New from the garden

Bliss Parfuma is taking center stage in the garden this morning with fragrance to fill a room.

November has arrived with a crisp 54-degree morning, and the final roses of the season are singing their swan song in the garden. Before we settle into winter, here are a few reminders for your November garden: Protect yourself. If it’s been more than 10 years since your last tetanus shot, check with your healthcare provider about getting a booster. It’s an important precaution for anyone who spends time in the garden. Clean your tools. They’ve worked hard all season. Give them a good cleaning before putting them away for the winter. Keep watering. Your roses may not be actively growing, but they still need moisture, especially during dry spells. Clean up those beds. Remove fallen leaves and garden debris, particularly rose leaves that may harbor black spot spores. A little cleanup now can help reduce disease pressure when spring rolls around. And above all, take a moment to enjoy those last beautiful blooms. We’ll be back at it before you know it!

Black Baccara Or Dark Knight? I had this rose in my garden for many years and could never quite pin down the true variety. It’s also difficult to photograph, at least with my camera. Dark night tends to have a gold undertone, and I have rarely seen that attribute on blooms of this rose. But occasionally it does crop up. Is anyone growing these varieties and can help?

Martha Stewart is still holding court in the garden, and she ain’t showing any signs of slowing down. Beautiful, fragrant blooms on the day before Halloween. That’s one of the things I love about growing roses here in the Deep South. While other folks are putting their gardens to bed, we’re still cutting blooms and enjoying the fruits of another growing season. Long growing seasons, mild winters, and roses that keep on producing well into fall. We’ve got it pretty good down here in Alabama. What’s your favorite part about gardening in the Deep South? I’d say a fresh rose bloom in late October is mighty hard to beat.

Well, y’all, it’s hard to beat spending time talking roses with folks who love gardening as much as I do! I had the good pleasure of speaking to a wonderful group of enthusiastic gardeners at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Lunch and Learn series. Our topic for the day was “Which Rose Is Right for You?” We talked about all sorts of roses, from their different growth habits to finding just the right variety for the space you’ve got. Whether you’re tending a little garden by the porch, filling out a flower bed, or dreaming of a whole garden full of roses, there’s a rose that’ll fit right in. And you know, talking about roses is one thing, but getting out in the garden and seeing them for yourself is even better! We rounded out the day with a stroll through the beautiful Dunn Formal Rose Garden, where we got to put some of that knowledge to work and see several of the varieties we’d discussed. A heartfelt thank-you to the folks at Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens for inviting me to share a little of what I’ve learned along the way. And to everyone who came out, asked questions, and shared in the fun, thank y’all for making it such a fine day. There’s always something new to learn in a garden, and it’s a whole lot more fun when we learn it together. Until next time, keep your hands in the dirt and your roses growing!

Sweet Drift is my favorite of all the Drift Series of roses from @starrosesandplants and the only one in the series with any noticeable fragrance. Superior disease resistance and very floriferous. Which drift rose of your favorite?

If there’s one thing I appreciate in a rose, it’s one that knows how to put on a show! This is Scepter’d Isle from David Austin, and she sure knows how to bloom. Beautiful soft pink flowers, that classic English rose look, and a whole lot of blooms to enjoy. I’ve found her to be a good choice for our Deep South gardens, where heat and humidity can put a rose to the test. And when a rose blooms this freely, well, that’s a mighty good reason to make room for one. Y’all know how it goes around here. There’s always room for one more rose!

If there’s one thing I’ve always had a soft spot for, it’s a good old-fashioned rambling rose. There’s just something about those long, graceful canes covered in blooms that makes a garden feel like it’s been there for generations. As I begin building out the gardens at VanCleave Hall, you can bet a few ramblers will find their way into the landscape. They belong in a place with this much history. We recently explored the Save the Ramblers Initiative on the Rose Chat Podcast, and it’s a wonderful reminder that these old beauties deserve a place in the gardens of tomorrow. Some roses are worth growing simply because of the beauty they bring. Others are worth growing because of the stories they carry. Ramblers give us both. Listen here: https://rosechat.podbean.com/e/save-the-ramblers-initiative/

SUNDAYS IN THE SOUTH: COUNT ALL MISTAKES AS LOVE At my daughter’s wedding, I shared a little piece of wisdom that has stayed with me for years. My former wife’s great-aunt Lucille had a habit of signing her letters with five simple words: “Count all mistakes as love.” I’ve thought about those words a lot. The people we love will get things wrong. They’ll say the wrong thing, disappoint us, and sometimes leave us wondering how they could know us so well and still get it so wrong. And if we’re honest, we’ll do the same to them. We’re human. We get tired, frustrated, and caught up in our own struggles. Sometimes our words come out wrong, even when our hearts mean well. What if we gave each other a little more grace? What if we were quicker to forgive and less interested in keeping score? The garden reminds me that not every rose blooms perfectly. Some petals are bruised, and some stems grow crooked. But we don’t give up on the whole plant because one bloom disappoints us. We keep tending it. Maybe our relationships deserve that same patience. This doesn’t mean accepting cruelty or overlooking real hurt. It means allowing room for honest mistakes, sincere apologies, and the kind of forgiveness that keeps small things from becoming big walls between us. As I watched my daughter begin this new chapter of her life, I was reminded that lasting love isn’t about getting everything right. It’s about showing up, giving grace, and choosing to love one another through the imperfect parts. So this week, give grace freely. Apologize when you need to. Forgive when you can. And don’t let the small things rob you of the people who matter most. Count all mistakes as love. Five little words. A lifetime of wisdom.

Not quite frost on the pumpkin this morning, but 47 degrees here in Marion, Alabama! I don’t know about y’all, but I’m loving this fall weather. There’s just something about a little cool air, pumpkins on the porch, and that feeling that fall has finally found its way to the Deep South. Pass the coffee and let’s enjoy every minute of it!

I love the firecracker blooms of Fourth of July climbing rose. This is the third and final flush of blooms on this first-year rose in my garden. What’s your favorite climber?