Today is Nikkipolani’s birthday and I gave her birthday roses both last year and the year before.
This year the rose Valentine Heart has not yet flowered, and hasn’t been doing too well recently although it has now grown new leaves and a few buds.
The rose Pretty Lady needs another day or so to burst into full bloom.
My rose Iceberg has never flowered so last autumn I moved it as a last resort.
During the week I was well pleased to see that it has some buds hidden away, and by yesterday one had bloomed.
It’s not only the first plot rose* of the year but a birthday rose!
Happy birthday Nikki…Flighty xx
[*Although it’s pretty and white I have to say that I’m somewhat perplexed as it doesn’t look like an ‘Iceberg’ rose and is in fact a dog rose !]
Flighty's plot 
Happy birthday, Nikki. I like your Iceberg rose, whether it turns out to be an Iceberg or not. I much prefer understated roses to big flouncy ones.
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Jo it’s definately not an ‘Iceberg’, but never mind at least it has flowered at long last. Me too! xx
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I think it has reverted to what it was originally. Perhaps the rootstock was a rambler and when moving it reverted.
The rose is beautiful anyway and I love to see them on the road side in Pink, Red and White and if I am right you will have great big hips in the Autumn.
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Mrs K it was bought as a floribunda but as you say seems tohave reverted!
I agree and I’m glad that it has white flowers. The wildlife will enjoy the hips! xx
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Lovely!! And thank you for your thoughtful birthday wishes! Now that I have a closer look at the ‘Iceberg’ you have, the leaves don’t look like Iceberg leaves which are not at all serrated. And unless the rose is under lot of stress (like very hot weather), it shouldn’t bloom singly.
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Nikki thanks! You’re most welcome, and have a lovely day.
As of a few days ago I didn’t think that I’d have any roses to give you this year.
We’re agreed that it’s not an ‘Iceberg’ which at least gives me the excuse to buy another one! xx
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Oh, how lovely!
Happy birthday to Nikki 🙂
Roses absolutely hate me, so in spite, I don’t grow them any more. lol
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Tina thanks! I’m sorry to hear that you and roses don’t get on which is a shame. xx
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Thank you, Tina 🙂 Since you don’t grow roses, Flighty and I will have to make up for it 😉
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Aren’t you romantic – roses for a lady’s birthday. Your’s is lovely but you right, it looks very much like a dogwood – gorgeous though. Hoorah for it blooming after all that waiting xx
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Carrie of course I am!
Thanks, it is nice and been well worth the wait! xx
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Happy Birthday, Nikki! Flighty, your Pretty Lady rose looks lovely in bud, and your white rose has heart shaped petals 🙂
To honour Nikki on her birthday, I worked all day in the rose garden, which wouldn’t have existed without you two. I weeded the bed, and all around the edges and even behind the shed ~ I’m talking 3 wheel barrows full!! ~ and in the sun. It was the best weather ever ~ I worked for at least 6 hours! One of my iceberg roses was in bud, so I took a photo, but haven’t uploaded it yet. I hope before too long to be able to pick a rose bouquet for Nikki to see ~
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Glo I was even getting a bit worried about the rose ‘Pretty Lady’ a while back but it now it’s covered in buds like that.
Well done on spending your day doing that which I’m sure will have been so worthwhile once your roses start blooming! xx
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Thank you, Glo! Always glad to enable another gardener to grow more roses 🙂
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It’s me again! ~ Flighty, I just wondered if you had come across this site where Shirl has a nest box with baby blue tits just about ready to fledge. Her photos and videos over time are amazing, and I thought you might like to see her site. I found her through Midmarsh John’s site.
http://blog.shirlsgardenwatch.co.uk/
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Glo hello again! I think I have but thanks for the link which I’ve now bookmarked. As you say the photos and videos are amazing! xx
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Definitely not an Iceberg as you have pointed out. Looks like the rootstock has taken over, this happened to a couple of standard roses that I picked up cheaply one year. Actually I’m glad because the rootstock flowers are much prettier and more abundant than the grafted ones ever were.
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Re apparently all roses have dog rose rootstock and very occasionally they do revert, as this one has clearly done. Thankfully I really don’t mind that it’s happened! xx
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It looks lovely Flighty, I am starting to appreciate roses a lot more these days.
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Damo thanks, and good for you! My mum loved them so it’s not surprising that I like them!
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Lovely! Wouldn’t expect anything less than a beautiful birthday wish to your friends!
Belated greetings Nikki!
Hope you had a wonderful day! *hugs*
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Daffy thanks! There was me a week ago thinking that I wouldn’t be able to give Nikki a birthday rose this year!
I’m sure that she celebrated in style with her friend(s) in sunny Texas! xx
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Thank you, Miss Daffy 🙂 It was a fabulous wonderful fantastic day.
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HappyBirthday Nikki … from me too. x
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Louise thanks! xx
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Hi flighty, thanks for posting on my gardening forum. I cannot respond as I still cannot logon to the site due to having talktalk as my isp and the fact they are blocking webs.com websites
a little frustrating.
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ChrisB you’re welcome, I thought that perhaps you were away! I’ll email you later today about it.
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Nice touch.
This year, experimenting with my two little plots (they are really small) will help me decide what might work. Our weather is so variable even what might work is not a marker. I guess from what you say, Mr F, you are finding much the same this year.
Some plots will be healthy soil and no more, I think, unless some warmth comes our way for a period of time.
xx
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Menhir thanks! I think that the variable weather that we generally have here is one of the biggest problems for gardeners.
I hope that you have some success, and that we all have some warm weather! xx
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Oh lovely roses,
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Liz I just wish that I had room for more, especially a yellow one. xx
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