Roses over the door

Rosa "Iceberg"

"Iceberg" is one of the most popular roses in the world. Its simple beauty and easy growing habits make it an excellent choice for gardens, whether for cutting or just enjoying.  It "plays well with others" -- especially lovely, I think, with lavender at its feet -- or looks stunning in a mass.

"Iceberg" is a floribunda rose -- Latin for "many-flowering" -- which were developed in the early 1900s as a cross between hybrid teas and polyanthas, in order to take advantage of both the polyantha profusion of blooms and the hybrid teas' looks and color range. Typical of the floribundas is the mass of blooms on a single cane.  "Iceberg" was introduced in Germany in 1958; there it is known as "Schneewittchen" -- "Snow White".  It also comes in a climbing form.

Rosa "Gertrude Jekyll"

The roses around Fullerton certainly enjoyed the rainy winter we've had, and are blooming beautifully. This one is "Gertrude Jekyll", an Austin English rose named after the famous gardener. (It is pronounced "JEE-k'll".)

This rose has a beautiful old-rose shape, a vivid clear-pink color when the blooms are new, usually fading and softening a bit, and an utterly breath-taking scent.  I have had few problems with it, other than keeping its robustness under control -- there's a reason its nickname is "Galloping Gertie"!

It has a slight repeat in the autumn, here in Fullerton.

I have this growing on a trellis attached to the side of the house along our narrow driveway, growing to one side of the trellis so that the canes can be laid along the length of the horizontal bars, on the same principle as self-pegging, thus increasing the bloom. This is not perhaps the best spot for a rosebush, as we can't get in and out of the car next to it for the exuberant thorns, but it seems very happy in this usually-difficult spot.

Alyssum and lobelia

This combination of white alyssum and blue lobelia is growing very prettily in a dappled-shade area under a decorative bench at the edge of a path.

Fullerton Beautiful Garden Tour, 2011

Two photos from this year's garden tour sponsored by Fullerton Beautiful.

Wildflower garden

A very charming front garden in the Preservation District of Fullerton. Included are California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and mountain garland (Clarkia unguiculata), both California natives.  Mountain garland -- the tall pink ones here -- are also known as elegant clarkia.

April showers

April sky