When we were leaving the balloon festival I stopped to admire some roses outside Old Parliament House. They were thriving, and reminded me it has been toooooo long since last I went to the Parliamentary Rose Gardens.
The Senate Rose Gardens are perhaps better known, but there are also House of Representative Gardens. (And, a few hundred metres away the National Rose Gardens). So, last Friday we went to check them out.
It was a hot day and has been a hot and dry summer. The gardens were not at their best - but still lovely. And the air was perfumed delightfully. We limited ourselves to the Parliamentary Gardens, and will go to the National Rose Gardens next season, when the roses are in their prime. The Parliamentary Gardens are free and open to the public. They can also be hired for special events, and weddings are often held in them.
As usual, many, many photos follow and will happily embiggen if clicked upon.
First the Representative Gardens:
Sadly I don't know the names of many of the roses. There were tags, but some were missing and some were obviously wrong. Next season when I am planning to buy more roses I will go back and take detailed notes (and hope that the tags have been updated).
I thought these gardens were delightful - even at the end of the growing season.
Then onto the Senate Gardens - which are on the opposite side of Old Parliament House. I think I prefer the House of Representative Gardens, but was very happy to wander around in them both. Interestingly the red roses in both gardens were looooong past their prime.
Lots and lots and lots of roses. A delight for the senses.
The Senate Rose Gardens are perhaps better known, but there are also House of Representative Gardens. (And, a few hundred metres away the National Rose Gardens). So, last Friday we went to check them out.
It was a hot day and has been a hot and dry summer. The gardens were not at their best - but still lovely. And the air was perfumed delightfully. We limited ourselves to the Parliamentary Gardens, and will go to the National Rose Gardens next season, when the roses are in their prime. The Parliamentary Gardens are free and open to the public. They can also be hired for special events, and weddings are often held in them.
As usual, many, many photos follow and will happily embiggen if clicked upon.
First the Representative Gardens:
Sadly I don't know the names of many of the roses. There were tags, but some were missing and some were obviously wrong. Next season when I am planning to buy more roses I will go back and take detailed notes (and hope that the tags have been updated).
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| This is Gold Medal - and I think it deserves one. |
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| It's a Winner |
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| Starstruck |
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| Just Joey |
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| Solfaterre |
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| Perle d'Or |
I thought these gardens were delightful - even at the end of the growing season.
Then onto the Senate Gardens - which are on the opposite side of Old Parliament House. I think I prefer the House of Representative Gardens, but was very happy to wander around in them both. Interestingly the red roses in both gardens were looooong past their prime.
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| Jude the Obscure |
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| I have no idea what these berries are - but really liked them. |
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| Falstaff |
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| Golden Celebration |
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| Mme. Alfred Carriere |
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| Gloria Mundi |
Lots and lots and lots of roses. A delight for the senses.
Hi EC What a wonderful garden and you had a great time photographing it. The Roses are divine, every single one of them.I hope some of them had a smell.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Adamson: Rather a lot of them were perfumed - which was lovely.
DeleteThey are all called roses to me.
ReplyDeleteSome nice pictures. Really like the one near the middle of the walkway. Looks like a peaceful place.
Alex J. Cavanaugh: You belong to the 'a rose by any other name' school I see. I want to know names so I can recreate the joy. It is a very peaceful place, and remarkably uncrowded. Lots of benches to sit and savour the view and the scent too.
DeleteI like all of them, they are precious.
ReplyDeleteBob Bushell: I can only imagine how amazing it would have been while the rose season was in its prime. I will go back next year. And the year after...
DeleteI'll bet the scent of many roses in the sunshine was wonderful, as well as beautiful to look at. I swear I could smell the roses when I looked at these pictures. Shows how much one's sense of smell can be triggered by images. Thanks for taking me to the rose garden! :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: It did smell simply divine. And I loved the colours and the textures too. I definitely need to go back next year when the roses are at their peak.
DeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteHaving a terrible time trying to post. Hopefully, this will work. Google is starting to do my head in. Especially since Google Friend Connect is still not working for me.
So, in brief, once all your photos finally loaded up, I admired the roses and had a virtual sniff. Better than um sniffing something else....
Take care, Sue.
Gary :)
We must have posted a comment at the same time, so I happened to see your Google Friend Connect comment. It's also not working for me (and we are not alone). One thing you can do is to go there via this link. At least you can alter your settings and visit pages from there even if it's not exactly as convenient as before. A pox on Google and their continual moving the goalposts and re-inventing the wheel!
Deleteklahanie: Dear Gary, Google and Blogger are both making me hiss and spit rather too often. And I am glad that you could finally load my myriad of photos. And certainly a virtual rose scent is better than your suggested fart fest.
DeleteOh wow, wow and wow again. I love the heady perfume of a rose garden, although I don't grow them in my garden as it is too shady. But I love visiting the gardens at the various royal palaces here. That third rose is a stunner - in my favourite shade as well :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I can help yopu with those berries. They are from a Swedish Whitebeam. I know this because we are drowning in those trees here. The Swedish name for them is "oxel". I live in Oxelösund, which is made up of three words - "oxel" (Swedish White Beam), "ö" (Island) and "sund" (Sound - as in a large ocean inlet or deep bay). So I live in "The island in the sound where the Swedish White Beams grow". Doesn't that sound nice? And I'm sure it was before the steelworks moved here :-)
Marie, I have just added you to my list.Your garden is a delight.
DeleteMarie: Thank you. I might have to do a bit of investigating, because that Swedish Whitebeam was thriving. And very beautiful. The 'island in the sound where the Swedish Whitebeams grow' does indeed sound delightful.
DeleteI did think of you when I saw the yellow magnificance in the gardens.
dinahmow - thank you. I'm trying to get it into some kind of order, although I've bought enough seeds and bulbs this season to plant out 1,000 acres! Let's hope it all grows.
DeleteElephant's Child - there are nearly 200 different kinds of Sorbus, some are trees and some are more bushy. If you look ar the wiki on Sorbus you'll get links to more varieties. They all produce berries, much loved by birds. Our Bohemian Waxwings go crazy over rowan berries in the autumn (from the mountain ash, another type of Sorbus). We get drunk birds staggering all over the grass if the berries are fermenting. Makes a change from the drunk elks who eat fermenting apples. Not to mention the Saturday night drunks :-.)
Marie: I remember drunk birds feasting on rowan berries. We had a rowan here which I loved, but it died in one of our last 'big' droughts. I must get another. In fact I have a few trees to replace...
DeleteThose roses are so gorgeous I can almost smell them through my computer monitor!
ReplyDeleteWendy: And just imagine how wonderful they smelt being there...
DeleteSo many beautiful roses. It snowed here today, so seeing your post brightened my day. Thanks for sharing. =)
ReplyDeleteCherie Colyer: Welcome and thank you. We have beautiful, life giving rain today. And I am very, very pleased to see it.
DeleteI swear I could smell the roses at one point as I scrolled down. All are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteCarol Kilgore: So many of you have mentioned the scent that I am wondering whether blessed blogger has excelled themselves and done something useful without their usual fanfare.
DeleteOh, I know you are probably sick of how hot and dry it's been, but I can't wait to step outside without dressing for 10 minutes beforehand, to see things growing, to see COLOR!
ReplyDeletePearl
Pearl: I am sick of summer, but it is (finally) showing signs that like Elivis it is leaving the building. Which hopefully means that winter is slooooowly leaving you too.
DeleteI love this post! I love your roses. You've once again taken some wonderful photos :)
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: I love roses too - and am very glad to share.
DeleteThat they are flowering at all after the atrocious summer is powerful testament to the rose's stamina. A lovely wander as I sit here in, yes, a curtain of wet stuff. Just steady, but rather a lot of it.
ReplyDeletedinahmow: Another place you might enjoy when you finally get down here...
