Roses: The Big Show

  It was such a joy to be in Umbria during the better part of spring. We were able to watch as the trees, shrubs and fields went from winter nakedness to full blown spring glory. And I mean like dressed to the nines... (btw, what does that mean?).

  The wisteria were amazing to watch come and go in early April, and I loved every day watching them bud up and bloom. Since it was really warm the last part of March, the wisteria came on super fast and were done over night, or so it seemed. This made it even more special to watch in anticipation, wondering if I'd even get to see the roses bloom before we had to leave. I swear, there were some I would make a point to check out every day, waiting for the buds to pop open and reveal just what type of rose it might be. 

  Just like here in the States, the Banksia roses were the first to go off...

Yellow Banksia on the walls of Panicale

Close up of the above.

Another in full bloom....nice.

  I've always loved Banksia roses for their incredible texture, both in bud and in bloom. Yeah, they only go off once in early spring, but what a show.

  This trip I really tried to notice where the old roses were hiding. The bare branches, early in the trip, were slowly covered in new foliage, and then buds...it was like waiting for Christmas morning as a kid. Like I mentioned before, what a treat to be able to watch the first blooms come on...

A little lovely in La Mura.

We walked by this cool farmhouse, below, on our morning constitutional. It's a place we dream about. Not fancy, not big, not all spruced up...just a simple country farmhouse occupied by a sweet old couple we would "Buongiorno" as we strolled by. Always, the Nonna would respond "Buona passeggiata!" Basically, "Have a nice walk!" This is a true home, complete with cats, a little dog, chickens, tractor, awesome wood pile, and the most dynamite garden, of course!

  Oh, and a great niche, covered in red roses. Sigh.

The grapevine and kitchen towel knock it out of the park.
Keeping the dream alive.

Because one picture is not enough. Notice the stars?

  Almost all of these roses were close by, and I would spy them on our various walks around Panicale, or towns close by. As a long time gardener myself, I was quick to notice the different colors of the new growth on all the different rose bushes...and I was curious about whether these roses would succumb to mildew, blackspot, rust, or aphids..like mine at home do. 

  Mainly, I just enjoyed seeing the buds getting bigger, and realizing that I would get to see some color this year.

Another stunner along the walls of Panicale. I do believe that is an almond tree behind it...?

A gorgeous Rugosa we came across on a walk near Tavernelle.

  The roses that are growing against old stone walls are like picture postcards, come to life. 

Just too good.

Love the beautiful new growth and yellow blooms with the stone wall.
In Citta di Castello.

 

 When I took the photos of the big climber, below, the woman tending this yard came out to see what I was up to. I just let her know that I loved her roses, and complimented her on them. As all of us gardeners are wont to do, she let me know (in Italian) just how bad the year had been for them, how the caterpillars were destroying them, why she needed to spray them.... in general just how terrible they looked. I understood. Gardeners are their own worst critics, to be sure.
  I thought they looked amazing. But I get it. In our own gardens, we gardeners only see the stuff that needs fixing, never the beauty that the public sees.
  It's a crying shame.

An old climber just outside of Paciano.

A close up shot. Perfect, right?

This is also in Paciano, only this one is spilling over the town walls.
One of my favorite colors for roses...creamy apricot...

  Though I didn't come across many actually in bloom, I was thrilled to see this clematis,below, in all it's glory. Especially against this old wall... this was on a walk right at the end of our trip, over near Oro. 

  Not a rose, but a rose's favorite companion, right? I just had to include it here....

The light was perfect for this photo. 

  In our "own" garden, at Villa Adriana, we had several rose bushes. They came into bloom the last week or two of our stay and I made sweet bouquets of roses, lavender, small olive branches and fragrant stems of philadelphus.
  Can I just say how much delight it brought me to have a garden during our stay? I may have missed the big show that went on without us back in our garden at home, but it was ok.
  We didn't mind too much.

One of many roses we enjoyed at Villa Adriana in Panicale.