Peggy Martin has found her voice and she's not afraid to use it. No, Peggy Martin is not the new cast member in the latest Real Housewives franchise. She's a climbing rose, and she means business. For the uninitiated, Peggy Martin is an incredibly tough, not to say indestructible, climber who came to fame after surviving 2 weeks under water following Hurricane Katrina. Her reputation for strength is what drew me to her, but of course it didn't hurt that she was gorgeous. I loved her when I met her and I love her now. But lately, all we do is argue. Things were fine in the beginning. Quart-sized Peggy was so sweet and innocent when I brought her home, kind of like the pollywog in Stranger Things. I had just installed a shiny new trellis and with her help I was going to make the cover of some English garden magazine. Peggy couldn't have been more obliging, obediently threading her way up the lattice and bursting into sensational bloom in spring. She was refined. She was elegant. She was my gardening dream come true. Those were the days. Today, Peggy is no longer interested in being a prop in my twisted English garden magazine fantasies. On the contrary, she seems to be showing, if I may borrow a phrase from Miss Bingley in Pride and Prejudice, "an abominable sort of conceited independence." Nobody tells her what to do. Yes, Peggy has her own agenda and it does not involve sitting politely with her hands folded. Peggy has lately informed me in no uncertain terms that she is sick of refined and has no interest in elegant. Further: she can no longer squeeze into a size 6 and deeply resents being told she should. And while we are on the subject, it was not she who chose such a pathetically small trellis in the first place. Bottom line: Peggy needs to be her "authentic self." At first I tried reasoning with her. I understand, I said. You feel demeaned, objectified. You are tired of being defined by the reductionist patriarchal view of your role in this garden. But you're a rose, for heaven's sake. It's your job to be ornamental. (OK, now I was lecturing her.) We live in a society, I continued. You can't just do whatever you want. Do you see me walking the dog in my pajamas? No you don't. And it's not because I don't want to. Powerful arguments, but Peggy was unimpressed. So I reached for the loppers. Strike 2. Severe pruning got me less than nowhere (not for nothing is it also called "rejuvenation" pruning). The effect lasted about a month, after which Peggy looked like Alice in Wonderland after the "Drink Me" episode. So for now there's a standoff. Peggy demands respect; I want the old Peggy back. Peggy is the Madwoman in the Attic; I am a horticultural lookist. We can't go on like this. We're running out of room.
21 Comments
Anne Himmelfarb
8/27/2018 05:10:31 pm
Sarah, another sad and hilarious post. Maybe "her" motto is, "I gotta be me," so you will be the one who needs to adapt (bigger trellis, maybe?). It looks absolutely gorgeous in bloom, though!
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8/28/2018 07:16:07 am
You're absolutely right. I need a bigger trellis, or another one of the same size that I can stick next to it. Trying to install it should be interesting.
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Joan Auclair
8/27/2018 08:51:05 pm
It almost doesn't matter what you write, I'm so happy to see a post from you. But this tops them.
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8/28/2018 07:17:24 am
Joan, you are too kind. I appreciate it.
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Barbara H.
8/28/2018 09:33:15 am
Oh my gosh, I laughed out loud when I scrolled down and saw your trellis. I also said "Oh s**t" if I want to be completely truthful. Thank you SO MUCH for bringing me to my senses. I've seen pictures of Peggy Martin before and been beguiled but age related short term memory has kept me from the mistake of searching her out to plant in my own garden. Now I know - no Peggy Martin for me. Good luck - hope you can find a way to tame her.
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8/28/2018 04:39:49 pm
Well, if you have an estate with a cottage you'd like to cover, Peggy Martin is perfect for the job.
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8/28/2018 04:36:06 pm
Thanks! Peggy does occasionally re-bloom for me but you can't see it under the mess of branches.
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9/2/2018 03:58:59 pm
I love Peggy!! I really miss my Peggy Martin rose and wish I had the sun for a new one. I've tried to scout out a location but just don't have the sun. I love how exuberant she is. She is loud and proud and a total badass. Yours is gorgeous!
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9/3/2018 05:28:25 pm
It's about the only thing I don't do. Going to the supermarket covered in garden dirt and sweat is just fine, of course.
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11/28/2018 06:19:24 am
I'm sure it would do just fine - as long as it was a really big wall!
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Malissa
4/8/2020 08:12:54 am
Thank you for your hilarious thoughts on Peggy!
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4/8/2020 11:09:10 am
Thank you, Malissa! We can all use a laugh these days so I'm glad to have furnished one for you. Peggy got whacked back in February and she's now about to bloom. That means the tentacle arms are not far behind.
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I bought my Peggy Martin back in February this year and have been so excited to watch her grow, even though I knew about her "reputation" of impressive growth. Your cautionary tale has me laughing and nervously wondering all at the same time! Perhaps I need to expand my arbor before she gets too much larger, hmm. Thanks for the insights, and glad I found your site. :)
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7/15/2020 03:15:08 pm
Hi Mary. Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm not sure how big your arbor is, but you may want to invest in a booster for it to accommodate the coming growth explosion. That said, Peggy Martin is fabulous. Added perk - this year mine has been a popular nesting site for robins and cardinals. I've had 3 nests so far. So there is an upside to that mess of branches.
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Lisa Januska
7/25/2021 11:40:46 am
I bought mine in 2018. Thought I would use a trellis to promote the up growth, then allow her to grow over a slightly wider trellis than yours, then she could wind around to out wrot iron fence…well the 1st Spring 2019, she was glorious with her blooming self, 2nd year not so much, then came this year, we had the deep freeze in Texas. She suffered immensely, long branches turned black, and darn it, no blooms again! Reading your woes, I’m kinda worried, wondering if I should keep her going on, or raise the white flag while she looks as pitiful as she does now? I knew she would get big, but not look like a wild woman!! Please advise, if you live in a colder region, do I need to prune way way back like I had to this year, anytime we get really cold weather again? I read they could withstand below zero…we had cold, but not that cold for over a good week. Are you really needing to prune and deadhead all the old blooms off? I had no idea of that, I read something entirely different when I research this ol gal, but having read today again about pruning, I’m seeing other info such as what I just mentioned…Just thought I’d reach out to someone who has experienced, the good, the bad, and…..the not so pretty…lol!!! Tia for any advice you’d care to extend!
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7/25/2021 01:33:19 pm
Wow. I'm surprised that the hard freeze got it. I'm in Raleigh, NC, so I think a little colder than you, but we do get freezes (including hard freezes) and that never happened to me. Re the pruning - I would not prune in winter or when there's still a danger of a freeze in the short term. What happens when you prune is that new growth will start (pruning is basically sending a message to your plant to grow), and then the tender new growth gets zapped by the cold. So only prune in late winter or early spring or when you're sure all danger of a freeze is past. But even with that, it's odd that the plant didn't recover. Peggy Martin is quite a survivor, as you know. I don't bother deadheading -it's not necessary at all. It will keep blooming without it. In sum - if you love Peggy, it's probably worth it to see if she recovers and lives to bloom again. You have tons on time to prune back any dead looking stuff now and sit back and see what happens. Good luck!
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AuthorThe Galloping Horse Gardener is a native New Yorker who packed it in in 2005 to live under the radar in Cary, North Carolina. In 2014, she removed to a new secure location somewhere in Raleigh. Archives
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