DeleteOh delightful! I catch my breath when I see roses, they were/are a passion of mine. I planted so many in my old country garden years ago, and would greet each one by name every morning back then.
ReplyDeleteSo very lovely to see your selection here, EC.
I spied one of my favourites, Crepuscule, as a standard and a bush.
Some lovely David Austins - my obsession.
And, always such a joy to see Rugosa roses, with their strong fruity scent and crinkly, leathery leaves. Such honest, robust plants with delightful autumn hips.
But, I think the gardeners put the wrong tag on the rugosa rose - the single pink rose, seventh from the end, which looks like Fru Dagmar Hastrup.
Here's a link to the beautiful old Noisette, Madame Alfred Carriere, a rose you might consider if you have a north wall for a rambling climber, she's worth it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rosa_Madame_Alfred_Carriere_2.jpg.
What a joy to have such wonderful public rose gardens to walk in. The climate in W.A. and Canberra are very suited to growing them. Mine thrived over there.
A wonderful post, thank you so much for the journey.
And, thanks also to Marie for her great info on the lovely Swedish Whitebeam berries.
Berries and rosehips - beautiful heralds of autumn.
Vicki: I am a sucker for roses myself. The scent, the colour, the texture. And also have a passion for David Austins. Glorious things, albeit prickly glorious things.
DeleteI am not surprised that you spotted an incorrectly named rose. I am not by any means knowledgeable about them and spotted a few myself. I will track down your link too.
I hoped that when I showed the brilliant berries someone would be able to enlighten me. It was a huge tree and blazed in the sun. Thank you Marie from me too.
And yes, Autumn is very almost here...
I know it's been said millions of times and will be said again millions of times, but roses are the most beautiful, majestic of flowers.
ReplyDeleteAnd to see such a varied array of them is breathtaking. They are glorious.
Thank you, EC. :)
Lee: And there are more rose gardens very close by. Spoilt. And loving it.
DeleteAnd it was/is my pleasure to share the joy.
I love roses, unfortunately I have had little luck in growing them. The Rose is such a magnificent flower but it take lots of care.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place to visit and you took such beautiful pictures of these gardens, EC.
Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: I too love roses - but have had as many failures as successes. But keep trying.
DeleteBeautiful roses and the smell must be wonderful wondering around there.
ReplyDeleteMerle..............
Merlesworld: It was just delightful. There are benches to sit on, an ancient wisteria climbing over a pergola which must be heaven, colour and scent. It really is no wonder that each weekend people are married in these gardens.
Deletebeautiful roses
ReplyDeleteAdam: They are. Very beautiful - and so many of them.
DeleteSooooo beautiful!! I'm in love with that yellow rose in photo #4 and I really wish I could have someone build me a frame like the ones here. I would have it down the side over all those prickly lomandras which I would then gradually replace with a climbing rose. And plant lavenders underneath, with a seat and a little table....
ReplyDeleteRiver: I really, really liked both gardens. And would like rather a lot of their roses. And trellises. And benches. And I wouldn't say no to a water feature either. My greedy self is drooling.
DeleteThatsalottaroses.
ReplyDeleteThe pure gold rose in the first garden was my favorite.
Joanne Noragon: A lotof lotof roses. All thriving too. My favourite shifted as I went from bush to bush and garden to garden.
DeleteThey're beautiful, EC. Some of them are so full they remind me of chrysanthemums rather than roses.
ReplyDeleteThe Mme. Alfred Carriere is very interesting - we have something (blossom and leaves) that is very, very similar-looking that grows wild in our province - simply called "wild roses" by most of us. Now I am wondering if it has a fancy name - and I suppose the answer to that is, of course it does ... a botanical name, at least! I will try to find out. We have to keep cutting them back in our yard; they spread a great deal and are terribly covered in thorns. Many times I have ended up with slashes on my legs or arms after working around them. Hopefully the ones you show are a less aggressive bunch :)
jenny_o: The David Austin roses are spectacularly spikey - but worth it. And I frequently bleed in the garden here too. Blood, sweat and tears fertilise it often.
