Hi GPODers!

After two days in the colorful beds, borders and containers of Sharon Burgmayer in Pennsylvania (Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them), we are continuing our foray into flowers with Tat in Houston, Texas. Tat has been seriously growing roses for only about 5 years now, but she’s already found so much success that she’s sharing her tips and tricks on her website and YouTube channel (@rosesinhouston).

Hello Fine Gardening team,

I’d like to share my rose garden that I started during COVID in 2020. I grow my roses without using fungicide, insecticide or any chemicals to treat/prevent diseases or pests. Just all natural. 

I have a website: rosesinhouston.com and YouTube channel: youtube.com/@rosesinhouston

Roses are one of those plants that I believe are for everyone. No matter your garden style or theme, there is a rose with the right color and growth habit for your needs and desires. Tat has a truly enviable collection of roses in an assortment of colors. The lovely bronze-to-pink variety in the foreground is ‘Distant Drums’ (Rosa ‘Distant Drums’, Zones 5–10), which look like a bunch of mini sunsets in the garden.

Through lots of trial and error, she is able to get her plants to produce an abundance of blooms. When cut, these flowers will add beautiful floral color and fragrance to inside the home.

One of my favorite qualities in roses are the varieties that produce blooms in a range of colors. Maybe it’s the thrifter in me that feels like I’m getting multiple plants for the price of one. This is a Sunbelt® Crazy Love™ Grandiflora rose (R. ‘KORbamflu’, Zones 5–10), which produces flowers in copper, orange, yellow, and pink shades.

Another example of the beauty that can easily be brought indoors. With the incredible array of varieties that Tat grows, an exciting and colorful arrangement can be created with roses alone!

For a pop of purple, Sunbelt® Plum Perfect Floribunda roses (R. ‘KORvodacom’, Zones 5–9) are an excellent option. Deep lavender to mauve blooms are produced in abundance.

Roses aren’t the only plants that Tat grows in her garden, but they are the flowers that absolutely steal the show.

Lastly, you can talk roses without at least one classic, deep red variety. Citiscape® Bordeaux™ (Rosa ‘KORelamba’, Zones 4–9) is a compact Floribunda rose that is heat tolerant and disease resistant (making it the perfect fit for Tat’s chemical-free garden in Houston).

Thank you so much for sharing your incredible roses with us, Tat! The skill and passion you have for roses is apparent and inspiring, and your bountiful blooms give no indication to your hot and humid climate.

2020 was a huge gardening year for a lot of us, whether you really go into it for the first time or finally had the time to tackle big projects and renovations. As we enter the fifth growing season since that unpredictable year, how has your garden evolved? Has your garden grown exponentially since? Or have you had to cut back some things to accommodate new schedules and needs? Let us know in the comments, and follow the directions below to submit your garden via email or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to gpod@taunton.com along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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