Today’s photos are from Desiree Daniel in Texas. She says, “I live in Joshua, Texas. It’s a small rural town just 20 minutes south of Fort Worth. My gardening zone is 7b. The summers here are very hot. Temperatures can get up to 105 degrees. Despite this, my mainly old garden roses bloom like crazy. They suffer a bit in July and August but spring to life again in September to November. The spring display is “near English”. I say this with good authority, having lived in England for a number of years.
“I am an avid gardener. I garden on 8100 square feet. I grow mainly roses and perennials. My garden grew in five years from a basic builder’s lot full of Bermuda grass to several areas with roses, perennials, and Texas natives.
“I enjoy sharing my garden with friends who live in apartments and don’t have the room for gardening. It’s such a pleasure to see their faces in the spring when everything is fresh and green.”
Lovely, Desiree! Please, please, PLEASE tell me the name of the rose in the 5th photo. It’s dreamy! Can I just say how much I LOVE when you guys send me pictures of yourselves to include in these posts? It’s so much fun to put a face to a name/garden. And now we know that Desiree is a nurse–nurturing both at work and at home. Thanks, Desiree!
——Winter is the perfect time to take a photographic stroll through the photos you took in your garden this year, and send some in to me! [email protected]….. Thanks!
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Comments
nice nice nice, i always enjoy roses in others gardens. humidity and my laziness gives me no success with them here. having spent time in San Angelo i give you a big congratulations on your place, i don't know how anything survives those summers. i , too, like photos of the gardeners. i always create a mental image of the gardeners featured but i'm NEVER right when i do see their face. great job, Desiree and thanks
Your garden is so beautiful. I really love your roses as my favorite flowers are roses and Hydrangea. Wish I had the the longer grow season you have I can see the love you put in the garden. Thanks for sharing
Beautiful job! Your roses are gorgeous. You should be proud of the job you've done with such harsh conditions. I'm sure your friends and neighbors share your joy about your garden.
Desiree, you have done a wonderful job turning the builder's lot into a garden heaven anyone would be thrilled to enjoy. I can well imagine what a treat it must be for your apartment dwelling friends to come visit you and see such lovely colors framing your home. It looks like you have taken very seriously the challenge of keeping the Bermuda grass out of your flower beds and have found a handsome and effective method. Your smile is contagious and, as I smiled back, my day already felt the happier for it. Thanks!
I love the colors and I especially love the roses!
Desiree, you are just as pretty as your garden! No idea how you have time to keep it so well maintained with a nurse's schedule...what's the secret? :-)
Thank you so much for sharing, and I, too, am curious about the rose in the 5th picture.
Beautiful job, especially considering the heat that garden has to endure.And such contrasts: England to Texas; yesterday's ice storm post to this summer lushness. I've been wishing lately for zone 7 or 8, but I would have a hard time with 105°!
Great job, Desiree... everything looks so neat and tidy, even the hose is properly stowed. I like those tiny roses in the top right photo, but best are the smiling flowers on your nurse uniform. Thank you, Desiree.
What a treat. as a nurse I find gardening a way to enjoy life after having to deal with the issues that face nurses in general. I see you relax in a great way. Love the photos, roses great. Thanks for your picture, a face to the flowers is always good to see. The temperature you mentioned is not so agreeable to me. Both the flowers and I would be wilted. God bless.
Very pretty, Desiree! Always interesting to hear the different hurdles to be overcome in each area...105 degrees is unimaginable to me, and I lived in the Caribbean for many years! You have certainly acclimated well, as shown by your garden. The roses are such abundant bloomers...I'm in Jeff's camp on that one. Not so much the humidity, just lazy! Thanks for sharing, would love to see your garden in the spring!
I echo the others in saying "great job". What a challenge with those temperatures. I have a particular fondness for pink flowers and those roses are fabulous! Your friends and neighbors are very fortunate to share in the beauty that you've created!
Well Done DesIree, you've created a totally amazing garden that is an absolute credit to you. Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos of your piece of heaven. I can certainly relate to gardening in high temps, currently experiencing temps of over 100F day after day in our summer here down under. And yes I grow lots of roses too, such hardy plants. Keep up the good work and look forward to seeing more of your inspiring photos!
Beautiful, Desiree! I too am a lover of roses, especially Old Roses, and am curious about the pink one--which one is she? I cannot even imagine 105 degree heat! Growing disease-resistant roses without chemicals in our humid NE Ohio clime is my challenge and my passion--though I love perennials and hydrangeas too. Along with many trees and shrubs as well, for their structure in the garden as well as their beauty and value for feeding the birds and other wildlife. Nicely done, thanks for brightening my morning.
