As the world turns, the light is changing. I am an early riser, and if I get up at 5am, I wake up to a gentle dappled light which dances against the curtains and invites me outside. I avoid going outside just yet, as the silly dogs might start barking at a squirrel. But by…
Category: Rose garden
A breath of fresh air
Today we were joined by my fabulous step-daughter, K, who is with us for four weeks. She helped me choose the photos for this post, and chatted to me throughout. So there might be some weird sentences as I accidentally type random words from our conversations. Here is the lovely view from the table. That’s…
Comparing the growth habit of different roses
A few weeks ago, in response to my post The garden that keeps on giving, Ann asked if I could show photos of the growth habit of the David Austin English roses ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ and ‘Roald Dahl’. I thought I would go the whole hog and write a post about the growth habit of…
The garden that keeps on giving
I expected the rose garden to be lovely in June. I had planned for continuous succession of flowers, but I didn’t realise it would be delighting me quite so much in July. I am taking a ridiculous number of photos. It’s just that there are so many lovely textures. Ticklish ones… Soft, bouncy ones……
The Rose Garden at the end of June
I wrote a post called The Rose Garden at the start of June, so I thought I should write one about it at the end of June. I’ll go around anti-clockwise, the same way I walked last time. Rosa ‘Emma Hamilton’ first. She is lush, isn’t she? You can see how in the bottom right of…
Getting to know you…
A rose is a long-term investment. There is a substantial layout initially. A good hole should be dug (I love digging holes), and timed so that they are just ready for your bare-root rose to arrive in November. When you see that magical brown-paper bag waiting by the door when you get home from work,…
Moody Blues
When I wrote the title of this post, it was because of the colours of the flowers, and the overcast conditions. I got about this many words in, and tried to add images, and that is when my woes began. I couldn’t upload any images. I switched between laptop and phone, I used up my…
Pillowy Billowy
Peonies. I love peonies. There is no other flower you want to nestle into and actually go to sleep on. I thought I would just have a little post dedicated to my favourites for pillowy billowiness. First up is ‘Barbara’. She has been the queen of my rose garden this week. Barbara exudes competence and…
Deadheading delights
My favourite job in the garden is deadheading. Not only do you feel you are having a good tidy up, getting rid of the shrivelling flower heads to make way for fresh new growth, but you also get to examine a plant close up. You get to appreciate a flower in its many stages, from…
The Rose Garden at the start of June
I made my rose garden in the winter of 2016/17, and then extended it this last winter. You can read about all the varieties of roses I chose in my previous post Mouth-wateringly fruity roses. This is a little snap-shot of how it is looking at the beginning of June 2018. The rose garden doesn’t cover…
Portrait of a rose
If I had to choose one rose above all the rest, it would probably be ‘Munstead Wood’. It is a rose that looks beautiful from bursting bud to blown bloom. I have a thing for crimson roses that are just touched with plum. ‘Munstead Wood’ has the velvety texture of a Gallica rose. In some…
After four days away
We returned home this evening after four days away. We were aware that there has been lots of rain, with localised flooding, though this has largely receded. We stopped to pick up the dogs from their local B&B accommodation. When I asked how they’d been I was expecting a cheery “absolutely fine!” Instead, their landlady…
