Friends Forever



This rose has been a complete surprise. I picked it out from a local garden centre merely from the picture on the label. I had already got two Generous Gardener roses in my trolley and I was ambling around looking for something to combine with them for a display at the front of my garden. This was an important spot as it is next to my kitchen window and it would be the first thing people would see when looking out into my garden. The Generous Garden is a very soft pink so I took a gambling and hoped that the more bourbon pink of the Friends Forever would compliment one another. I can honestly say that I have not been disappointed.

They are planted in a sunny spot with light shade and this seems to suit them very well. I have had the most amazing repeating blooms from them. The picture above and below I took yesterday and they are the second batch this year. In my opinion they are better than the first. The colour is probably a shade darker this time round and there is about the same number of heads per stem, between 5 - 10 on average. The scent reminds me of the children's sweets called Dolly Mixtures. Which is wonderful but not very overpowering in strength. Unlike the Gertrude Jekyll!

They have, so far in the last two years, proved to be very hardy and I have not had to treat them for any disease. There has been not blackspot, mould or yellow leaves. The foliage is a beautiful and lush emerald green and the heads are a soft, blousy Floribunda. They are said to only grow between 70cm - 1.2m but mine keep getting a random growth spurt in one stem which has taken off like a rocket and reached the heights of about 1.8m! Needless to say a quick clip fixes that. The arrangement of petals reminds of Victorian petticoats or a skirt that Scarlett O'Hara would have been seen swooshing around in.

They make an excellent cut flower but it is impossible to take just one, as its a floribunda, so the whole batch has to come off which I can't bare to disturb.
For a beginner I would definitely recommend this rose. All it needs is a sprinkle of slow release feed twice a year and its happy. As I said earlier I have mixed mine with some Generous Gardeners, but as well as this I have added some lavender and alliums. I currently have a space in front of them which I am trying to think of a suitable filler.

There are no negatives regarding this rose. It costs between £12 - £18 from garden centres. Its not as common as a David Austin rose in your local garden centre so I would have a look online first.

REVIEW:

Visual Impact - 4

Scent - 3

Growth Rate - 5

Stem Strength - 4

Durability (in poor weather) - 5

Resistance to Disease - 5

Here's a link to the rose online - http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/roses/rosa-friends-forever-=-korapriber/classid.2000010027/