First, some general comments.
I am not a skilled gardener nor a rose specialist. Actually, I do not have as much success with my roses as I would like, so I am going to use this blog document my efforts and improve my results. I will specialize in hybrid tea roses with fragrance.
Some background:
8B is a United States Department of Agriculture hardiness zone that describes the climate of places like Austin, Texas and Gainesville Florida, but the climates of those cities are very much unlike that of my garden, even though we are also zone 8B. Our garden is located in Camarillo, California, about half way between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. We have about 300 days of sunshine a year with mild wet winters and mild dry summers.
Besides the USDA zone system, a more detailed climate zone description can be found in the Sunset Western Garden Book. In this book we are zone 23 which is described as having an eleven month plus growing season with rainy winters. The nearby Pacific Ocean keeps summers cooler than Los Angeles with negligible frosts.
We rarely use the air conditioner in the summer, but use the heater just a bit in the winter. There are a few days of hot, dry Santa Ana winds in the autumn, but it is not as much of a problem here as further inland where seasonal wild fires are a serious threat. On the other hand, we are far enough from the ocean the coastal fogs do not create much cooling and dampness in the summer.
In our garden, besides roses, hydrangea grow quite well. We also grow citrus, avocados, macadamia nuts and persimmons. Figs grow well, as do artichokes and asparagus.
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