Forsythia - the sun reflector

According to my book, when the Forsythia shrub exploded with the raising spring temperatures, and began dripping sunny sunshine with their nodding golden yellow blooms, it is high time to grab the secateurs and start pruning the roses.

As far as Forsythia is concern, from my taste and my experience having it in the garden, it is best grown as a solitary bush or blooming hedge. The shrub can get to 3 metres high with the same sideways spread. It can be sheared and shaped like many other hedging plants. Since it is very drought tolerant, I imagine the roots are able to go deep in search for water but I don't think the root are as invasive like the roots of salix which frequently being reported by many people that they can break piping joints when they are thirsty.

So, what do you do on a Saturday morning when the sun in out and the air is smelling sweet from the viola odorata, the primroses and lily of the valley?
Yes, I put on the gardening boots, grabbed the secateurs and crashed on the first rose shrub closest to the kitchen wall. Snip snip snip, awww! wow! ...and the first slash of prickle cut through the flesh of my index finger. Blood meal donation drive. Very expensive fertilizer. Gloves! Why didn't I put on the gloves?

Off I went into the garden shed. I usually air dry them on the wall hooks. Where is my trusted old soft hide leather glove for pruning the roses? I even ransacked the whole seed drawers. Nowhere to be found. (Sensored...Swearing) you never know who read this.

Bergenia Cordifolia (left)

The Pig Squeak joined my squeaking chorus of whining. Mind you, Pig squeak is not part of my swearing. Its the common name for Bergenia Cordifolia. Don't know who gave such a name to a lovely pretty plant like this, but when the leaves are rubbed with the fingers, interestingly, it gave out a squeaking sound, though I can't really say if the sound is similar to a pig squeaking. I've never had a close encounter with a squeaking pig before, and never own a pig other than a small very very fuchsia pink piggy bank where I put in foreign coins which I can't convert to my local currency.Bergenia Cordifolia thick leaves turns red in late autumn and remain colourful throughout winter. A good plant for some colours during winter months.

Anyway, my head did went in circles, scanning the 5 winter months. Did I washed some gardening gloves during winter? Went back into the house. Ransacked the whole washing room. Found the basket full with cotton gardening gloves. Well well, what do you know...enough gloves for the next 20 years, but where is that (swearing again) soft hide leather gloves?

After half an hour digging around the wash room, I gave up. I knew I didn't wash leather stuff. They can't be in washing room. Felt very silly and cheated by my own absent mind. What a waste of time. Took the cotton glove basket back to the garden shed. Well, if there is no gold, silver will do. So I put on the cotton gloves and continue pruning the rose bushes.

A little over 3 hours snipping away trying to balance the shape of the rose bushes and getting rid of dead canes, I finally arrived at the rows of once bloomers bushes. The Alba rose, Queen of Denmark is putting out new growth. Fantastic. No dieback and the bush looked very robust and healthy. I was told Alba roses are very cold hardy. Must remember to add more alba roses this year. I moved on. Rosa Complicata had a bad blackened canes. Snipped away the dead bits. 4 steps away, I saw dead twigs. I can't remember what rose shrub that was. I snipped away all the dead twigs finding my way to fresh green parts. Snipped snipped snipped until the bud union. Every bit is brown, dry and brittle. I dug around the soil until I found the name tag. I am so sad.

Omar Khayyam is dead.


The bleeding hearts shared my sentiments over Omar Khayyam's death.

What a pity. Why and how can he die? He was doing fine last year. Then I remembered. I did moved Omar Khayyam from another spot, because he is an extremely thorny rose shrub. The canes looked like a hedgehog on a stick. The prickles are slim and sharp like a needle. No exaggeration. I'll see if I can take a picture of the dead canes later.

Naturally I panicked after seeing one dead plant. These are precious collector's roses. Not easy to find and you can't find the flowers in the florist. That much I can tell you.

I scanned around to the other roses which I moved late autumn last year. So far they all are showing some green and red bits of growth. So, what is the cause of his death? Did Omar Khayyam died from the winter cold? I must perform a post mortem. I must get to the roots of the problem that led to the death of this very ancient rose. I have to see the roots.

I abandoned Mr. Secateurs. Went and grab Mrs Spade, push her deep into the ground and heaved the stiff like a stick Omar Khayyam root ball out from the ground. Ok. Investigation case completed. Omar Khayyam died due to suffocation roots drowning from excessive winter wetness. Poor thing. All my fault. I didn't put in enough drainage pebbles in the planting hole. Very silly mistake.

Now I have a good reason to go to the nursery and grab another Omar Khayyam. I must have this ancient rose again.

.....and the soft hide leather glove? I found it. I was using them during winter when I went out to knock away the snow which was piling on top of the rose trees.... but I only found the left hand side. The other one is still missing. I think I know who kidnapped my leather glove. The fox had done it before. This furry 4 legged "swearing thing" thought my leather gardening glove is a carcass of a dead cow worth chewing!