Digging up the Many, Many Roses at my Home in East Hampton
I bought my home in East Hampton more than twenty years ago and when I did, I knew I wanted to plant rose bushes all around it and have rose bushes climbing upon it. I chose many different types of heirloom old garden roses that were grown in the gardens of Europe and Asia for many hundreds of years. Many of these roses are highly prized for their dense petal formations and fabulous fragrances. Now that I have grandchildren running around, Alexis and I feel that having a yard full of thorny roses isn't very child friendly and I decided to dig up all the roses and replant them at my farm in Bedford. The East Hampton gardens will have a major redesign which, of course, I will share on this blog. Here's part one of this enormous undertaking, with more to follow.
PLEASE DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND MY MOTIVES! The number one concern was the fact that I want some more lawn for the kids, but number two really involves the roses themselves. They are 22 years old, most of them, and many are reverting to the rootstock. Many have thinned gravely and are weakened. Many are once-blooming old variety shrub roses that bloom only in June when we are not in the Hamptons. Plus, I really want to change the gardens and the landscape plan, being ready to experiment with new plants, new colors and new visions! I had the roses very carefully dug and transported them to Bedford, to the farm, where they are being planted carefully to try to bring them back to vigor and beauty. I really want to keep these great beauties and preserve cultivars that are barely available in the United States. I originally purchased the plants from Roses of Yesterday and Today and from Pickering, in Canada.
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