DeleteI will be interested to hear what your 'wild rose's' more formal name is.
I never knew there were so many of these in my province! The ones that look most like the ones in our yard, however are these:
Deletehttp://www.blupete.com/Nature/Wildflowers/Rose.htm
and the more formal name(s): Rosa Virginiana and/or Carolina.
Looking more closely, the leaves are quite different. But that blossom is close :)
And by different/close, I mean compared to yours!
Deletejenny_o: I would love to be able to compare them 'in the flesh' side by side, but yes, I can see the similarities. The rose family spreads far and wide doesn't it?
DeleteIndeed!
DeleteIt's been winter for so long, I had almost forgotten what a rose looks like! I thoroughly enjoyed the rose show, and embiggend every single photo. My fave is the Perle d'Or. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKaren: There were so many that I loved. And yes, Perle d'Or was special. Spring is coming. Really it is.
Deletei love rose gardens!
ReplyDeletekylie: So do I. Rather a lot.
DeleteWhy did roses evolve to be so beautiful? That plant with the berries, it's not holly is it?
ReplyDeleteAndrew: There doesn't seem to be an evolutionary advantage for flowers to be beautiful (except to bees and other pollinators), but I am grateful anyway. Marie identified the berries as Swedish Whitebeam. I am so grateful for the collective knowledge here in the blogosphere.
DeleteI have never seen a two coloured rose like Perle d'Or. Wow!
ReplyDeleteBirdie: There are a few about now, but Perle d'Or is definitely Wow material.
DeleteI loved walking here with you!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^= <3
Cloudia: And I am happy to have so many friends to walk with. Very happy.
DeleteI loved the cyber-walk through the rose gardens with you! :-) My mother and I tended her many rose bushes, and I especially loved the Cordus Perfecta rose. At least I think that is how you spell it. We even grew Moon Flowers that climbed a tressel -- the blooms opened at night to the light of the moon. Really lovely -- and eerie.
ReplyDeleteRoland D. Yeomans: Night flowering flowers are so very special. And their scent is often sublime. I am pretty certain that they are the diet of unicorns...
DeleteOh, how beautiful they are and this, of course, would be the autumn blooming. I love the yellow/gold blooms in particular and it was good to see the bees enjoying themselves as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing such dazzling blooms with us.
Mimsie: There were more bees than people in the gardens (we were often the only people) which was lovely. The bees make better use of them too.
Deleteoh, I just adore rose gardens. Thank you for the virtual tour!
ReplyDeleteIn Los Angeles, there are enormous rose gardens that resemble what you have photographed. It's amazing to see all their colors, variations, different scents... also I had my first bottles of wine in a rose garden in the middle of the night, with white bunnies hopping all around!! Rose gardens are so comforting and wonderful...
Raquel Somatra: First wine in a midnight rose garden? With bunnies? Now that is an incredibly romantic image...
Deletewow what a beautiful garden, a good place to see roses and decide which ones to plant, I am partial to fragrant blooms. I miss my roses in California.
ReplyDeletehere's a couple of link's to some I grew
http://springvillelavendergardens.blogspot.com/2008/04/roses-fragrant-symbolic.html
http://springvillelavendergardens.blogspot.com/2008/04/arbors-pergolas-patio-coverings.html
I have a better photo of the cecile brunner rose arbor somewhere, oh what a fast grower it was and so fragrant
Linda Starr: The trouble was I wanted to grow far more roses than my already overcrowded garden can possibly hold. Thank you so much for the links to the magic in your garden. I have drooled over them.
DeleteI love that you got some bees in there!! These are all gorgeous, gorgeous flowers!
ReplyDeletemail4rosey: The gardens are a delight. Each of them has a tennis court too, for the energetic politicians I suppose. I would be perfectly happy just sitting on a bench, smelling the air and enjoying the garden though.
