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,…
Category: Rose garden
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…
The smell of the sweet shop
I mentioned my hedge of rugosa roses in After the Storm… I’m just going to have a totally self-indulgent moment now with these roses. The rugosa roses are tough little nuts. They will grow in sand-dunes, are disease-free, and always look lush and floriferous. There is a continuous display of blooms, each one being replaced…
Intersectional Peonies: A New Direction
Having teenaged daughters has helped me rediscover my feminism. Writers like Caitlin Moran and Laura Bates have guided me. A BBC documentary series called No More Boys and Girls was game-changing. I realised all the myriad ways we hold boys and girls back and stop them reaching their own true potential. We believe that girls…
Full of Charm
Earlier this week I posted What a Whopper! which featured the gargantuan Peony ‘Red Charm’. Now it is the turn of her more demure cousin, ‘Coral Charm’. The flower bud has been tantalising me for weeks. It is part of the peony’s allure that they start tickling your fancy in about March. Their crimson shoots are…
The Evening Light
This evening it was just me and my youngest daughter for dinner, as my eldest is living it up in Paris, and Stevie was not home from work. We have been able to eat outside each evening: summer has begun. Younger daughter has been indulging me this Chelsea week, by watching the footage of show…
Generous Geraniums (Part One)
I am enjoying a stable and long-term relationship with hardy geraniums. They are steadfast and true. They never panic or give in to drought or deluge. They are not rocked by storms. They resist the onslaught of predators. They adapt to a myriad of situations. They compliment and enhance the natural beauty of those around…
