Shooting Craps

Publishing is really a crap shoot - you just never know what will catch reader's attention and what will just slip away into oblivion.

This weekend has been one of my best, ever, with the exception of three months in 2011 when my books were literally flying off the shelves. About two weeks ago, The Unwanted Heiress, a sweet Regency romance was released, or rather re-released as it had previously come out as I Bid One American. The cover for The Unwanted Heiress was redone by a professional cover artist, Amber Shah, based on a photograph by Jenn LeBlanc, and the results were terrific.

The book had always done well and attracted the interest of two agents, so when I got the rights back, I re-edited it and got it re-released.

The results have been everything I could have hoped for. Back in 2011, several of my Regency mysteries did very, very well (The Vital Principle and the Regency romantic mystery, A Rose Before Dying) but I had never been able to crack that "2,000 in all Kindle books" bestseller barrier. This time, I did. On Saturday, March 23, I got a ranking of 1,995 in all Kindle books!

How did I finally break the barrier? Beats me. In fact, I've done absolutely nothing other than mentioning the book on my author page on Facebook a few times and tweeting about it a few times. Like many others, I read Konrath's blog about publishing and he's pretty well clueless, too, about what suddenly attracts readers to a book (and hopefully, an author), except for a few basics:

• A great cover - this is what catches the attention, first
• A great blurb
• A great title

The funny thing is, this reminds me of my first research into publishing when I began seriously writing (for the second time, after college) back in the late 90's. What I kept hearing, especially from unpublished authors, was that publishers kept telling them they wanted, "Something that is the same, only different." What the heck does that mean?

It means a book that fits comfortably into a genre that readers know and love, and yet is somehow different while it remains within the bounds of that genre. Now some writers can break through and establish entirely new genres, e.g. Georgette Heyer or Stephen King, but for the most part, if you want to sell, you need to write a book that readers can "place." That means, that readers know/understand what to expect. Oh, not that they know what to expect in every detail, but in general terms, like knowing there will be a happy ending.

Writing a book that fits within a genre, of course, doesn't guarantee sales, but it will generate more sales than writing a mishmash, e.g. a Frankenstein-meets-Gone-with-the-Wind-in-Space. If readers can't wrap their heads around a concept, it's going to be hard to find readers unless, of course, you're the next Stephen King. And while most writers think they are not only the next best thing to King, but actually better, I'm afraid the reality is: probably not.

So I'm grateful that readers are discovering The Unwanted Heiress and I hope they enjoy the sweet Regency romance. It fits nicely in the Regency genre, but as so many editors requested, it is the same, only a little different.

Happy Reading!

January and Roses

Seed and gardening catalogs are showing up in my mailbox and now is definitely the time to consider ordering plants for your spring and summer garden. Most of you know I love roses and this month is order time!