DeleteAhhh...thank you. It has been much too long since I've seen roses. Since 2002, in fact. It's too humid here to grow roses but in California I had many rose bushes of my own. They are beautiful exclamation points in a somewhat dull life.
ReplyDeleteRiver Fairchild: Life inside your head could never be dull - whatever was happening (or not) around you.
DeleteTrue. It's always a party or a bloodbath in there... ;)
DeleteRiver Fairchild: And sometimes the party IS a blood bath.
DeleteIn this winter that will never go away, I so needed those pictures. Gorgeous. It looks so warm. Can I live there, with the roses?
ReplyDeleteTara: It was and is warm - here in this summer which is all too reluctant to leave. We really need some world wide weather moderation don't we.
DeleteHow beautiful!
ReplyDeleteANd I bet it smelled so good!!
Pk Hrezo: It smelt delightful. Just as well - a rose without a scent is a failure in my book.
DeleteThey're beautiful, EC, even though your summer is ending, isn't it? One of my favorite songs has always been The Rose. I'm no good at growing them however. They seem get black spots and quickly fade.
ReplyDeleteStrayer: Humidity does produce black spot. And some roses seem particularly prone to it. The breeders are now saying that they can produce roses which are immune to it, but I have my doubts.
DeleteThe roses in these gardens did MUCH better than those in my garden this year.
These images are lovely EC! Makes me long for more blooms in my area of Utah. Soon, soon enough. I just need to be patient.
ReplyDeleteMia McPherson: Patience doesn't come naturally to me. But yes, you will get colour in Utah again - you are already seeing the life. And such life.
DeleteA rose is a rose is a rose. With or without names they are exquisite. I have been to rose gardens and you never quite get over how beautiful and delicate they are ... and the aroma is intoxicating. These pictures are beautiful, EC ... how lucky you are to have these gardens available to you. You say the "old Parliment House" ... is there a new one and if so , do they have rose gardens? Wonderful relaxing, enjoyable stroll through your pictures.
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From The Sol
Andrea Priebe: There is indeed a New Parliament House and it almost certainly has gardens - but they aren't open all year to the commoners. As I suspect these weren't when it was used for its original purpose. As it is, it is a treat.
DeleteThese roses are gorgeous! I planted a knockout rose last fall, my only rose ever. Will see how it does this year...hope I have a few pretty blooms but a knockout is not as gorgeous as some you have shown us!
ReplyDeleteBookie: My roses weren't anything like as successful as these ones. I loved them though - and it means that I can just wander out and inhale deeply. And, sometimes, pick them. I hope your rose comes back and continues to be a knock-out this year.
DeleteThose are gorgeous! I really like the ones with the bees!
ReplyDeleteBetty: I was pleased to capture the bees too. Usually I fail.
DeleteOur back garden is one of many soggy water features and the road out front a swirling river, I shall venture forth when the Ark comes to rest.
ReplyDeleteVest: We have had nothing like that much rain. Yet. I hope your ark lands safely. And that you didn't leave the unicorns behind this trip.
DeleteAdmittedly I am a total ignoramus about inedible plants, but I wouldn't notice if tags were wrong. Bravo to you! There is really a rose named Jude the Obscure?
ReplyDeleteThe Perle one is just amazing. Lovely photos as usual!
Riot Kitty: I am sure that others were suspect too - but when a white rose is described as crimson flamenco I suspect an error has been made. And I loved the rose Jude the Obscure - and loathe all of Thomas Hardy's books.
DeletePerle d'Or was incredible wasn't it?
My parents were married on the 23rd of August. He gave her a dozen yellow roses on the 23rd of EVERY month during their 50+ years of marriage. They were both buried with a blanket of yellow roses on their coffins.
ReplyDeletefishducky: Oh Fran. That is a beautiful story, and a beautiful gesture. Misty eyes here. Yellow roses must be VERY special to you.
DeleteBeautiful roses....
