Melody Parfumée rose: Grandiflora; fragrant; mauve
Varietal name: DORient; Dorieux 1998;
Photographer: Christine; File#:I1620
The pastel rose is Opal Brunner.
This was a noble experiment. The hole for these roses was shoehorned into a slot between large rocks. This is a technique which has worked quite well elsewhere, but not so well here. The hope was for the drama of large roses contrasting with the solidity of the boulders, but the plants have not built in size at all. I'm unsure of the cause - tree root competition possibly, or maybe not a big enough soil pocket. A big effort at soil improvement might help. hopefully
Notable in this picture are the huge red rhyolite rock boulders. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock formed from cooling magma. This Reno garden is blessed with large deposits of Rhyolite, which give the garden structure and the gardener muscle.
