Three Shots in the Garden - May 2020 Edition - Carefree Beauty rose, oakleaf hydrangea, smooth phlox

'Carefree Beauty' rose.
The rose is truly carefree in terms of being tough and self-sufficient, but...
...it can get enormous if not cut back and has vicious thorns...
...so best to take some care when pruning it. 😬 

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) flower panicles

Smooth phlox (Phlox glaberrima) in bloom

Some June highlights - oakleaf hydrangea, black-eyed Susan, daikon radish, golden groundsel, anise hyssop and Carefree Beauty

Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) panicle fading to pink

Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan), first time growing this native wildflower

Super impressed with the ability of daikon radish (Raphanus sativus) to form substantial roots on my solid clay soil. Many of the daikons are bolting now - making surprisingly beautiful lavender flower spikes that attract pollinators. Pollinated flowers then turn into edible seed pods!

In my continuing search for native groundcover candidates, I think golden groundsel (Packera obovata) is a keeper. This beauty is evergreen in winter and had pretty yellow flower spikes earlier in the season. 

In my experience, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop) is one of the best perennials for attracting both pollinators (to the flowers) and birds (for the seeds). It's a beautiful plant to boot and self-sows moderately to provide a nice amount of new seedlings over time. It can look a bit tired in the heat of summer and I haven't tried growing it in all-day blazing sun, but overall it does amazingly well here in shade or partial sun (either morning or afternoon), especially considering this plant is native to Canada and the northern Plains (Montana to Wisconsin)!

After some pruning, Carefree Beauty rose is blooming again.

The Perils of Garden Snobbery

For a long time, I thought rose bushes were too common.

Everyone has rose bushes around here.

So I refrained from adding one to the garden.

My loss! I missed out on this 'Carefree Beauty' all those years...

It's been a champ throughout our hot, humid summer. It grows in full sun from morning through early afternoon and then has shade for the rest of the day.

Early on in the season, I was disappointed with the way it suffered from Japanese beetle attacks, but the beetles soon went away and the rose recovered and flourished with little help from me.

In August, I started cutting just about-to-open roses every few days and bringing them inside to adorn the kitchen or dining tables.

I'd say that Carefree Beauty has a light but delicious fragrance. I don't think I'll go bananas about sprinkling roses throughout my garden. I'm too nervous about rose rosette disease (RRD) to do that. But I do hope to add a couple more tough, vigorous and hopefully even more fragrant roses.

I've got my eye on Jacqueline du Pre. And I'm also interested in the native Carolina rose, which reportedly is resistant to RRD.

Are these both Carefree Beauties?

Last autumn, I thought I purchased two 'Carefree Beauty' roses via mail order.

Now that these roses are beginning to bloom, you be the judge - are they the same or two different cultivars?

I particularly like this light pink one, which has a faint, sweet, pleasing fragrance.

I'm happy with both roses and won't mind at all if they are different from one another, I just find it curious. I also have very little experience growing roses. Perhaps more experienced rosarians could tell me whether such variation is common within named cultivars?

Class of 2016 -- Rosa 'Carefree Beauty', shrub rose

'Carefree Beauty' shrub rose, photo by Malcolm Manners

Why I'm growing 'Carefree Beauty' in my garden...

1) My wife likes roses!

2) I would describe some kinds of popular roses as ecologically inert. The only insects they seem to attract are Japanese beetles! But Sarah Rummery, Horticulture and Grounds Manager at the Reiman Gardens at Iowa State says that 'Carefree Beauty' has flowers that attract bees and other pollinators, while the rose hips that follow provide food for wildlife.

3) I was impressed by Dee Nash's enthusiastic review and beautiful photos at Red Dirt Ramblings.

PS - I hesitated to grow any roses in my garden after reading about the scourge of Rose Rosette Disease, but I figured I'd take a chance with just a couple of roses in the garden.

Do you grow roses? If so, which are your favorites and have you had any problems with Rose Rosette Disease?