Roses Ideas, Tips & Guides

I clocked up 46 hours in the garden in August this year, up from 34 the year before, so I have clearly been busy one way or another. I don’t include things like preserve making in this total, but nevertheless found time this week to make my first batch of tomato chutney (recipe here). This time last year I had already made 3 batches and had enough tomatoes to make a fourth batch, which is perhaps as well as I may not have enough ripened tomatoes to make the minimum of three batches I need to keep me going till the next tomato season. Not only have they been very much later to establish and ripen than most years, but the beefsteak tomato ‘Burlesque’, that I grow to make things easier for the chutney-making process, is less than half its usual size, either not maturing as normal, or not the correct variety in the first place.

Timing is everything in successful gardening—this includes pruning! As we enter autumn, we share a selection of perennials you should never cut back in the fall if you want them to grow and bloom abundantly in spring and summer!

You cannot compare the wet weather we have had in the last 9 days or so with the destructive hurricanes experienced by parts of the US, but we have an amateur weather monitor here and I have kept records for over ten years, so can tell you that this is the wettest month we have had in that time, with 161mm (6.3″). To put this in perspective, our annual rainfall varies from around 24-32″, although bear in mind these are amateur records. Living on a hill, we are in no danger of flooding, but there is a river valley at the foot, with lakes from collapsed coal mining, and the road there does tend to flood after prolonged rain, necessitating a detour, but oddly this has so far been minimal, as it has been in the local town, where this first river flows into a second, larger one. What is happening both up and downstream can of course have an impact.

Despite having had around 4″ of rain since last Saturday, there has still been plenty of dry weather in between, allowing for much seasonal industry. Even the Golfer has stirred himself again and cut down the small and underperforming damson, before beginning to take tiles off the shed roof to seek the source of numerous leaks. He must have  reconfigured and reroofed the shed at least half a dozen times already but likes a good project as much as I do, although doesn’t have quite the same get-up-and-go as he had when he was younger and healthier. Meanwhile, I tackled the mid-hedge, keeping it at a manageable height (above).

Garden art and sculpture creates year-round atmosphere and interest in your garden.

Not long after stating publicly on this blog that I didn’t expect to find room for more roses, it occurred to me, in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, that extending the small bed behind the shed following removal of the tree stump might in fact just do this after all! The original bed housed rambling rose ‘Rosemarie Viaud’, which rambles over the shed roof, and repeat flowering old rose ‘Rose de Rescht’, but if the latter were replanted elsewhere there would be space for a trio of modern shrub roses, planted to together to give the suggestion of a large bush, as has recently been done in the rose garden.

Garden art and sculpture creates year-round atmosphere and interest in your garden.

Please be assured that the title is not intended to reflect how I feel about the vase, but more of an acknowledgment that a pink and white combination always makes me think of ‘coconut ice’, and I am very partial to coconut in cakes and confectionery although not in things like coconut water or any other drink, alcoholic or otherwise. Coconut ice, if you haven’t heard of it, is an old-fashioned confection made from coconut, sugar and milk, one half coloured pink, the other remaining white, and no doubt far too sweet for my taste these days.

As well as what could be classed as ‘projects’, there is a tendency for minor editing at this time of year and, on the whole, I feel the borders generally have been improving in recent years because of this.  I daresay I will never be completely happy with them and inevitably there will always be changes to be made, but at least there seems to be more cohesion to them these days and I don’t have an issue with removing plants that no longer bring pleasure. The bold borders have certainly come a step closer in their boldness, although some editing is still required in the one to the left of the gate (above), where an over-exuberant geranium has been swamping the new Geum ‘Totally Tangerine ‘ in front of it (below); moving the geranium further back in the border will be a first step.

Hi GPODers!

The garden is definitely on the turn, but there are still treasures to be found. Helichrysum ‘Bright Rose’, for example, has flowered prolifically this year but, with all the other material, I had not cut it very often and the plants were covered in blooms that were not quite buds but didn’t look like spent flowers**. With little rain in August, it wasn’t as if they had ‘balled’ either but, whatever their status, I took advantage of their numbers and used them as a starting point for today’s Vase on Monday.

Last Sunday we treated ourselves to a visit to David Austin Roses, the ‘royal’ We that is, as the Golfer was happy enough to tag along wherever I planned to go. Although only about 35 miles away, I prefer to be as economical as possible with such trips and combine them with something else,  or include them en route to a more distant location, which is what we did, staying one night on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border and visiting other places too. The gardens are attached to the nursery and are open all year round at no cost, with over 700 different roses planted within the two acre rose garden, divided into smaller themed areas divided by neat hedges. The roses are complemented by a range of perennials, with sculptures by the late Pat Austin dotted throughout the gardens.

What is this critter found on a rose of Sharon leaf?

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Other than a gradual reduction in blooms and the appearance of seasonal orb spiders and Cyclamen hederifolium I hadn’t really noticed how close autumn is until Pauline of Lead Up the Garden Path talked last week about signs of autumn in her garden. I duly looked UP here, instead of down or straight ahead and, my goodness, the leaves are indeed beginning to turn! Overnight temperatures are now cooler too, down to 7°C in recent days, with a monthly maximum of 29°C. It has been a fairly dry month (and the driest of the year), with around 29mm of rain which has been typical of August here of late. Although the garden would certainly welcome some rainfall, the main thing I noticed when I took this month’s photographs is the amount of foliage, the result of lush growth earlier in the year when rainfall was plentiful.

