by Janis on 18th August 2023 / 0 comments
You can never have too many
I can’t imagine another plant in the world is more universally loved than the beautiful English rose. I personally feel that every garden should have at least one.
The enchanting scent that some roses release is quite hypnotising, we have two half-standard roses, ‘Margaret Merril,’ in pots just outside our conservatory doors, and they smell just like candyfloss; they are intoxicating.
I honestly think that if I let Gary have free reign in the garden, he would keep buying roses; Gary’s philosophy is that you can never have too many.
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Memories of my Grandad
A rose for every occasionI remember strolling through my grandad’s garden when I was a kid, and it was full of roses; he absolutely adored them. The roses in his front garden encircled his manicured lawn, and I recall his large rear garden was lined on both sides with standard roses.
Roses in Winter
As soon as he stepped into his garden, he had a pair of secateurs in his hand; now I understand why I love roses so much.
We’re lucky that we have quite a large garden, so we have roses scattered around, although it wasn’t until I listed them that I realised quite how many we had. We actually have 12, and we’ve found a spot for another two.
What is it about roses?
There is a rose for everyoneSo why do we love roses so much?
Well, there are many reasons, to be perfectly honest. The first is that the flowers are incredibly beautiful and so often long-lasting, from the delicate modest blossoms of a rambling rose to the grand blooms of a Floribunda.
A beautiful red rose
The other reasons I adore roses are for their fragrance which I mentioned above, the gorgeous range of colours they are produced in, and the wide varieties that are available. You can buy a rose in all shapes and sizes. There is something for everyone.
Roses are actually reasonably easy to tend to; on a summer evening, it’s a pleasure wending our way through the garden, pruning and deadheading the plants. Although, I must add, ensure you wear a decent pair of gardening gloves; the rose thorns can be extremely painful if you’re not too careful.
Our white standard rose
A helpful guide to roses
If you are looking for an informative reference book on roses then may we suggest 'RHS Roses: An Inspirational Guide to Choosing and Growing the Best Roses'
This may become your go-to book for selecting and nurturing roses for your very own garden.
Choose your rose carefully
Does it tick those boxes?We will shortly be visiting a local nursery to us in Kent which specialises in roses named Rumwood Nurseries. They offer an online ordering service, so you don’t need to live in the southeast of the UK.
Now, I must admit that I am no expert in roses or gardening come to that, but what I will add is that ensure you do some research before buying your perfect rose.
Pink bush roses
Firstly, do not assume that all roses are intensely fragrant; read the labels thoroughly, as you don’t want to be disappointed. Secondly, ensure that the rose you want is ideal for its new location in your garden. You’ll be amazed at the wide variety of roses available.
Do you want your new rose to be a rambler, climber, floribunda, hybrid tea, miniature, shrub, patio feature, ground cover, standard or half-standard? Most importantly, the colour of the rose and do you want it scented?
Climbing red roses
When you visit a speciality nursery, you’ll be amazed at how many choices there are.
We’re buying two more roses
A floribunda and a climberAs I touched upon above, we’ve decided that we would like another couple of roses in our garden, and we’ve chosen the spot for our new thorny friends.
Our first one will be a floribunda rose as we want a bush-forming plant, we want it to be fragrant, and also, we would like it to be orange, as we have some white, red and pink roses. We fancy a rose which packs a punch.
Our white climbing rose
Our second rose will be planted against a fence, so we want it to be a climber. I’m toying with which colour; I think I may go for pink or lilac and perfumed. However, I may wait and see what they have in stock, as I may be swayed to another colour.
Pink Octavia Hill roses
We gain a lot of our garden and planting inspiration from visiting National Trust gardens; the ones we particularly enjoy visiting are Nymans, Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Emmetts Garden and Scotney Castle.
Share with us your favourite rose; we’d love to know.
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