ReplyDeleteErcotravels: Thank you - they are.
DeleteNever knew of a flower named ' Just Joey'. Ace.
ReplyDeleteIcy Highs: Just Joey smells delicious too - it is one of the few that I have in my own garden.
DeleteStraight out of Alice in Wonderland. Beautiful. I have saved many of these to use as decoupage roses. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming: How lovely - do I get to see what you have done with them in the fullness of time?
DeleteOh yes. I promise you will. You provide my rainbows.
DeleteAll Consuming: And I will give you some more roses too. From our garden.
DeleteWhat a lovely delight!
ReplyDeleteladyfi: It was - and an excellent reminder that I shouldn't leave it so long between visits.
DeleteRoses are my favorite, and my favorite roses are the orange-ish multicolored ones like a few of those above. I can almost smell them from here. Thank you. It's a gorgeous post.
ReplyDeletexoRobyn
Rawknrobyn: Thank you and welcome. It was a gorgeous walk, and the scent was incredible.
DeleteI'm not a big fan of Thomas Hardy myself, especially after having to write a lengthy paper once around Tess of the d'urbervilles. :)
ReplyDeleteEach rose more beautiful than the other. That must be a sight to behold in person.
Lynn: Don't get me started on Tess of the Dribbles. The clumsy and overblown symbolism in that book still makes my teeth hurt. 'Angel Claire, the minister's son with his golden hair and his blue eyes who plays a harp... '
DeleteReturning to the roses, they were beautiful. And a delight.
beautiful gardens and blooms!
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping in today and leaving a comment! really appreciate it!
TexWisGirl: It was my pleasure - I have been seeing your name at some of my most favourite blogs for a long time.
DeleteGorgeous roses Sue. I love roses ever since we grew them as a class in Year 7 and sold them as part of our project club. Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteCarol in Cairns: You might be sorry you said that. My obsessional self needs very little encouragement...
DeleteI love looking at your flowers, they are so pretty at the end of the growing, Fall for y'all. Surprising how great they look
ReplyDeleteKim @ Stuff could...: Given how long, hot and dry our summer was I was surprised that they looked so good.
DeleteOh, to stand there and take in the beauty and the scent!
ReplyDeleteSusan Kane: To almost drown in the scent. Bliss.
Delete"Elephant's Child" has been included in the Sites To See for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point many new visitors in your direction.
ReplyDeletehttp://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2014/03/sites-to-see_28.html
Jerry E Beuterbaugh: Thank you so much. I hope that you, and any visitors you direct this way enjoy dropping in.
DeleteIt's amazing how beautiful things bloom during this time of year for you --- it's autumn now, right? We're gearing up to plant our flowers for May, which is the start of the warmer months ahead. These photos were absolutely stunning, especially the one with the bee! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff as always. Thank you for sharing this.
Deb: It is indeed early Autumn. Yay. And happy dances. And I am in the throes of preparing the ground to plant for spring. A gardeners work is never done (well this gardener anyway).
DeleteThose roses are so gorgeous, I can practically smell them. What a fantastic place to hold a wedding.
ReplyDeleteSeeing all those roses, and you mentioning not knowing the names of all of them reminded me of one of my favorite quotes attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt. I think you might get a kick out of it. She said, "I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall."
Take care.
Susan: Eleanor Roosevelt has always struck me as a wise, clever and funny woman. Quick with her responses too. This wasn't a quote I had heard before - and I love it. Thank you.
Deleteoh warm fragrant bliss.
ReplyDeleteI was married in a rose garden many long August's ago
and always feel a certain romance in these magical places.
I always thought I'd love to be the one who gets to name the roses:)
thanks for sharing the glory,
Jennifer
Jennifer Richardson: What a magical place to marry - and so appropriate for you.
DeleteOver! the sweet summer closes.and never a flower at the close; over and gone are the roses,and winter again and the snows.
ReplyDeleteA rose too often smelled loses its fragrance..