Potted plants can add greenery and softness to patios, porches, stoops, decks, and fire escapes. Bare or bland outdoor areas are instantly transformed with tall greenery in giant tubs and climbing vines, hanging blooms, and even smaller plants in quirky-cool pots, adding interest and whimsy. The possibilities are endless!

It has been busy in the garden recently, although perhaps it always is, juggling the less exciting seasonal maintenance with more gratifying tweaks and improvements. A number of new plants have been ordered, although where possible I have moved plants from elsewhere or used leftovers from those grown for sale. Meanwhile, the garden ticks over by itself, albeit slowing down but bringing joy with every new bloom, like a fresh flush of roses on ‘Strawberry Hill’ (above), currently awaiting a new structure to support its abundance of blooms during the season, now likely to be a winter project.

Have you thought about how your garden micro-climate affects how well your plants grow?

Moving into your first home is an exciting milestone but also requires a lot of careful planning, to say the least. As you look ahead to your new space, be sure to avoid these six common design—and cleaning-related mistakes that experts commonly encounter.

A Goldfinch perching on teasel

Hi GPODers!

Hi GPODers!

Pruning plants in summer is just as important for some plants as winter pruning. By pruning in summer, you can reap the rewards of better displays from ornamental plants. You’ll also encourage bigger crops from fruit trees and bushes. Removing new summer growth before it turns woody reduces growth-promoting nitrogen, allowing potassium to build up – and more potassium means more flowers and fruit. You’ll also keep plants, such as shrubs, climbers and rambling roses, within bounds and maintain an attractive shape.

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I may well have created a vase on Monday with the title ‘Candy Girl’ before, but with Dahlia ‘Eye Candy’ as the main focal point that is what popped into my head, alongside lyrics of the Archies’ late 1960s song ‘Sugar Sugar’.

Well, I did it: after a few light showers, I took the plunge and moved the roses as planned, breaking all recognised rules about moving and replanting. The existing roses in the rose garden are now planted closely together in groups of 3 of the same variety, to give the impression of larger bushes, together with the new additions making a total of eight varieties in the enlarged bed, leaving the terraced beds either side of the bus shelter empty for some hardy perennials.

If you look after your roses in autumn, they will get safely through the winter, coming back healthy, vigorous and full of flowers the following year. The key autumn rose care jobs are tidying up, removing spent blooms or diseased foliage, and pruning. Watch our video guide above as Alan Titchmarsh demonstrates how to prune a rose in autumn. Autumn is also a good time to plant a rose.

 With over 30,000 species under their belt, it’s no surprise that these special plants emit a range of scents, from spicy to fruity, citrusy to floral, or even nutty and creamy. And some imitate the scents of other blooms like roses and hyacinths! So, we compiled a selection of the best and most fragrant orchids for your home.

Join us this summer as we explore some of the UK’s best 2-for-1 Gardens to visit in August, for fun days out with all the family. Whether it’s an adventure playground or woodland trail for the kids, or a rose garden or restored Elizabethan garden for the horticulturalists, there is plenty to enjoy at these gardens. Visit using your 2-for-1 Gardens card to save money on your trips to all these wonderful gardens.

What has this rambler been brandishing her secateurs over this week, I wonder? Not these sunflowers, certainly, as they are probably over 3 metres or 10ft tall, and I would need a ladder to cut any blooms. I usually grow coppery-coloured ‘Velvet Queen’, but this year have also sown ‘Earth Walker’, another dark variety, neither of which would be expected to grow above a more manageable 2m or so, and I don’t know where the yellow blooms have come from. Perhaps I could manage to reach some blooms for a Monday vase…?

The word “cancer” really puts the darkest thoughts in our minds! Amongst humans and animals, it is a truly devastating condition marked by invasive cell growth and quite a grim prognosis. But can plants get cancer, and do they suffer alike? Let’s investigate.

Over the past few years, Pamela Anderson has had more time to contemplate life. That is, until things kicked into high gear again—but more on that later. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, she moved from France, sold her house in Malibu, and headed north to the small town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where she was born and raised. She hunkered down with her two grown sons, Brandon and Dylan. She bought her grandmother’s old motel, renovated it, and set up her parents there. A lifelong cook, she perfected her baking skills. She reclaimed and expanded her grandfather’s garden on the same land where she had run barefoot as a self-described wild child. It’s the site of both her greatest childhood joys and harrowing traumas, which she describes candidly in her 2023 autobiography, Love, Pamela, and Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story. Almost poetically, for Pamela has journaled and written poetry her whole life, she has reclaimed her true self and her youthful creativity on the exact spot where they were born. When I had the chance to sit with her and talk over Zoom recently, our conversation quickly moved beyond her new cookbook, I Love You (due out in October), to all aspects of life—and her ability to find the deepest of meanings in even the tiniest of seeds.

There’s nothing more discomforting than scratching or pricking yourself in dry weather with scraggly thorn-filled rose bushes. But they are so pretty—if only they were as manageable! They can be, with our tricks to growing less prickly and thorn-free roses in your garden. Read on to find out!

Saturday has come around again ridiculously quickly, meaning it is time for another contribution to Jim’s weekly meme at Garden Ruminations; also coming round quickly is a new month, with an end-of-month post noticeably lacking…hey ho!

Collaborative post

John Bessler