Roses are Red …
Actually, as we all know, they come in almost every colour, shape and size. That’s why we have included 6 different-coloured roses in SeeHow. We haven’t yet added any climbers. That’s for SeeHow volume 2.
Many of us grow at least one rose, for the simple reason that for size, beauty, repeat flowering and elegance, they really have few rivals. They are a welcome sight everywhere, reliably providing some of the most colourful blooms in the garden … and many are fragrant too. But if you don’t grow roses, it is still possible to enjoy them at RHS and NT gardens as well as many other public gardens and parks throughout the UK.
Kew Gardens has a fantastic display of named rose-beds, lying to the northwest side of the Palm House. This is one place to explore options if you are simply thinking about planting a rose but not sure which type or which colour to go for. And it was great to see almost all of the SeeHow rose selection growing there!
The scent seemed to hang in the air the day I visited earlier in the year and I remember being distracted as I wandered around the rose-beds by a small boy calling, ‘Mummy, mummy, come here…smell this one’. Poor ‘mummy’ looked quite exhausted trying to keep up! I glanced over to see the excited wee lad’s face buried into a large bright yellow bloom – intoxicated by the scent. It was easy to understand his joy. The scent of roses really is alluring – almost addictive. Only a few minutes earlier, I had found myself equally bewitched, wandering back several times to certain blooms – just like the boy, forgetting the world all around as I inhaled the wonderful scent. I couldn’t help myself – instant well-being!
Roses are pretty hardy too. SeeHow moved to the north of Scotland earlier in the year. Our new small garden contains many roses. The previous owner had already pruned them all hard, so we had no idea what to expect. Left untouched, every one of them has grown well and produced continuous blooms from the summertime onwards. They are still flowering now, in December – the benefits of a mild maritime climate! Our garden spaces are sheltered from the very strong salt-laden winds we sometimes experience, but again, roses are physically tough and can generally take whatever the weather serves up.
To our surprise, the previous house owner not only planted a lot of roses but also planted a wide range of colours which we are still enjoying everyday when most of the newly planted perennials have now faded to dry brown winter stems. It seems as long as we keep dead-heading, the new buds keep growing and opening into fresh blooms as can be seen from the photos in this blog all taken in our garden – the most recent just a few days ago. Who could ask for more from a plant. We will keep dead-heading to see how long they keep flowering!
Red roses sheltered by a high stone wall, still growing in the north of Scotland
The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text.