All the roses that are flowering at the moment are really enjoying all the rain that we are having. The climbing and rambling roses especially are much better than they usually are, maybe they need more rain than we normally have. Usually I don’t water them at all, I feel that they have to get their roots down deep and use the water that my heavy clay hangs on to, but the difference is something I might have to think about. I will start with the huge R. Mulligani which has climbed up the dead oak.
This rose must have climbed up about 30 ft, and then it cascades down for another 15 to 20 ft, certainly rampant! Looking back from under the pergola, this is the best view of Mulligani.
On a totally different scale is Rosa glauca in the back garden. Very simple single flowers accompanied by luscious glaucous foliage that really set each other off beautifully. That isn’t all, after the flowers come scarlet hips for the birds and small mammals to enjoy in the winter.
Different again with its full double flowers is The Countryman which has a lovely perfume. All my roses from David Austin have been chosen for their perfume, which is especially pronounced early morning or in the evening. Enjoying the company here of a campanula.
Can hardly get up the steps by the back door, Bonica is blocking the way. These bushes have grown so much this year and are now arching over in the rain. In the background is the yellow rose, Charlotte.
Up and over the pergola which goes to the fruit and veg garden are on the right, New Dawn, a very pale pink which looks almost the same white as R. Mme Gregoire Staechelin which is on the left, they have Clematis Perle d’Azur climbing through them which flowers later.
Showing the delicate colouring of New Dawn.
A closer look at Mme Gregoire Staechelin, this is quite a rampant rose, needs a lot of control.
Rosa Charlotte has done well since day one. Quite a robust rose, fairly tall that has beautifully coloured flowers, not yellow, not gold, makes me think of peaches and caramel!
Such a lovely colour, too pretty to be called Shropshire lad, maybe lass would be better, but then, that is a totally different rose, almost white and single.
The ever popular Gertrude Jekyll, fantastic scent with this one, everybody’s favourite I think.
In the back garden is an archway into the woodland with the climbing rose, Snowgoose.
This has an early clematis winding through it, Clematis alpina White Moth and campanulas at its feet.
Twelve years ago I planted the rambling rose, Wedding Day, when our daughter got married. There is a large ash tree to the left of the archway into the woodland, that I felt needed something climbing up into it. There is also a Clematis montana climbing here to celebrate our son’s wedding. You need really large strong trees to be able to do this, anything smaller wouldn’t be able to bear the weight of a full blown rambling rose plus clematis.
It has been a long wait, trying to train the shoots up into the tree and not let them flop onto the lawn. At last I can see some flowers about 30ft up the tree, it has been quietly climbing while I have been fussing over one shoot that didn’t want to behave! The only place I could photograph it was from on the balcony! Not a good photo as there is so much ash foliage, will look better when it starts to cascade down again.
Looking over the garden at the side, from the balcony, it has dawned on me that we have so many roses flowering prolifically at the moment. In the front is pink Bonica, behind to the right is yellow Charlotte with white Iceberg. At the back are the 2 roses on the pergola and on the left is Mulligani tumbling out of the oak, with more Iceberg and the pink Geoff Hamilton.
Finally we have Bonica once more, surrounding the little owl with his pile of gardening books. One plant of Rosa Bonica was bought originally and the others, including the ones by the steps in the side garden, were produced from hard wood cuttings. This area between the front of the house and the garage, is a bit pink at the moment!!
I have never known so many flowers all at once on the roses and can only put the abundance down to all the rain that we have been experiencing for weeks if not months!! They say that every cloud has a silver lining and all this rain has certainly made the garden grow and flower like never before!
All your roses are lovely, I can almost smell the perfume from here. They may be doing well because of the rain now or a hot summer before. Roses like heat to harden their wood, as I found out here; but for sure some water helps too! Christina
Christina, I think it must be the rain because we certainly didn’t have a good summer last year either!
perhaps your Shropshire Lad has rosy cheeks? All that fresh country air.
Good point Diana, maybe he has found the elusive sunshine that we haven’t seen for about 6 weeks now!
