Roses Ideas, Tips & Guides

Mildew is a white powdery fungus that looks unsightly on these leaves. Mildew is a sign of stress in a plant and usually arises from damp air with poor circulation. It is prevalent in my garden now Autumn is here in force. It is of less concern in winter as the cold will take care of the current problem until next year at least.

‘Marriage is like life in this…. That it is a field of battle And not a bed of Roses’

Some fun photos that appeal to my sense of humour. These are the famous ‘Glove Flowers’ yes you guessed it they are Marigolds. African Marigolds to be accurate with flower heads 4″ across.

Annual begonias can make a good display in a planter. Not all planters are as tall as this.

What is a Patio Rose if it isn’t a rose grown on a patio? Patio roses grow bigger and bushier than miniatures and are about 14 -24 inch high, yet they are perfectly formed. H.T. Bush and Floribunda roses grow bigger but Patio roses are easy and decorative.

Half Standard roses are grown on a 60-80cm stems. The selected flowering variety is grafted onto this stem. A spreading variety of polyantha or ‘fairy rose’ attains further  height of  2′. Clusters of bead-like buds open to globular, scented flowers which are most effective en masse.

This summer has been damp and the plants have grown lush. In some way this has contributed to a dramatic cut in the number of greenfly on my roses and other plants (perhaps they found other feeding grounds or did not mate as prolifically).

Previously I have stuck to traditional names for bits of my garden. Veg plot, rockery, orchard (when I feel posh), rose bed, border, hedge and similar names have delineate what and where I was trying to grow.

In the cold wet winter it is a good time to plan where to visit as the year improves. The South West is the obvious place to start your visiting tour of gardens containing exotic plants.

Grafting in the 19th century was a significant method of increasing stock of trees and plants as the photograph of East Anglian life by PH Emerson shows.  The objects of Grafting are to bring a bush or tree into an earlier fruiting than it would do naturally; to produce good fruit from an inferior plant; or to save space by putting dwarf scions on to rampant growing trees. The stock or subject is the base tree and the scion or graft is the portion of the branch to be imported.

Hellebores are doing very well this year. The combination of the last cold winter, warm spring and now wet winter again has brought out the flowers in profusion. The Niger or Christmas rose is one of the earliest white flowers but many hybrids are now available.

When Roses are in full bloom I can’t resist taking photos of them. With this rose I tried putting white paper behind the rose to highlight its colour. The rose below is taken with a dark background but is still satisfactory.

January is a good month to take hardwood cuttings including .

Also known as the Japanese rose, Kerria Japonica it is a cottage-garden regular that grows dependably almost anywhere. The flowers are a distinctive single or double yellow flowers in April and May. The arching stems are thin and the leaves serrated.

What colour is the sky? A strange question too a gardener perhaps but there are good gardening reasons for asking.

A disappointing display of flowers on rose bushes and climbers can be a result of ‘rose blindness’.  The term blindness in gardening terms refers to the failure to flower and is common in daffodils that become constricted (see below).

You may wonder how roses flower on 1st April when your favourite flower is just at its summer best

A little used gardening term is ‘Remonant’, said of a plant flowering more than once in a season.

It is mid July and the Roses have performed very well with an abundance of flower, scent and leaf growth. With the June flush over here are some quick tips to boost your Roses for the rest of the season.

I love the formal Hybrid Tea Roses like ‘Just Joey‘. Just Joey is a hybrid, bred from Fragrant Cloud and Dr A J Verhage.

Violas are perennial and grow best in well drained soil that has an open structure to encourage fibrous roots and promote many stems from the same root. They may get a bit leggy so cut back two or three times during the spring and summer to encourage new shoots and more flowers. Aid this by applying a liquid rose fertilizer or seaweed and keep watered.

I used to think the stinking hellebore was the main hellebore plant. It has its place but on the compost heap. The Christmas rose on the other hand is a fine plant well worth cultivating. (Hellebore foetidus is a compact, evergreen perennial with finely divided elegant foliage and green flowers.) The better loved Hellebore niger or the Christmas Rose or Lenten roses produce the white flowers similar to those shown below.

A rose is not a rose when it is a Lenten or Christmas rose!

Super Star is one of my star picks when it comes to late blooming roses. The petal colour is a luminous vermillion, a reddish orange with some slight veining to add mystery. Heavily scented, Super Star spreads its perfume on still September evenings. Super Star is free flowering with a vigorous growth habit that will see it reach 3-4 feet tall. The buds and double flowers have a high center that opens out as the flower matures. As a Hybrid Tea rose, Super Star is a good bedding rose that flowers through the season.

The Rowan or Mountain Ash, Sorbus aucuparia is a member of the same family as the rose and is part of the large Sorbus genus (50+ distinctive species).  They are highly variable with several regional sub species. The trees can be quite singular in appearance when shaped by wind on high moors and mountains.

Georg Arends was a German nurseryman who bred many perennial plants. His business was successful until the second world war and has been regenerated to be one of the oldest in Europe. It still remains within the Arends family.

Some gardeners say the best hips are produced by species roses. Here are some Hips Tips that I have discovered over the years.

There is a whole new language to be embraced when you first start to garden. We have just selected 5 gardening terms that you may come across.

There are many gardens and monuments dedicated to Peace and they are worth seeking out when you are on your travels.

I am not new to gardening (I have had over 60 years exposure). Yet every year I return with fresh hope and seek out an occasional idea. As we approach 2019 I am looking for the inspiration that will lift me and the garden to new heights.

Roses are red Pansies are blue -They’re available in other colours – but what can you do?

Roses can be a center of attraction in a photograph as these local garden subjects show. With the morning sun behind the photographer the intense colour shows through despite some risk of colour burn-out. However, for me it is the petal pattern and form that takes center stage. Roses can also hold your center of attention for both colour and scent in many a  garden Photographs with a dark background help with the contrast and emphasise the quality of the rose flower. A shame about the black spot on the lemon sorbet. Is this a  hover fly or a randomly attracted flying creature that wants the nectar or to have a rest & bask in the sunshine.

I was reading an old book by Adam the Gardener the Sunday Express tipster and looking at his suggestions for January.

This back end I have bought some new terracotta pots from the manufacturer in their end of season sale. I had always wanted some large, matching Long Toms and I now have some filled with patio roses. (Naylor Garden Pots is near Barnsley since the 1890’s.) I have also belatedly realised that pots look better when grouped in identical pairs or with like minded pots.

The cast in order of appearance: Cactus Dahlia; Rosa Rugosa; Lenten Rose Helleborus orientalis; Moth Orchid Phalaenopsis; Water Lily Nymphaea alba; etc.