Saturday, November 19, 2016

Roses.

Despite ever changing weather including bruising winds roses everywhere in the BOP seem to be a delightful riot of colour. My new purchase planted in June has just started flowering.
It is a David Austin rose ( my favourite sort ) called Princess Alexander of Kent.( Above )  
 It's perfume seems to be best at night.
In the same area I have a struggling plant called Sweet Juliet.
 I have dug out some of the surrounding competition and given it a new layer of compost so hope it helps.

 The other rose getting extra help is Charles Austin. It has the most delightful perfume and is usually a strong vigorous grower.  Unfortunately some spray creep from a bank below. ( R trying to kill rampant agapanthus - he is suitably contrite )   It killed 3 other roses beside it and badly injured this one. I am so glad one plant is surviving but only just.
 Crepuscule is a similar colour. It grows up and over a pergola and I need help to reach it to cut it back, but not while it's flowering so well.
 Nearby the 3 Graham Thomas roses are a yellow heady profusion. I can pick bunches of these at a time and do so quite often. They too need extra tying into the fence . We always get nasty damaging winds in November.
 I have several single roses too. With them it's more about the lovely faces than perfume. I have Complicata; Pink Sparrieshoop; White Sparieshoop and Sally Holmes. I lost 2 favourites in the spray incident. ( Meg and Penelope )

The day I drove home from my friend's memorial service I passed the garden centre with the lovely David Austin Roses, now reduced in price as it's late for planting them.  I went in and found "Grace" to come home with me and be planted outside the bedroom window. She sounds promising
......., nice perfume, strong grower etc.  There wasn't a rose called Dorothy, but it's planted in her memory.  
 Other roses that grow in my garden are  Cornelia; Mutabiles; Wise Woman; Arylis;Cecil Brunner; Lavender Dream; Anais Segalis and  Veilchenblau. I also have some smaller white ones and Flower carpet white and flower carpet Apple Blossom - it does really well and is great for picking.

*******
 Only hand sewing at the moment as My Bernina hasn't returned from it's service ????? it's been away long time ! I will ring and enquire on Monday.
 Yes we did feel the earthquake, but only the first one. It is devastating for folk and businesses and farmers in the area.

6 comments:

Janice said...

What a lovely variety of roses. They really are a beautiful addition to a garden. Unfortunately, I only have one here. I planted a standard "Peace" near the front door. The first flower came out last weekend and got battered by the wind. I'm waiting patiently for the next one.

Mary said...

I do hope Grace rose does well and becomes a beautiful way of remembering your dear friend.
My roses are not doing well at all - we need to do a lot of shrub removal and pruning back - sunshine cannot get to the roses now.
House needs painting also so next Spring here will be very busy!

Stay well and enjoy each day dear Ali.
Hugs - Mary

molly said...


What a lovely way to remember your friend. I think you would have got along very well with my mother. She also had a well-developed green thumb and grew roses, along with many other flowers, as you do, but I could not even attempt to tell you their names. I just know that they all smelled really nice....

Julie said...

Well wouldn't I love to visit your garden in rose season. I adore David Austin roses - the overall old fashioned look and always such a heady scent. My favourites that I had in my garden was Abraham Darby, though I love Mary Rose too.

Raewyn said...

Beautiful roses!! I love those old fashioned ones, especially with the scent. Our daughter attacked mine over the winter and they have come back beautifully!

Chookyblue...... said...

your roses are gorgeous..........oh to have the problem of weedy agapanthus............I want heaps more.........