden, but these roses won me over. They’re worth it.

 

 

 

Princess Charlene de Monaco: ruffly petals, long stems great for bouquets and a lovely rose fragrance.

Want inspiration?

I’ve added a few photos below of a few of my favorite fragrant roses!  And guess what?  Many modern roses are bred to be very easy to grow.  With a a few simple tips you will be a success: most roses prefer at least 6 hours per day of sunlight, and an occasional deep watering once established.   Also, most rose farms and growers will offer resources to help your success right on their website.

A good few good resources are:  Heirloom Roses, Menagerie Flower Farm and David Austin Roses.  If you’re into flowers, you’ll want to know about Floret Flower Farm too, although they don’t sell roses, they have amazing resource pages, including blogs about roses.

 

 

When to buy roses

You’ll find the best selection of roses at your local nursery in the spring. Springtime, after chance of frost has passed, but before roses have put out their new growth is the best time to plant and let your plant get established before the hot months of summer.   Now is the perfect time to check out other gardens, do some research and pick your favorites for planting next spring.  Fall is also a good time to plant, at least 6 weeks before frost, to allow a new plant to get established before winter.

Wishing you a good Portland rose season- and some good bouquets from your future roses.

 

Bringing Julie Home

Posted on by Living Room Realty

A few months ago, an amazing local lender referred me to a couple searching for their first home. This lender and I have rocked a number of amazing transactions together, and I always adore the clients she connects me with. Mark and Julie were no exception. From the moment we met, I felt an absolute bond. They were funny, full of spirit, and had a strong idea of exactly what they were hoping for in their first home. We hit it off like fireworks.

Each day we spent together looking at houses was full of laughter and lots of Starbucks coffee. Julie loves Starbucks. After a few months, we found a gorgeous 3 bedroom ranch with a lovely backyard for their dogs and a beautiful new kitchen, complete with her request for a large window over the sink.

The one aspect of the place that Julie didn’t care for – the roses all along the front walk. “We’re gonna tear these out and you can have them Jené.” Julie said on her closing day.

I looked at her in disbelief. ” You don’t want these roses?!”

“They’re yours!” She exclaimed.

I couldn’t be more excited. As the weeks had gone on, I had become quite fond of our visits together and realized I was really going to miss seeing Mark and Julie regularly. While I know I will have the delight of going to visit them at their new place, it won’t be the same as our house hunting outings. Having the roses from their new yard come to stay and flourish in my garden will feel like bringing a lil part of Julie home with me. I can’t wait for their first bloom so I can bring her a bouquet of Portland’s local pride.

Congratulations Julie and Mark! It truly means so much to me to have had the honor of meeting you, building community with you, and helping you find your gorgeous home!