While I love to visit the RHS Centre in Harlow Carr, near Harrogate, it never quite gives me that secluded, hideaway feeling that I have when I am in my own garden space. And it disappoints me that they have so relatively few roses. To me, the rose is the ultimate flower as it gives so much of itself - it is hardy, withstanding the foulest, cruelest, most miserable of winters; it is so often fragrant, and always beautiful; it can grow tall, or lay low, it can repeat flower or give the most amazing rosehips. The petals can be used in potpourri or even used to decorate cakes. What more can you ask of a plant?
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| An RHS rose - I could not locate the name |
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| Arthur Bell - one of my roses. |
I highly recommend Arthur Bell. It flowers prolifically, smells lovely, has rich glossy leaves, and is not prone to disease or pests.
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| Iceberg |
Iceberg is always in my garden, wherever I am in the UK. I have never known a finer, more generous rose. While it can succumb to pests if you don't watch out for them, it is a floribunda and has the loveliest flowers. It also comes in shrub and climber versions.
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| The Generous Gardener - a David Austen rose |
Generous Gardener is a new rose to me, and it is living up to its name. I am growing it as a climber but its habit is quite bushy right now. I can see it is going to need encouragement from me to get up there and cover its portion of my six foot fence. Meanwhile, it is profuse with heavy and fragrant blooms. It is also a repeat flowerer.
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| Princess Alexandra of Kent - a David Austen rose |
The rose, Princess Alexandra of Kent, amazes me. It is vigorous, healthy, a prolific flowerer, repeat flowering, and has a heavenly scent. The blooms are huge and dense with petal and the colour is striking yet not harsh. I think it is a must and I am so glad I discovered it.
I would very much like David Austen's book on roses but at £25 it will remain a wish.
David Austen's book at Amazon
Roses can be fearsome and one of my favourites, Albertine, is a cruel devil and I am sure I have mentioned it before. It once gave me a scar that tooks years to disappear. You have to respect rose thorns and make sure you have your tetanus jabs up to date. Being careful and wearing protective clothing is a sensible idea but I never bother. But Albertine, like all roses, has to be pruned to keep them growing the way you want to. Ignore them, and they will not do their best for you. For non-rose growers, a tip with regard to climbers and ramblers is to try and pull their main shoots down so they are growing more horizontally than vertically. That way they throw out side shoots which is where all the flowers come from. By doing this, you end up with roses all over the bush instead just at the top where they look quite ridiculous. Even hybrid teas and floribundas require pruning. Pruning is only a once in a year job which I do in early spring, and cutting off the dead flower heads to an outward facing leaf joint is all that is required on a regular basis to make the most of them.
