Roses, Roses, So Many Roses
Updated: Jan 15, 2022
As I'm sure everyone has seen, I haven't written a blog post in quite some time. Over the past few months as the farm house construction has been going on I haven't had a lot of beautiful photos to post. Mostly a lot of construction, construction debris, half-completed progress, and a lot of dirt to be quite frank. Not too interesting from an aesthetic point of view. And, I found out that Instagram is so much easier and quicker to use for instant photo posts with sound-bite descriptive wording. To-the-point and easy to just post right then on your phone after you captured that moment.
Well today I decided to at least sit down and write out this post about my past few days immersing myself in all things Roses.
Holy moly. The choices for roses for use as cut flowers blows my mind. I want them all! It was so easy to just loose myself in the beauty. Which ones to choose. Which ones to pass over. Will they be available? Who is able to fill your need? Oh my, paralysis by analysis. Information overload!!! I finally had to stop the madness and sit down and do the dirty work of cataloging my wish list into an Excel spreadsheet. Variety name, category- Hybrid Tea/ Grandiflora/ Floribunda/ English Shrub Rose/ Climbing; color, height and width, bloom type, bloom repeat, zone hardiness, patented (i.e. cannot propagate). It has been very educational. Thank goodness that the growers supply so much information on their website about each one. Many also indicate if they are good for cutting for bouquets and wedding work. That alone was really most helpful in making the right choices.
Another important step I took a couple months ago was sign up for a THRIVE membership in the Menagerie Academy. This is a subscription-based online membership community set up by Felicia Alvarez of Menagerie Farm and Flower. There are three levels of membership available. It is about all things roses. She has weekly Q&A's, 1:1 Coaching, Monthly Zoom meetings, resource material, online courses as well as on-farm workshops at her farm in the Sacramento Valley in California. I signed up for and enjoyed a 1:1 coaching session with her this past Thursday. The best move I could have ever made. She gave me insight into my special environment here on the plains at the base of the Front Range and how I should approach my growing. She suggested some methods I should consider to be able to extend my growing season thereby getting more "flushes" of roses so that the investment is economically viable. These suggestions relieved much of the trepidation I was feeling. We talked about disease considerations, pest issues and types, and predatory insects and how to use them to their fullest. Wow! Predatory Insects? That is incredible.
Just this one coaching session was a wonderful step in the right direction in my planning. I am so glad I got over my insecurity and signed up for the session. Felicia is a delight and her enthusiasm for roses knows no bounds.
So I've placed my orders. Some I ordered from High Country Roses, a local grower located just a few miles away. Some I ordered from Menagerie Farm, Heirloom Roses, David Austin Roses, and Northland Rosarium. Some are bare root and others are sold potted in Quart and Gallon containers. Not everyone had everything I needed, hence the different growers.
Now to get to work getting the fields ready for when those beauties arrive late April/early May. That snow on the ground outside needs to get a melting. I can't wait to get started.
Definitely a step in the right direction in the planning of my flower farm.
In no particular order: