Roses Ideas, Tips & Guides

Tulip Colour Combinations by Daniel Carruthers I’d like to think I am fairly organised when it comes to the garden but last year I left my annual tulip shopping a little late. Not too late though, according to Fergus Garrett you can still plant tulips up until Christmas Day.

Botanically, New Zealand is an extraordinary country. Because it drifted off from the rest of the world so early on, its natural flora is very limited and with the exception of the red flowers of the Metrosideros (New Zealand Christmas Tree), flowers tend to be insignificant, with a natural wooded landscape that is predominantly a mixture of trees in many shades of green and tree ferns. It’s not really surprising

Regular followers will know that I am a fan of Nicotiana mutabilis, but they are not the easiest plants to germinate. I’ve only managed to raise three plants this year, along with another three that made it through the mild winter. As back up, I ordere

In my earlier post about Sir Paul Smith, I wrote about the role of green as the anchor that holds everything in place in a garden – so it’s unsurprising that the greenness was what I noticed as I looked at some of the drawings of this year’s Chelsea gardens. No doubt, when we get to Chelsea our eyes will seek out the excitement, and the actual gardens will be further enlivened by shape, texture and the play of light, but it is useful to see the contribution that green makes to each of the gardens and bear it in mind for the planting in our own garden. Jo Thompson’s Sylvan Retreat will h

If you are wondering why your favorite flowering plant is failing to display blooms, then it might be due to several reasons. Let’s dive deep into them and know What to Do if Your Plants Are Not Blooming!

There’s still time to get plant supports in place, before everything gets too large, develops a mind of its own and heads off in directions that may suit it – but doesn’t add to the beauty of the garden. With this is mind, I recently attended a Staking & Supports course given by Sarah Raven, whose garden at Perch Hill could not be bettered when it comes to plant supports, the majority of which are made from natural materials. Coppiced chestnut, willow, hazel and silver birch are all used to create sturdy and decorative frameworks to keep plants upright or support them as they climb. Anyone planning to plant a cutting garden would find the course invaluable – and I now know how I can do it better next year. The most important thing I learnt is that my bundles of coppiced silver birch need to be taller if I am going to create the tall, elegant structures that we made at Perch Hill, rather than the short, dumpy ones that I’ve managed at home. I get my silver birch from the man who supplies our logs and up until now he has cut them to the length that will fit in the car – I will ask for them to be delivered in future. According to Sarah, the best suppliers provide the materials to build Point-to-Point hurdles, but you need to be living a very rural life to have them nearby. My coppiced silver birch is too

A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but hardly anything smells better than a rose – no matter what you call it. If you agree, then you’re probably looking to find the best-smelling options for your garden.That might sound like a pretty straightforward as

A Golden Moment I’m a keen supporter of WaterAid and the work it does in bringing clean water and sanitation to areas of the world where both are all too scarce, so I’m delighted that their Artisan garden at Chelsea was awarded a Gold Medal. Depicting a floriculture business in India, the gloriously colourful garden is hung with marigolds, roses and hanging garlands being grown and prepared for sale, with a backdrop of a simple house on stilts.

If you’re planning to create a rose garden, check out a few important tips in this informative article here.

If you are looking for Low Maintenance Flowers that Tolerate High Temperatures & Heat, you are at the right place. We have compiled the best varieties for you!

Desert rose looks like a bonsai plant, thanks to its thick trunk, which further adds value to it. The plant is fairly easy to grow provided you maintain it right. Here are some great Desert Rose Care tips that’ll help you to keep it thriving all-year-round!

Left to right, top to bottom: Olivia Rose Austin, Susan Williams-Ellis, Munstead Wood Desdemona, Roald Dahl, Gertrude Jekyll Thomas à Becket, Strawberry Hill, Wollerton Old Hall Tottering-by-Gently, Princess Alexandra, Darcey Bussell Crown Princess Margarita, Lady Emma Hamilton, Claire Austin

One of my favorite memories is of walking through an archway of bright blooms at the rose garden in the Butchart Gardens near Victoria, British Columbia.The scent! The sight! T

Rather Keen on Roses Carolyn Dunster absolutely loves roses – she trained in floristry so that she could arrange them, she trained as a garden designer so she could plant gardens filled with them, and then started a company, Simply Roses, selling the very best rose-related products to other rose enthusiasts. At this time of year her deliciously scented Rosa damascena hand wash, floral water and candle perfectly evoke the delicious tea rose scent of mid summer.

I’d venture a guess that the thorns are not most people’s favorite part of a rose. The flowers probably take the top spot, though some have exceptionally lovely foliage.But the thorns? No thanks. If we could do without any part, that wo

Last weekend a friend invited a group of us to celebrate a landmark birthday at the former weekend home of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor at Gif sur Yvette, just south of Paris.  The  Moulin de Tuilerie consists of a group of buildings surrounding a courtyard, all set in a garden that was originally laid out for the Windsors by Russell Page.  Now managed by the Landmark Trust (perfect for a landmark birthday!) it is all rather lovely and filled with books and photographs of its most famous residents.  The garden is much simplified from the riot of flowers that the Duke favoured (they were a very colourful couple, in every sense) but the bones of the garden remains.  I’ve managed to find an image of how the garden looked in their time – complete with the Duke tying in some roses and their pugs about to cross the little stone bridge in the foreground. Fortuitously I took a photo from the same point, showing the garden as it is today.  It was a very memorable weekend. www.landmarktrust.org.uk  

Several years ago I was sent this clematis whose name was long forgotten until one of our readers (@Ginbath) identified it as Clematis Rebecca. Lacking a convenient space it was hurriedly plonked into a corner of the potager. It is the healthie

About ten years ago I visited the ruins of Easton garden near Grantham in Lincolnshire. Easton has a long and illustrious history and had been home to fourteen generations of the Cholmeley family – until the house was pulled down in the 1950s to avoid death duties. For forty years the surroundin

Add more charm and innocence to your home or garden by bringing pink tones with gorgeous Best Pink Begonia Varieties.