Rose Selection As I mentioned, January is a good time of year to begin selecting and ordering roses, particularly if you purchase them from a mail order vendor. There are a great many new varieties, but I will list a few new ones from David Austin, which look like they may be good for our area, and mention an entire class of roses which are often overlooked and yet are extremely hardy and disease resistant. Rugosa Roses Rugosa roses are sometimes referred to as Japanese roses.  They are fragrant and come in a variety of colors and forms from single, 5-petal flowers to lush double blooms.  They grow well in sandy soil, as well as heavier soils, and do not need spraying.  They have leathery or crinkly leaves and do not seem to get the diseases other roses in our area are so prone to catching, including black spot.  Of all the roses rated by the American Rose Society (ARS), the roses in the Rugosa class have more varieties rated over 9.0 than any other class of rose. For the most part, Rugosa roses stay relatively short and need little care, including very minimal pruning.  There has been an increase in interest in Rugosa roses lately since they do require so little care, they bloom all summer, and are fragrant.  Even Jackson & Perkins has begun selling more Rugosa because of their easy-care qualities. Rugosas generally come in colors ranging from white through pink to deep red. Here are a few varieties which are well worth looking for. v  Hansa - very fragrant and repeats from spring through to frost.  Double blooms in violet-red.  Grows to about 6’ tall. v  Purple Pavement - very fragrant and repeats from spring through to frost.  Double blooms in purplish-red.  Grows to about 3’ tall and makes an excellent hedge. v  Snow Pavement - very fragrant and repeats from spring through to frost.  Double blooms in white touched with pink.  Grows to about 3’ tall and makes an excellent hedge. v  Thérèse Bugnet - One of the classic Rugosa roses.  Double, fragrant blossoms in medium-pink.  Blooms all summer and has wonderful, attractive red canes with completely healthy foliage.  Grows to be about 4’ tall. v  Rugosa Magnifica -Very fragrant blooms in deep mauve.  Blooms all summer and grows to be about 5’ tall. v  Rosa rugosa rubra - Single (5-petals), very fragrant blossoms in deep mauve.  Blooms all summer.  Can grow up to 6’ tall and is extremely hardy. v  Blanc Double de Coubert - One of the best white roses.  Large, semi-double blooms in pure white.  Very, very fragrant.  Blooms all summer.  Great for a hedge.  Can grow up to 5’ tall. v  Agnes - Primrose color and very fragrant.  Blooms all summer. v  Topaz Jewel - Yellow blossoms with a moderate fragrance.  Blooms all summer. v  Robusta - Crimson blossoms with a moderate fragrance.  Blooms all summer. v  Jens Munk - Pink blossoms with only a slight fragrance, but a very healthy and well-mannered rose.  v  Dr. Eckener - Pink and yellow blend rose with a very strong fragrance. v  Wild Spice - A single, white blossom with a wonderful spicy fragrance.  It blooms continually, all summer.  I got this rose from Jackson & Perkins and couldn’t be more pleased.  It is stays low growing (about 4’) and doesn’t need pruning or spraying.  These are just a few varieties.  If you have room this year, I would definitely give Rugosas a try, particularly if you live near the ocean. David Austin Roses Of course, as always with David Austin roses, you may find that many of them grow much, much taller than advertised, due to our warm climate, so take that under advisement.  I’m mentioning David Austin roses because they do have a very good record for disease resistance. The following roses may make nice additions to your garden. v  Carding Mill - Pink, apricot, yellow blend, very double roses with a strong myrrh fragrance.  Height 4’ x 3.5’. v  Grace - Apricot blossoms with good fragrance.  Height 4’ tall. v  Hyde Hall - Rich, medium pink, very double flowers with a light fragrance.  This is listed as very healthy, but very large, up to 6’, so I expect you could grow it as a small climber here in NC. v  St. Alban - Rich yellow rose with a good fragrance.  This will grow up to 8’ tall as a climber. v  The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild - Peony-like, very large roses in pinkish lilac.  Rose fragrance and a height listed as 5’. v  Wisley - Large blossoms in deep pink with a strong fragrance.  Height 4’. A Few Smaller Varieties of Austin Shrubs Here are a few of the smaller varieties of Austin’s roses, for gardeners with smaller gardens.  They are all around 3’ tall.  None are taller.  Because of the moderate size, they would also do well in pots and since many are also very fragrant, they are excellent on patios or near sitting areas. v  Alnwick Castle - Soft pink with good fragrance. v  Ambridge Rose - Apricot pink with a good rose and myrrh fragrance. v  Anne Boleyn - Soft, warm pink with a light fragrance. v  Charlotte - Soft yellow with a light Tea Rose fragrance. v  Comtes de Champagne - Yellow that fades to pale yellow; the blossoms open to form an open cup.  Good fragrance. v  Cordelia - Medium pink, semi-double flowers with a very slight fragrance. v  Fair Bianca - Pure white rose with a rich rose fragrance. v  Ludlow Castle - Apricot-blush color with a Tea Rose fragrance. v  Mary Magdalene - Very soft apricot-pink coloring with rich fragrance. v  Miss Alice - Very soft pink coloring with a rose fragrance. v  Molineux - Clear yellow coloring; this rose has won a lot of awards and is a beautiful small bush.  Slight Tea Rose fragrance.  v  Noble Antony - Rich, deep magenta-pink blossoms with good disease resistance.  Very fragrant. I have had extremely good experiences with this rose and love it. v  Portmeirion - Medium sized flowers in clear, rich deep pink with a strong rose fragrance. v  Sophy’s Rose - Light red flowers on a very healthy bush.  Light Tea Rose fragrance. v  St. Cecilia - Beautiful soft apricot-pink that age to white with a lovely fragrance. v  Tamora - Rich apricot flowers with good fragrance. v  The Prince - Deep crimson with a rich fragrance. v  Wildeve - Very healthy rose with soft pink blossoms.  Medium fragrance. Happy planting! Amy Corwin is the author of more than six historical romances and mysteries. Her latest contemporary mystery, Whacked! was just released in hardcover and is available wherever books are sold.  As you might expect, she has also written a historical mystery where the clues are roses. A Rose Before Dying is available from Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, as well as for Apple iTunes fans.

Portland Roses

Portland Roses

This week I wanted to talk about a less well-known class of roses called "Portland". (It's one of those cute factoids that Portland, Oregon, is famous for it's rose gardens and the fantastic Portland Rose Festival .) Anyway, this is about the historic class of Old Garden Roses, dubbed "Portland".

The Portland class of roses was one of the first to combine the European roses with newly imported, repeat-blooming China roses that were brought to England in the late 18th/early 19th century by English explorers of China.  The first member of the Portland class was recognized as such around 1800 in the gardens of the Duchess of Portland. 

Details about the origins of this first Portland are sketchy, but it does appear that the Duchess may have originally obtained the rose, Rosa paestana, i.e. ‘Scarlet Four Seasons’ Rose’ from Italy.  This rose was eventually sent from England to André Dupont, the Empress Josèphine’s gardener in France, where he named the rose ‘Duchess of Portland”.  The French then raised numerous varieties, crossing them with other classes such as Chinas.

Theories abound about precisely which roses were involved in the creation of this class, although most sources cite some combination of Gallica, Damask, Centifolia and China.  David Austin believes he recognizes Damask in the ancestry as well as China, and speculates that ‘Slater’s Crimson China’ may have been thrown into bed with a French Gallica rose at one point or another.

Although Portlands were only really popular for a brief period in the early years of the 19^th century before Bourbon and Hybrid Perpetuals overshadowed them, they are still excellent garden additions.   

The Portland class is a small group of roses, only a few dozen were hybridized during the 19^th century and none in the 20^th or 21^st.  They are very winter hardy, however, and are very strong rebloomers.

Most Portlands show some of the same characteristics as the Damasks, except they are generally shorter.  And of course, unlike Damasks, Portlands rebloom.

Characteristics include:

v  Moderate size, most are around 4’ tall, making them good garden additions where there is not a lot of room.

v  The flowers have very short stems with leaves growing around the flower.  Graham Thomas describes this as a rosette or shoulder of leaves.

v  Flowers repeat fairly reliably.

v  Portlands have a rich, strong Damask rose fragrance.

v  Disease resistance is quite good.

Some good varieties include:

v  ‘Comte de Chambord’, introduced 1860 by Moreau-Robert (France).  An extremely popular rose, even today.  The flowers are very full, quartered, in a clear pink with an extremely powerful Damask rose fragrance.  This is a strong grower and forms an upright shrub around 4’ tall with lots of foliage.  Repeat flowering.

v  ‘Indigo’, circa 1830.  Forms a compact bush around 4’ tall with dark green foliage.  The flowers are large, with a lovely dark purple hue.

v  ‘Rose de Rescht’ was brought to England by Miss Nancy Lindsay from Iran or France.  This rose forms a bushy shrub that stays fairly small, approximately 3’ tall.  Very double flowers have a purplish-crimson color and are fragrant.  There is ample, rough-textured foliage, and it reliably produces at least two crops of flowers.

v  ‘Marbrée’ was raised by Robert et Moreau in 1858, in France.  The shrubs tend to grow to about 4’ tall with plentiful dark green foliage.  The flowers are a deep purple-pink, mottled with pale pink.  They open flat and have only a slight fragrance.  These roses are generally free of disease.

v  ‘The Portland Rose’ (the ‘Scarlet Four Seasons’ Rose’ according to David Austin).  This rose is healthy and forms a spreading bush about 3’ tall.  Blooms very well in both spring and fall.  The flowers are semi-double in light crimson, and open wide to display yellow stamens.  It is very fragrant.

Hope you enjoy the last few months and are preparing for the fall rose season. It can be a pretty spectacular way to end the summer. But if you need a cooling break from the summer heat, there's always a new book to be had...

A Rose Before Dying

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00557U2QU/ 

Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-rose-before-dying-amy-corwin/1103391099

Only Sir Edward had the motive and the opportunity.

When the first victim dies, Sir Edward is the likeliest culprit. The murdered woman was Sir Edward’s ex-mistress who threw him over for a younger man, and she dies after receiving a mysterious rose. Confused and stricken by her death, Sir Edward is horrified when a second rose is delivered, along with a note insinuating that he had something to do with his mistress’ death. In desperation, he begs his nephew, Charles Vance, to help him prove his innocence.

Charles Vance, the new Earl of Castlemoor, is convinced Sir Edward is innocent and agrees to work with the renowned head of the Second Sons Inquiry Agency to flush out the murderer. But the investigation soon reveals more reasons why Sir Edward may be responsible and even the inquiry agent warns Charles not to let family loyalty stand in the way of the truth. There may be some truth behind the rumors. "The roses may simply be Sir Edward’s attempt to cast suspicion elsewhere." "Misdirection." Or so the whispers say.

Desperate to stop the murders, Charles enlists the aide of notable rosarian, Ariadne Wellfleet, to identify the roses in hopes of saving the next victim. Unfortunately, his actions sweep the Wellfleet household into the killer’s net and puts friends and family alike at risk. He has no choice but to finish the investigation, regardless of the costs.

A Rose Before Dying is a witty Regency whodunit combined with a heart-warming romance in the tradition of Georgette Heyer’s The Masqueraders and Victoria Holt’s The Mistress of Mellyn. This addition to the Second Sons mystery series includes an unwilling detective whose family loyalties are tested as he seeks to catch an elusive killer. 

Thinking About the Fall

Most of you are probably wondering why I suddenly diverged from writing about writing, books, history and those types of things to gardening. The fact is, I love gardening almost as much as writing, so I thought I'd share some of the information I've gathered over the years. There is also the odd circumstance that my rose gardening and researching roses led me to set some of my mysteries (A Rose Before Dying, Smuggled Rose,  and The Necklace, to name a few) in the period when rose gardening really started coming into its own (early years of the 19th century).

Although we are firmly in the middle of summer, it will only be a few weeks before the weather starts cooling off. That means, now is a good time to line up and even order plants or seeds you want to plant in the fall.

Which brings me to the real subject of this blog: Fall Rose Planting. :) You knew I'd get there, one way or the other, right?

Fall is a Great Time to Order Roses

Fall is a wonderful time to order and plant roses.  As the weather cools, you can start thinking about what new roses you’d like to see blooming in the spring.  By ordering--and planting--in the fall, you give your roses a chance to “dig in” and get settled over the winter in their new location.  When spring arrives, they will be ready to put on a wonderful show for you.

In North Carolina, fall planting has an additional benefit in that we often start getting a great deal more rainfall.  This rain and the cooler weather will help your roses put down good roots to support extra blooms when the weather warms up in March and April.

If you’re considering taking this advice, there is a new category of “Earth Kind Roses” that Texas A&M University has been using to designate roses which stand up to insects, widely varying soil conditions, and minimal care.  The program has been used to find roses which can be used in areas, such as between roadways, where they will have to survive with very little cosseting.

A few of the roses identified as EarthKind follow.  They span a range of rose classifications and there are sure to be some which would do very well in your garden.

Belinda’s Dream:  Shrub rose with medium pink, very double flowers.  ARS rating of 8.4

Caldwell Pink:  Polyantha rose with lilac pink flowers, height up to 4’.

Else Poulsen:  Floribunda, medium pink, semi-double with 10 petals.  ARS rating of 8.1.

Katy Road Pink:  Also called Carefree Beauty, Shrub rose with medium pink blooms of 15-20 petals.  ARS rating of 8.7.

Knock Out:  Shrub with blooms that are a red blend, single flowers.  ARS rating of 8.6.

Marie Daly:  Polyantha rose in medium pink with an ARS rating of 7.6.

Mutabilis:  Hybrid China rose with single flowers (5 petals) that start out pale yellow and age through pink to deep rose.  ARS rating of 8.9.

Perle d’Or:  Polyantha rose with double flowers that are a yellow blend.  ARS rating of 8.4.

Sea Foam:  Shrub rose with white flowers which are double  ARS rating of 8.1.

The Fairy:  Polyantha rose with light pink, double blooms.  It has some (slight) fragrance.  ARS rating of 8.7.

The list of EarthKind roses has been expanding recently to include the following roses, as well:

Cecile Brunner:  Polyantha with double, light pink flowers.  ARS rating of 8.4.

Comtesse du Cayla:  Hybrid China rose with semi-double blooms that are an orange and pink blend. [Picture on the left.] ARS rating of 7.0.

Duchesse de Brabant:  Tea rose with light pink flowers consisting of approximately 45 petals.  ARS rating of 8.6.

Marchesa Boccella:  Hybrid Perpetual rose with light pink blooms that are very fragrant.  ARS rating of 9.1.

Marie Pavie:  Polyantha rose with white flowers which are double.  ARS rating of 8.9.

Mrs. Dudley Cross:  Tea rose with double flowers in a yellow and pink blend.  ARS rating of 8.3.  In North Carolina, this rose can grow into a very large and well-formed bush, about 6’ by 6’.

Reve d’Or:  Noisette rose (that in my personal experience can very well take over a small building in one season).  The blooms are pale yellow and double. [Picture on the right.]  It has an ARS rating of 9.4.

Souvenir de St. Anne’s:  Bourbon rose with light pink, fragrant blooms.

Spice:  China rose classified as an Old Garden Rose.  Spice is blush pink and is very fragrant.  It grows from 3 to 5’ in height.

 Roses Unlimited is a great source for "Earth Kind" roses, so I hope you'll check them out.

Planting Roses

Planting roses in the fall is really not much different from planting in the spring, except you do want to ensure you use a good, thick coat of mulch.

Select a site which has both good air circulation and at least six hours of sunshine.  There are a few roses, such as Rambling Rector which will grow into trees and can withstand some shade, but they are the exception and even they will do better with more sunshine!

Make sure you prepare your beds while you wait for your roses to be delivered.  It is never too soon to prepare a bed since having good soil is a key element to healthy roses.  If you can, get the Agriculture Extension Office to test some soil samples to make sure you use the proper amendments.  Good drainage is critical.  No roses like to stand in water.  If you have clay or slow-draining soil, you can add organic matter and gypsum to help condition the soil.

When you get your roses, be sure to water them well.  Dig a hole twice as deep and twice as wide as the container in which they are growing.  Plant your roses at the same depth in the ground as they were in their container.

After you dig the hole, mix the soil you removed fifty/fifty with organic matter and soil conditioners, such as alfalfa meal or cottonseed meal and gypsum.  You can also use the fine, bark-like soil conditioners to break up clay soil.

Trim back any broken or damaged stems, but leave healthy leaves if you plant before November.

Top dress with three to four inches of mulch to allow for good drainage, moisture retention, and weed control.

Once your roses are planted, don’t forget to water them (unless the winter rains have already begun, in which case you can sit back and relax).  Water deeply at least once a week; two to three inches of water is recommended.  Try not to get the leaves wet when you water, particularly in the fall as the cooler nights can promote diseases such as black spot.

You will not need to fertilize your roses in the fall, that task can wait until spring.

 Duchesse de Brabant, a Tea rose and one of the EarthKind roses that do well in the North Carolina area.  “No spraying required!” [Picture on the left.]

Interestingly enough, Duchesse de Brabant was one of Teddy Roosevelt’s favorite roses, and he frequently wore a bloom from this wonderful rose in his lapel.

Alba Roses - Fragrant Old Garden Roses

Old Garden Roses - Alba

I thought I would continue writing a few blogs about one of my favorite plants: roses. Some of you may have already noted this obsession of mine, considering some of my books such as Smuggled Rose or A Rose Before Dying so this blog shouldn't really be a surprise. I do love roses and history.

So here you are...a short article about Alba roses.

Alba roses are classed with the Old Garden Roses (OGR), which are generally considered to be roses hybridized or introduced prior to 1900.  The 1900’s marked the beginning of the era of the Hybrid Teas, which are the most popular roses today. OGR’s have been around this long simply because they are worth growing and are survivors.  The majority are intensely fragrant and extremely attractive when in full bloom, and the Alba roses are no exception.

Alba roses are extremely ancient and during medieval times, the white roses were often associated with the Virgin Mary.  Many rose historians speculate that the Alba rose class arose from crosses between wild Dog roses and ancient Damasks (which will be covered in the third article).

The Alba class of roses are fairly large shrubs with bluish gray leaves and white or pale pink flowers.  Albas bloom once, generally in summer, and are wonderfully fragrant.  The entire bush can be covered with blossoms during the flowering period and will fill the air with their heady perfume.

They do not need to be sprayed and do not suffer from blackspot.  They are, in fact, one of the toughest and easiest of all the roses to grow.  They are extremely tolerant of imperfect growing conditions including:  bad soil, light shade, and insufficient water. However, if you live in the hot and humid South, Albas do struggle in that climate and seem to prefer cooler climes.

The most common characteristics of the class are:

• Thorny stems.
• Soft, bluish gray leaves.
• Buds are long and graceful, with long sepals.
• The bushes are generally quite large (average 7’ tall).
• Somewhat shade tolerant.
• Colors range from white through light pink.
• They require no pruning and will flower well, year after year, by only removing the dead wood.

A few Alba roses include:

‘Great Maiden’s Blush’ ancient.  This is one of my favorite roses and is a gorgeous soft pink.  The shrub can reach almost 8 feet and will sucker if grown on its own roots.  The glorious flowers are very double with pale pink outside petals with a deeper pink in the center.  The flower will gradually fade to white as it ages.  Very rich fragrance. 

Rosa alba ‘Semiplena’ ancient.  ‘Semiplena’ is another large shrub, known to grow up to 8 feet tall.  It has pure white flowers, semi-double, with a rich scent.  It has been grown frequently in place of Damask roses, to produce Attar of Roses.  It will grow even in partial shade.

‘Jacobite Rose’ (aka Rosa alba ‘Maxima’) – ancient origin.  Rosa alba ‘Maxima’ can grow up to 7 feet tall, with graceful, arching branches.  The flowers are pure white and some may have a touch of pink in the center.  Good fragrance

‘Céleste’ late 18^th century.  It reaches 7’ tall and sports semi-double flowers in rose pink color with gold stamens.  The roses are particularly delicate in appearance and have an interesting elongated, slender bud.  The flowers are exceptionally fragrant. 

‘Félicité Parmentier’ known since 1834.  This Alba is one of the shorter, and therefore more useful shrubs that reaches 4’.  It has double flowers in pale pink set off by a green button eye.  Good fragrance.

‘Mme Plantier’ Plantier, 1835.  ‘Mme Plantier’ is another tall shrub which can even be trained as a small climber (approx. 8-9’).  It has lovely double flowers in creamy white.  The buds are red-tinted prior to opening.  As with the other Albas, this one has a good scent.

These are just a few varieties.  All the Alba roses are well worth the garden space and require minimal to perform exceptionally well. They aren't that easy to find, but Pickering Nursery is a good source for these and many other OGR.

Happy Gardening!

And speaking of gardening...Oriana Archer in the first of the Regency series of books about the adventures of the Archer family is also a fanatical gardener. (Hmmm, wonder how that happened?) If you want to find out more about her and the cursed family necklace she discovers, check out The Necklace.

Growing Roses Organically

Organic Rose Gardening

Bucking Conventional Wisdom and Doing the Impossible

A lot of folks have expressed an interest in converting their garden over to a more organic approach to user fewer pesticides or other chemicals.  I’ve been doing this for some time now and have learned a few lessons--the hard and very expensive way--so I thought it might be worthwhile to share.

My main focus here is on roses, but most of the hints are also useful to all kinds of gardens, including vegetable gardens.

Why grow roses organically?  There are a lot of reasons.  My own included the following:

• Our well, which supplies the water we drink, is right dead center in the garden.  I don’t particularly want to drink the stuff folks spray on roses.
• We are an official National Wildlife Federation Habitat which means we provide food, water and shelter for birds and small animals.  I don’t want to endanger the wildlife nesting in our roses by spraying them right in the middle of breeding and nesting season (spring/early summer).
• I travel for work so I’m frequently gone for a week at a time and don’t have a lot of time to spend spraying.
• Our dogs have been known to eat our roses.  In the fall, they eat the hips they can reach.  I’d rather not poison them, if I can help it.
• We occasionally eat the roses and hips.  Rose hip jelly tastes a lot like apple jelly and is a good source of vitamin C.  I also like sugared rose petals on yellow cake, or rose petals sprinkled in a salad made of fresh spinach leaves, mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, spring onions and a red wine vinaigrette dressing. Mmmmm, tasty.

So now that you know a few excuses (other than I’m lazy and don’t feel like spraying) let’s discuss how to actually accomplish this and still have a fairly nice garden.  This is possible, despite black spot and our hot, humid summers in the south-eastern-most tip of North Carolina, but it does take a little compromise.

Step 1:  Buy Liz Druitt’s book, The Organic Rose Garden.  It is written for southern gardeners and is one of the best resources I’ve found on organic rose gardening.  It is a superb little book.

Step 2:  Your roses will need a really good home if they are to survive organically.  This means lots of water, a decent bed rich with organics, plenty of mulch, at least six hours of sunshine a day, and no root competition. 

The number one reason why organic rose gardens fail is that the roses are simply not given a good home.  They are struggling in the shade of some huge tree, competing for water and food, and don’t get enough sun.  If you correct this situation, a lot of roses (and other sun loving plants like veggies) can be grown organically and will shrug off black spot as if it is nothing.

Step 3:  Don’t plan on growing a lot of Hybrid Teas.  You are lucky to be living today when we have David Austin’s beautiful English (shrub) roses which are remontant (reblooming) and can easily take the place of the Hybrid Tea roses.  There are also the Old Garden Roses, some of which cannot be sprayed or they will not do well.

There is a list of roses at the end of this article which I have successfully grown organically in this area.

Now for the nitty-gritty...

Going organic doesn’t necessarily mean not spraying at all.  If you have roses that suffer black spot, you can reduce it using organic methods.

Black Spot

Organic methods will not provide a cure for black spot, so get over the idea.

What you can do is try to prevent it, or reduce it.

Here are the basic steps to take to reduce black spot.

• Remove all leaf litter from the roses in the winter (this should include infected leaves which dropped last summer.)
• Spray with a dormant oil.  Yes.  This is considered “legal” if you are doing organic gardening.
• Provide a thick layer of mulch.
• During the growing season, pluck badly infected leaves off the roses to remove the source(s) of infection.
• Provide enough water.  Water, water, water. Make sure the water is on the ground, not on the rose’s leaves if you water in the evening.
• Spray with a mixture of 1Tbsp Baking Soda per gallon of water, plus horticultural oil.  In the summer, you can spray with just the 1Tbsp Baking Soda per gallon of water, but do it in the morning.  This mixture will kill new spores, which will help prevent infection, but won’t kill existing infection.
• Keep the bed heavily mulched.  We use pine straw.  Anything, including grass clipping, will work.  Just note that if you add grass clipping, you will need to add a source of nitrogen because decomposition will temporarily rob your roses of nitrogen while the clippings decay.

Planting

·         Dig a hole twice as wide and twice as deep as the container of the plant you are planting.  For most roses, dig a hole 36 inches wide and 20 inches deep. 

·         Mix the dirt as follows

This “recipe” is built around our soil which is gray clay, acidic, and lacks almost all nutrients.  We basically have to build the soil.  I prefer to create the bed with this stuff in December/January, let it sit for a month or two, and then plant roses in it during February.

o   1/3 - 1/2 of the top dirt dug from the hole (move the bottom-most dirt aside)

o   Several cups of Gypsum

o   1-2 cups of Lime (I need this, you may not, depending upon the acidity of your soil)

o   1/2 cup Epson Salts

o   3-4 cups of Cotton Seed Meal (Alfalfa Meal is better, but occasionally hard to get)

o   1 bag of soil amendment (looks like finely shredded bark)

o   1 bag of mushroom compost

o   2 cups sharp sand

You can add any other soil conditioners you need. Ones I like to include occasionally are: Kelp Meal, Bone Meal, Blood Meal, etc.  If you have a source for horse manure, marry them or at least get heavily involved so that you can get a constant supply.  If all else fails, pay the guy to deliver in the fall and spring.  Or start raising dwarf horses.

Now that you are ready...

Once you have prepared your beds for your roses and are ready to take the plunge, you will need to purchase some roses, or at least acquire some which stand a good chance of survival.

Personally, I prefer own-root roses, so I buy almost exclusively from two sources: Roses Unlimited and Chamblee’s.  Chamblee’s in particular is my first choice since they are about half the price of everyone else.

I’ve never had a rose from either of these sources die on me.  They are sent in large pots and the roses are always in good shape.

Here are varieties I have had very good success with and seem to have very little problem with disease.  I have focuses mostly on remontant varieties, rather than listing the once blooming Old Garden Roses.

Bourbons

Souvenir de la Malmaison

This rose stays short-3’ tall, never needs to be trimmed, blooms constantly, and has exquisite blooms in pale pink.  Very fragrant. It is particularly disease-resistant.

Noisettes

Reve d’Ohr

This is a HUGE rose, so be warned.  It is a good climber.  It will take over any support unless you keep it trimmed back.  Beautiful pale, buffy yellow flowers.  Blooms constantly. Very disease-resistant.

Tea

Marie Van Houtte

Very large shrub (6’x6’) with beautiful creamy white flowers that age to pink.  Blooms constantly. Very disease-resistant.

Duchesse de Brabant

This rose stays fairly compact-4’ tall, never needs to be trimmed, blooms constantly, and has exquisite blooms in medium pink.  The flowers are shaped rather like a tulip. Very disease resistant. This was one of Teddy Roosevelt’s favorite roses and he often wore one on his lapel.

English

Wise Portia

Small, tidy bush.  Stays about 3’ tall and never needs to be trimmed.  Gorgeous deep magenta flowers.  Blooms constantly.  This is a wonderful rose paired with Souvenir de la Malmaison.

Lilian Austin

Coral blend, loosely double flowers.  Blooms constantly.  The form stays short, but it “weeps”.  If you have the room for it to sprawl, it is lovely left as a loose fountain shape.  Otherwise, you can trim back the flexible shoots.

Wife of Bath

This rose stays short-3’ tall, never needs to be trimmed, blooms constantly, and has exquisite blooms in pale pink.  Very fragrant.  It is very similar to Souvenir de la Malmaison, except the flowers are smaller.

Noble Antony

Small, tidy bush.  Stays about 3’ tall and never needs to be trimmed.  Gorgeous magenta-red flowers.  Blooms constantly. 

St. Swithun

Pale pink globular flowers.  Blooms constantly.  The form stays medium height, but it “weeps”.  If you have the room for it to sprawl, it is lovely left as a loose fountain shape.  Otherwise, you can trim back the flexible shoots.

Climber

Dortmund

Single blooms in fire-engine red with a white center.  Glossy green leaves.  Large clusters of blooms.  Blooms continuously. Extremely disease-resistant.

And of course, the Gallica as well as many others of the Old Garden Rose classes do not require spraying and are resistant to black spot.  My favorite Gallica is currently sold as ‘Sissinghurst Castle’ and looks exactly like a crumpled piece of deep magenta-purple velvet.

Good luck and I hope you have success with your rose garden in the coming year.

And of course, I have to mention that in my Regency mystery,  A Rose Before Dying, Ariadne grows all her roses organically.

Catching up and JASNA

Got back from the Malice Domestic conference where I had a great time rubbing shoulders with all kinds of truly wonderful mystery writers, and I've spent the last few weeks just trying to catch up! There's always so much going on in the spring.

In fact, I don't think I'm the only one behind. The farmer planted the field in front of us with oats but hasn't harvested yet, and we noticed that one of the storms we had earlier in the week knocked most of it down. :( But maybe he was just going to plow it under? Or forgot.

However, the birds seems happy with it, particularly the Blue Grosbeaks.

And just last night we picked some of the first plums of the season from the trees in our back yard! Hard to believe. The crop isn't huge this year, but it's tasty as ever and I think I might look up a recipe for Plum Kuchen as a treat for my husband. I've been spending a lot of time in the garden, trying to get it in order (without much success). Gardening here consists more of killing things than planting--we're totally overrun with smilax, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, horse feather, dog fennel and other garden thugs who think they can take over the place. Unfortunately, they are often right, and they do. So I've got my normal spring crop of poison-ivy rash but I haven't given up the fight.

On June 9, 2012, I'll be heading back up to Maryland for the Jane Austen Book Fair! I can't wait. I'll be bringing along a selection of my own books, but I'm really looking forward to grabbing up a few books by the other authors there.

Here's a bit about the book fair:

Author Readings and Book Sale to Celebrate Jane Austen
AT BOOK FAIR

BETHESDA, MD – Seven authors of modern works inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novels will read, discuss, and sign their books at a Book Fair sponsored by the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) - DC Metropolitan Region, on June 9.  Five of the authors are from DC/MD/VA.

Highlighted works of nonfiction include Jane Austen:  A Life Revealed, by award-winning biographer Catherine Reef; The Jane Austen Guide to Life:  Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman, by Lori Smith; and The Jane Austen Handbook:  A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World, by Margaret C. Sullivan.  On the fiction side, the authors’ styles and settings are diverse:  Ava Farmer’s Second Impressions continues Austen’s plots and uses her language; Amy Corwin’s A Rose Before Dying combines mystery and romance in a Regency setting; Janet Mullany’s Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion takes a paranormal turn, and Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars sets an Austen plot in a postapocalyptic future. 

Immediately following the author discussions, the used book sale will open, offering biographies, literary criticism, collectible editions of Austen’s novels, and British history, culture, and travel books, as well as fiction by Austen’s contemporaries and modern authors writing in the Austen spirit. 

The Book Fair is free and open to the public.  It will take place on Saturday, June 9, from 1 to 4 pm at Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, MD.  (This activity is not sponsored by, associated with, or endorsed by Montgomery County Public Schools or Montgomery County Government.)  Information is available online at www.jasna-dc.org or by calling (301) 926-3117. 

JASNA is dedicated to the appreciation of Jane Austen and her writing.  JASNA is a nonprofit organization, with approximately 4,000 members (more than 350 in DC/MD/VA), of all ages and from diverse walks of life.  The local chapter sponsors lectures, tours, discussions, and social events throughout the year.  The national website is www.jasna.org.