Desiree, Thank you so much for such uplifting garden photos. The snow covered roads are already very bad here in upstate NY with 6" to 8" more snow expected so I'm hibernating today. I love your 7 Sisters (or is it Joseph's Coat) rose in photo 2. Thank you for telling us your zone and growing conditions. I've had to look up some people's towns to see what their zone is. It help us to know about whether 'we' should try a particular plant. It's wonderful to see you too because you are as beautiful as your garden.
Thanks Desiree for sharing your lovely garden. I also chime in about wanting to know the name of Rose #5, although why, since mine always sicken and die, I don't know. Everything looks so lush and healthy. I didn't think you could get a garden like this in TX. You've done a great job with a builder's site in a mere 5 years, especially with a probably crazy work schedule. Thanks for sharing your garden and photo!
Hello Guys!This is Desiree. Thank you so much for all of your kind words and encouragement. I love being a nurse, but gardening is my true passion. It helps me to cope with those 12 hour shifts!
The rose in the second picture looks a lot like Joseph's coat in this picture, but are really peach drift roses. The pink rose is Belinda's Dream. It is a perfect rose for Texas, It blooms in our "ridiculous" summer heat. It is also very disease resistant and remontant. In the early morning it wafts a raspberry scent in the air. The yellow rose is Julia's Child.
I have almost 70 rose bushes in my yard and will love to share some more pics in the Spring. I love seeing the pictures of the Northern gardens posted here. Such beautiful lush greenery in summer. Rare here in Texas. Thank you again and Happy Gardening 2014!
Desiree, thank you for submitting photos. Your gardens and roses are beautiful. I learned several things today; the heat tolerance of roses, mums, and petunias. It is so nice you can share your gardens with friends.
As a fellow Texas gardener, I would like to venture a guess on the roses. The pink rose may be Belinda's Dream and the multi-colored may be Mutabilis. Both do well in our scorching heat.
I had to come back to respond to your comment. 70 ROSES!! you have to send us more pictures. A rose with a raspberry scent - I have to check more on that. Thanks again.
Thank you for sharing Desiree! What a challenge to keep roses going in such heat, yet yours look very healthy. I too love roses and would like to know the names of yours. It looks like you have three different pink ones in the third photo on the left.
I'd love to have roses here but unless they're fenced they're
deer fodder, the thorny parts would survive but they'd never flower, deer in the Catskills consider rose buds a delicacy... I have one rose bush behind a fence. So I admire all Desiree's roses. And right now I'd trade her 105 degrees for today's 5 degrees... imagine a 100 degree difference... and tomorrow the temperature is supposed to plunge to -7 degrees. And it's now snowing heavily, about 4" already on the ground, I'm predicting over 12". I already went out to plow but at this temperature the hydraulic fluid on my tractor's front loader is too thick to move, I'll have to wait a couple of days for when the temperature is supposed to rise above 20 degrees and maybe hit 30-35 degrees. At least I trudged out to the barn earlier and made sure there was plenty of food and water for the barn cats... I now have electric out there so there's a bedding heater and a heated water bowl. I guess I'll be hibernating for a while. I love Desiree's warmth radiating smile, I wish more posters would include their photo.
I just can't imagine planting and taking care of that many roses in that kind of heat. You've done a wonderful job. Love the peach drift roses but the raspberry scent of Belinda's Dream might just bring me back as a rose grower. I have dug out a number that I originally planted as they are such scrumptious deer food.
Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sending them as today it is rainy and grey on Vancouver Island. Makes one hope for Spring. It must be hard to grow in that heat but you definatly have a green thumb Daniel. Gardening is great therapy.
Desiree, everything is blooming beautifully. Believe me, I understand your struggles in the Texas heat. I live in Mansfield just a short distance from you. However, I also struggle with too much shade & finding enough plants that can handle dry heat & shade that bloom & give color. So I work in colorful leaves also.
I still prefer Texas though. It gets cold, but warms back up in a few days before the next norther hits.
I just love looking at everyone's pictures - especially from the northeast and northwest where things just seem to grow so easily. Thanks to all of you who inspire me to work harder at it.
oh, I forgot to mention that I am pretty sure the rose mentioned is Belinda's Dream. I do have one also that does well here even though it doesn't really get enough sun.
Love that beautifuly manicured border. Your roses are fabulous, also. I would love to see more in the spring. I tried a Drift rose this summer, and liked it, too. Do you have any David Austin roses? They are one of my personal faves. You've done a great job overcoming that Texas heat. Did you catch your gardening bug while in England? Too many questions, I know. Luv it all!
sorry for posting so late but I just love love your roses.
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