Almost
nothing but roses!
It may be winter but we’re
thinking of roses.
Every year we behave the same
way - chatting about what
varieties to choose as we drool over the seductive
photos.
And we paint romantic pictures
in our minds of balmy summer days in the garden
surrounded with the fragrance and beauty of
roses.
As many of us today don’t
have the luxury of huge space and find it
hard to dedicate an entire area to solely
growing roses, we tend to incorporate them
through our gardens.
Even those with smaller gardens
can still have the joy of growing and picking
the world’s most romantic blooms.
Rose growers are very conscious
of the need to make roses accessible for all
types of gardens, so roses are bred not only
for beautiful blooms. They are also bred to
be compact, disease resistant plants which
are very happy growing in borders of shrubs
and perennials.
This, of course, also minimises
disease by attracting a variety of good bugs
to help deal with the pests.
Don't forget to make the most
of any vertical space in small gardens by
planting climbing roses - there are some beauties
available.
SOME OF OUR
ROSE SUGGESTIONS
When deciding which roses to buy, think about
picking a bunch of roses from your
own garden for your table and how they would
look in your home.
This is a great tip for deciding what to
buy!
I, for example, can picture a vase of red
roses personalising even the most minimalist
of rooms.
I would choose some of the following for
that:
William Shakespeare 2000
An old rose form with a beautiful, rich velvet
red bloom and a powerful scent.
Etoile de Hollande
A cloudy red rose, with fragrant and shapely
blooms.
L.D. Braithewaite
An Austin rose with crimson flowers
and old-fashioned rose fragrance and form.
Loving Memory
Perfect cherry red bloom on long,
strong stems.
Blackboy Climber
Strongly fragrant, semi double, very
dark red flowers.
To see these roses in their full glory have
a look at our
cool little slideshow!
For those of us into French or English ‘shabby
chic’ I would have a mix of soft creamy
pinks and whites for picking.
They look delightful massed casually in a
vase.
Some of the creamy pinks and whites I'd choose
include:
Madame Alfred Carriere
Lovely large but delicate warm white flowers
that mixes well with both old and modern varieties.
A bunch will scent a room!
Glamis Castle
Abundant white English rose on a short bushy
plant and a strong myrrh fragrance
Heritage
Breathtakingly delicate pure blush pink
City of London
We fell in love with this last year. Softest
pink a blush or two away from white and a
good scent
Iceberg
For its reliability in Wellington and generous
flowering to very late in the season
Margaret Merrill
Pearly white in small clusters
French Lace
Ivory white to creamy apricot classical flowers
with a spicy fragrance
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ROSE PLANTING
TIPS
Choose a sunny site and add a bucket of compost
and slow release fertiliser to a generous
sized planting hole.
Plant so the bud union is just above ground
level, fill and firm the soil around the plant
and water thoroughly. Cover with a 5 –
10 cm layer of organic mulch.
We will be pruning our stock in July so your
new roses will need to be pruned then as well.
We are happy to show you how this is done
– it’s not nearly as complicated
as it sounds - in fact it's quite easy.
After pruning we suggest a winter clean-up
spray of copper mixed with spraying oil. Then
leave them alone until spring when you see
the signs of bud swelling. It will then be
time to start feeding and spraying.
Remember, we love talking roses and sharing
our knowledge and passion with you.
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