Oh you have some beauties there Pauline – I imagine that there must be a lot of heady scent wafting through the air. All this wet stuff does bring some bonuses and on balance I think is preferable to a period of sustained drought – I’m old enough to remember the summer of ’76. I only have a handful of roses but funnily enough they also include glauca and ‘New Dawn’. My favourite though is the old eglantine rose, which on warm damp nights sends out the aroma of stewed apples 🙂
Mulligani has a perfume Anna, which is a cross between bananas and pineapple and comes wafting through the garden, others need a good sniff.I too can remember ’76 and visiting old drowned villages that were appearing in resevoirs, much rather have the rain as long as people are not being flooded out. Your eglantine rose sounds lovely, although we haven’t had any warm nights for so long now!
So, so, so beautiful – the scent, I swear, is transmissible online – and as for that r. mulligan – that really is what to do with a dead tree. Wonderful.
I am so envious; all mine have either been blown apart or are covered in grey hairiness. Yours are so lovely (and thanks for the great New Dawn pic – my mystery inherited climber is identified.
Rosa Mulligani Kate, is the one in the white garden at Sissinghurst, so neatly trained over their arbour, my version is when it is free of its corsets!! I wouldn’t like to deal with it to prune it, its thorns are so vicious, that’s why we decided the safest place for it was up the oak, had to have it though, our surname is Mulligan! Glad to have been of help re. New Dawn, a lovely climber.
Nice job with the ash tree!
I’ve trained Lady Banks roses into trees, and they put on a nice display that would probably be easier to photograph… as they’re yellow, but they only bloom once a year.
I have a similar attitude about roses, that they should get by on what rain God sends… which doesn’t work too well in the sand-hill garden.
But, I’ve totally seen rose bushes that were harmed by the kindness of the gardener, downy mildew everywhere caused by the belief that the leaves would appreciate a bit of watering.
You sure do have a buncha roses!
Do you ever attempt to grow them from seed? Do you ever cook with the ‘hips’? They make jelly, add them to teas, and I’ve eaten them directly off the bush…
Stone, the only rose that I have grown from seed is Rosa glauca as it will come true, I leave it to the experts to do the rest! I did make a jelly once but it was such a messy process that I’ve never repeated it. I am of the generation that was fed a teaspoon of rose hip syrup every day when a child, during the 2nd world war, so that we had our daily ration of vitamin C!! Eating them straight off the bush, you’re a braver man than I am!
I sometimes forget how many different shaped flowers roses come in. Your garden is looking quite wonderful Pauline.
The roses are such a diverse family aren’t they Catmint, something there for everyone, no matter what sort of flower appeals to them. Thank you too for your nice comment about the garden,there are times like this, when it pays to slow down and look up into the trees to see what is going on up there!
Gorgeous. I love the combination of Rosa glauca’s pink petals and their dark leaves. Some of my roses are developing black spot which I guess is to be expected with all the rain but they have got a lot of flowers on them. I admire your optimism in the face of all this rain.
Blackspot unfortunately, WW, is the price we have to pay with all the rain, but there are so many flowers, I try not to notice it! Rosa glauca is one of my favourites, I love its simplicity and clean lines. Yes, I’m trying to be optimistic in spite of the rain, but for how much longer I can’t say!
Pauline your roses are amazing! I guess you can smell the scent from anywhere in the garden! The r. Mulliganii is the one that impressed me more, I love it. I really enjoyed the large views on your garden, some pars weren’t so clear to me before, a true paradise indeed.
Alberto, you say such lovely things about the garden, thank you! Mulligani has impressed even me this year, normally I am so fed up with all the leaves dropping because of black spot, but this year it has so many flowers you don’t see the leaves!
Looking at this, I wish I paid more attention to my miserable roses. I’m entirely to blame, but somehow all that pruning and feeding and nurturing comes well down my list of things to do. A few of them flourish on neglect, and I’m aiming to confine myself to those…
Kininvie, the only plants I nurture are my Meconopsis, anything else has to cope. But yes, I prune everything but the ramblers, I’m not climbing the oak to prune Mulligani!! I find they are thriving on neglect, having given them really good soil to start with.
beautiful Pauline, Frances
Thanks Frances, I assume you mean the roses and not me!!
yes but now you prompt me to think of it you too as you sound like a beautiful/nice person, 🙂 Frances
Lol Frances and grateful thanks, I think all gardeners are lovely, they must be because they are so caring ! We have hot, hot sunshine today, almost too hot to do anything!!