I suppose that given that we were not far from Middle Earth – or so the map indicated – I shouldn’t have been surprised to happen upon a garden that gave every indication of being created by a hobbit and a very industrious hobbit at that. Not only had h

Gardenias are quite a thing in Florida gardens, thanks to their lush foliage, showy flowers, and intoxicating fragrance. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular Types of Gardenias in Florida.

To picture-perfect your pre-holiday preparations and decorations for an upcoming festive time, bring these Holiday Season Houseplants to your home.

Blooming roses are among the most beautiful ornamental plants that can be grown in the garden. Fortunately, growing roses in containers on a balcony, patio, or terrace is possible, this way you can create a Small Rose Garden!

Known for their unique appearance and color, Aeoniums with their handsome rosettes on stems can be excellent additions to your succulent collection. The best part is, they are available in many hybrid cultivars, and listing them all is difficult–But we tried our best and picked some Aeonium Types for you!

Get ready to be captivated by nature’s charm as we delve into the world of the Best Cup Shaped Flowers. From their vibrant colors to sweet fragrances, these flowers are some of the most sought-after in gardens and landscapes. So, without further ado, let’s discover the Best Cup Shaped Flowers to add to your garden today!

Suddenly everything is in flower – all at once – and as much as I am enjoying the wonderful weather, I’m also wishing that it would slow down a bit – and rain. It is very dry here and the sandy soil means that anything that isn’t well mulched needs to be watched for wilting – even the tulips in pots are flagging.

For a few years, I found myself moving frequently. I lived in five different homes in as many years.During that time, I had to pu

If you’re just starting out with roses, chances are that someone will tell you to try growing a shrub rose first.They’re easy to handle bec

This has to be the best year I can remember for roses with the cool nights keeping them in peak condition for much longer than usual, as well as pleasingly pest and disease free.  I don’t think of my garden as majoring on roses, but with them all out at once there are far more than I realised. This is a selection of them. If there is a garden near you that is known for its roses, this is the year to get out there and admire them – and smell the roses of course. ..

The centrepiece of today’s vase is Rosa ‘Cécile Brunner’, the rose I showed on Saturday, clambering over the roof of the sheds. It is always described as having ‘thimble’ sized buds, which seems barely credible when you see the full-size blooms which are around 3″ or 7cms across. However, having skipped up a ladder to cut some flowers which fortuitously included some buds, I could see that this really was the case, and included some vintage thimbles as a prop to prove the point. Some of the thimbles have advertising slogans – Lyon’s Cakes, Hudson’s Soap, Jackson’s Boots anyone?

Posting my ‘Top Nine of 2018’ in Instagram, it was interesting to see that the most ‘liked’ images were all local – some from my own garden, but also from Perch Hill, Sarah Raven’s always inspiring garden at nearby Brightling and the equally inspiring Great Dixter. The only non-plant post was of the approaching Beast from the East. As we walked along the beach the sky was the most extraordinary colour and it was pulsing like a malign aurora borealis. Fingers crossed we don’t see anything similar in 2019. Follow theenduringgardener on Instagram. Key to ph

Black Spots on Roses are one of the most common rose plant diseases and, if left untreated, can harm the entire plant, causing an untimely death. Fungus Diplocarpon rosae is the primary cause of the same, and in this article, we will discuss how to identify and prevent it.

Check out our all-inclusive list of Edible Flowers To Flavor Your Food and Improve Your Health.

Want to know about the Best February Birth Month Flowers? Well, we have the most beautiful ones for you!

On my recent Swedish visit I was bowled over by this wonderful species rambling rose – in Sweden it is known as the honey-rose for the very good reason that it has an intense honey scent.  Clusters of the semi-double flowers with a yellow eye smother the plant and later in the year it bears orange hips.  I’ve prowled the garden looking for somewhere I might be able to squeeze it in – so far without success – but if you have space for a once-flowering and deliciously fragrant rose, this is definitely the one. ..

It’s abundantly clear that, for me, choosing material for a Monday vase is going to get harder from now on – today’s could have been bright and cheery calendula, the first dahlias or any of a number of different roses. Instead, I have cut side shoots of a well-established delphinium, one of the ‘Camelot’ group, probably ‘King Arthur’, and paired them with the antirrhinum I showed yesterday, ‘Liberty Classic White’. I am hoping that cutting the latter will encourage the plants to branch out and become bushier. For greenery, I have included frothy and over-abundant meadow rue, brought in ignorance many years ago from my sister’s garden and for which I have been ruing ever since, as it has proved very difficult to eradicate. Also included are immature seedheads from a herbaceous poppy, just because.