Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2010 by admin in Wild Flowers |

In 1990, when the Mendelow rose collection was first conceived, Sandra spent a full year laying the groundwork for her garden. Soil heavy with clay received generous amounts of calcium-rich gypsum, as well as sand to improve drainage, and compost to boost fertility. Raised beds outlined in brick further improved drainage, helped concentrate nutrients, and brought plants up to eye level. With guidance from rose consultant and hybridizer Mike Lowe, Sandra began a pruning program (every Valentine’s Day the clippers come out) that keeps the bushes in top form.

Perhaps most beneficial to all her plants is Sandra’s all-organic recipe (modeled after one used by Claude Monet) for spring and summer top-dressing: two ingredients from the land (cotton and alfalfa meals), two from the sea (fish emulsion and seaweed), and two from God’s creatures (blood meal and bone meal). For a mineral tea every second week in season, Sandra sprinkles a quarter cup of Epsom salts around each rose, then waters deeply.