One minute I’m surrounded by rhododendrons and azaleas, enjoying the perfume of the azaleas, the next I’m drowning in the scent of all my roses! I’ve never known the roses to be so early, one or two maybe, but they all seemed to be flowering before the end of May this year. So much colour all at once is quite amazing, I have the rhododendrons brightening up the shady side of the garden and the roses on the sunny side, going into overdrive.
Most of my roses are from David Austin and have been chosen for their perfume. This is Gertrude Gekyll.
Rosa Graham Thomas
Most of my roses have hardy geraniums planted at their feet.
Rosa The Countryman.
They are in all shades from purple, pink,blue through to white.
Rosa The Dark Lady, gorgeous old rose fragrance with this one..
The bees come along and do what bees do naturally, and I end up with lots of different colours
Rosa Geoff Hamilton.
All the colours go so well together.
Rosa Charlotte, sent to me by mistake for Charles Rennie Mackintosh. I was told to keep it when she flowered a different colour from what I had asked for!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a colour clash.
Rosa Abraham Darby.
Blues go with everything.
Rosa Ballerina, a floribunda for a change.
But then, all the pastel shades go together.
Rosa Heritage, a strong grower.
Rosa Buff Beauty which was a cutting from one that I have elsewhere in the garden.
Rosa The Pilgrim.
Rosa Evelyn, fantastic perfume with this one.
Rosa Shropshire Lad, a wonderful rose in all its parts.
Rosa Winchester Cathedral.
Rosa officinalis. I bought this one to remind me of home in the North West of England as this is the red rose of Lancashire which dates back to the time of the Wars of the Roses in the 14th/15th centuries when Yorkshire was fighting Lancashire to decide who should be king.
Rosa Sharifa Asma. Another with an amazing perfume which will stop you in your tracks.
Sharifa Asma really is such a beautiful rose and grows really well.
Snowgoose, a small rambler which is over the archway into the woodland. It is in the shade of a tall Acer, but manages to flower on and off all summer.
Rosa William Morris, planted up against the back of the house, beautiful colour and perfume, a strong grower.
There are still a few more which haven’t flowered yet, but I would say that 95% of the roses have been flowering since mid May, which has never happened before. Was it all the rain in February, when we were flooded, or all the sun and heat that we have had this month that they appreciated? Whatever it was, I’m delighted!
I’ll finish with a gorgeous sunset that we had the other night, it didn’t last long, but dashing upstairs with the camera to get the best view was worth it!
My goodness – that sunset!! Wow! And wow for all your roses too – a friend popped over yesterday and enjoyed walking round the garden and seeing our roses, saying she was just beginning to appreciate the joy of roses in her garden…I had to warn her that once you are hooked, it becomes addictive! You are certainly in rose heaven in your garden, Pauline, and it would be impossible to have a favourite, I expect
The sunset was wonderful Cathy, such a shame they are over so quickly. I thought you might appreciate the roses, they certainly are wonderful this year without any extra help from me, I hasten to add! No I can’t say that I have a favourite, as long as they have a perfume too, then I love them all!
What wonderful roses you have Pauline and the photos really do them justice. I hope they continue to flower for a long time and the combination with the germaniums is such a good idea. I do love the David Austin roses but I have lost quite a few as they do not manage the climate here. Wonderful sunset!
Glad you like them Denise, they are certainly making the garden look pretty at the moment. What a shame that this variety don’t like your climate, is it the cold winters they don’t like, I can understand that, I think they were bred specially for the mild wet climate of the UK!
I think it must just be the cold temperatures as my soil is light and well drained so I don’t think that’s the issue. Certainly some of the DA roses are considered suitable for my climate zone so if I stick to these maybe it will be OK…..it’s just that they are all so lovely!
I hate to say it Denise, but roses like heavy clay, they love my soil which is very heavy and improved with lots of compost. Maybe yours would benefit from some compost to help retain some moisture.
Good point Pauline! Thank you.
A pleasure Denise!
Oh, you have some beautiful roses, Pauline! I bet your garden smells divine! I just ordered a few DA roses yesterday for a project. Charlotte is one of them. I know you got it as a mistake, but please tell me – how do you like it? I think the color is wonderful!
Thank you so much Anna, we have just had a day of light gentle rain, the first for weeks, and the roses are certainly appreciating it! Charlotte is one of my favourites, when I rang the David Austin nursery to tell them that a rose I bought as Charles Rennie Mackintosh (pink/lilac flowers) opened buds in yellow/gold, the answer was that they were next to each other on the potting bench. They very kindly told me to keep it and enjoy it and then sent me a replacement. Charlotte has proved to be a much stronger grower than C.R. Mackintosh and flowers all summer without any effort, I certainly recommend it!
Your roses are stunning, and I just love the underplanting…so many delicate shades. It’s the same here, all my roses are out, I think it’s the weird weather, it’s been scorching hot here for two months. It’s turned today and we finally got a little much needed rain. That is a fantastic sunset.xxx
We too had some very welcome rain yesterday Dina, but really need a lot more!Glad you like the roses, when they are all out together the perfume is amazing! I welcome the cooler weather, can’t work when it is so hot, at least I can retreat into the shade but feel sorry for the plants that can’t! x
Indeed the roses are early this year and aren’t they stunning? Yours are all fabulous. I love your header and that amazing sunset. It has just this minute started raining a bit here, what a relief.
They really are lovely Chloris and to have nearly all of them out at once is quite amazing. We have had a little rain now, thank goodness and more is due tomorrow, my plants and I will be very happy!
Mmmmmm – I can smell the scent from here Pauline 😄 They are all beauties. The hardy geraniums certainly make excellent companions for them.
I like the geraniums as ground cover Anna, they hide the ugly legs and the colours blend in so well! It has been so cold for the last couple of days, but thank goodness we have had some lovely rain, we needed it!
Rose heaven! So many I used to grow and miss with all my heart. Heritage, Abraham, but the Buff Beauty would just not grow for me…so envious. My husband was known as “Buff” as a youth, so I did try, but never successful. Thank you for that look at pure beauty!
Sorry to hear that you can’t grow roses any more Jayne, is this since you moved further south and it’s now too hot? I’m so glad that you enjoyed mine virtually!