Did you read
The Secret Garden as a child? Did you ever fantasize about finding your own secret place like that? We did.
My husband and I lived in El Paso, TX for a while, and loved to take day trips into New Mexico. Usually it was to Mesilla, a charming town that used to be the territorial capital of the area that covered what is now Arizona and New Mexico. Our other favorite trip was to go to Cloudcroft and Ruidoso in the Sacramento Mountains where it was nice and cool; we would typically stop for a picnic lunch along the way.
One year (1989?) we stopped and pulled over into the towering trees in the town of
Tularosa, and discovered a wondrous garden. You see, Tularosa has what is called a "water district," a part of town where the water flows freely through acequias, shallow, unlined ditches beside the road. Anyone who lives in the district gets water for flood irrigation via the acequias. The cottonwood and walnut trees are nearly the size of sequoias, and small farms abound.
There in the shade of one of the huge cottonwoods we could see a tangled garden and a tiny adobe house beyond. As we were finishing lunch, a man came over from across the street, introduced himself as Mr. Domingues, and he told us the story of the garden.
It turns out that the little adobe was the second house built by the Spanish when they settled the area in the 1860s, and because water is so plentiful, most of the original plantings have survived: Manzana de San Juan (apples), figs, grapes, and roses. Mint and sweet peas were also running wild. Carey and I were both amazed. I can't think of any gardens in the desert southwest where the original plantings have been preserved! Without water they quickly wither and die, but the acequia system kept this garden alive.
Years later, when I knew more about heritage gardens and roses, I wrote to the "
rose rustlers" of New Mexico to see if they would take cuttings so the rose would be preserved if something happened to the garden. Our conversation is actually preserved on someone's website! [
Peaceful Habitations Roses]. Obviously this page hasn't been updated since 2002. I will have to give them a call and see what happened.
While my garden is in its summer doldrums, my brother's in Seattle is quite lovely. He has been working on play areas for the kids and evening out the slope. He recently finished the retaining wall, and envisioned it with flowers cascading over the top. The rose in the background is 'Constance Spry.' Glorious ain't she?
To celebrate the visit of my friend Riikka from Finland, I redecorated part of our yard, and threw a small garden party. You can see the results to the left. What a gorgeous day it was! The only rose to bloom so far this year is my Tombstone rose. As you can see, it made up for all the others.
Last December I attended the All Arizona Rose Society Luncheon in Mesa, AZ, where Clair Martin was the guest speaker. His topics were changes at the rose gardens at Huntington, and their spring 2008 exhibit "La Rose Impériale." Needless to say, I am planning a trip to my old stomping grounds. How lovely it will be to see the Huntington Gardens and Descanso again!
I just finished doing the fall pruning and fertilizing, and almost everything survived the summer quite well, even though June was unusually hot and the summer rains a bit sparse. Unfortunately, one favorite rose (Pat Austin!) died. Back in May, the soil seemed too wet so I moved its emitter to another pot -- then forgot about it. Not good.
This one was given to me by Rose Society member Kacie Johnson. She bought it in Oregon, but has no idea what it could be because pack rats ate the labels off all her pots. It has been tentatively identified as Shailer's Provence, which is truly exciting because SP has a wonderful history -- it was one of the roses that Thomas Jefferson grew in his garden at Monticello.
This delicate rose came from my friend Abbie's 100-year-old ranch house in Patagonia, AZ. I have given it the study name of "Abbie's Mystery." It suckers like mad and produces tiny magenta flowers with a white eye. It is not fragrant. Abbie leaves during the summer for long periods of time and this rose has survived without watering!
This rose also came to me from a Rose Society member. She propagated it from a rose that grew at her mother's house. Ive had it for 4 years and this is only the second year it has bloomed. As you can see it definitely has old rose form. The growth habit is like a Bourbon rose -- long and leggy (though you don't see that here). It's very fragrant. Study name: "RST Mystery."
And finally, "Goodwin Creek Mystery Rose." This picture comes from the source plant which we found along a creek near the old gold mining camp called "Goodwin" in the Bradshaw Mountains. There was also mint growing wild nearby so I like to think that both were escapees from a miner's garden. This rose has not bloomed for me yet. It does not seem to be Rosa woodsii.
