Leaders in the Gardening Renaisance~ Village Nurseries Open House ~ Anthony Tesselaar ~ Part 2 of 3

"What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of the heaven. "

~A. J. Balfour  

Anthony Tesselaar is his name. Easy care roses  are his claim to fame. With distribution planted around the globe, the firm he and wife Sheryl, branded with his name ,is headquartered in Australia. His team is dedicated to pleasing the new generation  of gardeners who demand high -end beauty for for the thriftiest time-stressed gardeners. 

Flower Carpet Roses now come in a rainbow of colors

The horticultural titan works hard so gardeners don't have to. Tesselaar Flower Carpet Roses look  deceptively dainty; but they are no sissies. 

At the Village Nurseries Open House, he explained the rigorous testing process- the years devoted to creating plants which land on the market in "over-night" success. Then he served a course  on what it takes to garden successfully in sun-challenged climates. 

The test gardens are in Silvan, roughly an hour's drive outside Melbourne. Here, distinctive plant varieties are trialed over a multitude of seasons. Peak performance under harsh conditions of hot weather and little water, with nary a blemish, is what elevates a contender to a winner worthy of wearing the company logo. One planting of  Flower Carpet roses was dug in a 108 F day. Successfully.

Mr. Tesselaar smiled as he shared what is needed to boost performance in the hotter, drier weather of recent years.

• Most gardens are traditionally over-watered. Many are as luxurious when consuming 35% less water. 
• Don't let trees die. In a real pinch- trees can survive on 25% of normal irrigation.
• Watering systems timed to drip intermittently allow for water retention where intended. 
• Be generous with mulch. 3 "  is most effective to insulate soil moisture and temperature.

Tesselaar's Carpet Flower Roses marries beauty with efficiency. Most are self-cleaning bushes, blooming up to 10 months out of 12, with only periodic pruning. If size isn't an issue, it is said some go as long as 3 years between heavy prunings. Grown on their own roots, it is asserted that some landscapers (don't faint)  mow with tractor blades set on high.

Glenda Bona, Master Gardener transplanted to Henderson, Nevada- as Red Carpet Roses thrive in full-sun at the Adelaide, Australia  Airport- Mr. Tesselaar suggests this could be the rose for you. Their two-tier root system promises high hopes to make it through desert conditions. Just like your grandchildren, baby them at first- then wean the water as they are ready.  These roses are as rugged as a cowboys.

Beautiful Rose. Happy Bee.

A shout-out to Diane Blazek, Executive Director,  the National Garden  Bureau. 

She is on a campaign for us to"Bee aware". Join the movement to heighten awareness of habitats for pollinators. Learn more and register  here. 

City of Diamond Bar Residents- watch the gestation of the Red Carpet Roses filling in our NEW water-wise median plantings, the miracle of growth as catalogued  in Ladera Ranch:



From stubs








To toddling roses

To buxom beauties.

The beauty of roses is more than their petals. They are problem-solvers.

Municipalities take note. Planting groundcover roses en masse may save lives. Not more than waist high, is there any more beautiful way to discourage jay-walking than fear that roses might scratch? In their 2004 report, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that just over 4,700 pedestrians were killed and another 68,000 injured in pedestrian- vehicle incidents that year.

Golf courses  and event centers, take note. Roses are crowd-control experts. Here a mixed planting of Carpet Roses pleasantly guides strollers down the pathway, while simultaneously providing an effective border between ambling and splashdown.

Homeowners, take note.  Flower Carpet roses are beautiful, non-invasive groundcover. Requiring mininal water, pruning or chemical feedings- these are first in class back-friendly slope holders.

Next up-  Notes for the talk by  Nicholas Staddon, Plantsman and  Living Saint of US Gardeners. 

Until we meet again, Thank You for all YOU do to make the world more beautiful 

Lydia 

* A special thanks to  Judie Brower, fellow GWA member, who expedited the images from the Tesslaar Image Gallery .