Absolutely Fabulous

 
I absolutely love this rose and it always produces the goods. I bought this rose two years ago and for some reason I haven't got round to doing a write up for it.

This rose is a winner of the Rose of the Year award in 2010 and suitable so. As well as this award it has won Gold Star Of The South Pacific. New Zealand and All American Rose Selection. In the last two years I have no issues with the specimens health. there have been no instances of disease and there has always been a fantastic crop of blooms for the last two seasons.

The colour is mixture of buttercup and gold with the outer petals being of a lighter shade than the inner ones. Each stem will carry between three and 5 rose buds so the show is exquisite. The blooms are average in size but that does not inhibit it from its overall impact. The stems are nice and solid but do require a little support as they can grow quite tall causing the stems to bow. I stake them as a precautionary measure against breakage and also so I can get as many blooms as visible as possible. The leaves are a beautiful emerald green which compliaments the colour of the rose. The scent is medium in strength and very fresh, and a favourite of my three year old daughter.

This rose requires very little maintenance. I spray them with Rose Clear sporadically, as and when required, and scatter some Top Rose on it twice a year. This roses likes full sun spots apparently but I grow mine in an area of slight shade but sun for most of the day. This rose is also suppose to flower from July to September but I have had flowers on it since the beginning of June.

Mine grow between 60cm - 100cm in height and at a spread of about 50cm. This Floribunda bush is not difficult to grown and although it fits in nicely into my cottage style borders it would look fantastic in a more modern border due to its colour and shape.
This rose will also happily grow in a container on a patio so it is an ideal gift for someone who is limited on outdoor space but would like to add a bit of colour outside their window.

This rose can be bought for less than £10 as a bare root and between £14 - £20 as a container rose. You could mix it with a variety of different plants such as Echinacea, Campanula or Nigella Damascena 'Oxford Blue'.

Peace

This is one of my 'new' roses for my garden. After staying in my comfort zone of Old English roses I decided to branch out and go for a few Hybrid Teas. I have never been a fan of Hybrid Teas as I really like to have a border bursting with colour and petals, which Floribundas provide me with amply. Hybrid Teas, whilst stunning in appearance, are much more of a lone ranger on the stem and their more architectural shape lacks blousy romance... this is of course my singular opinion.

So this year I decided to add a few more varieties to my collection. One of which was Peace.

This Hybrid Tea rose is probably the most famous breed to date. Often referred to as the 'Rose of the Century' this multi-award specimen has sold over a hundred million!

In 1935 Francis Meilland was the rose breeder who established this variety and its popularity was great around Europe and has been known by many different names in many different countries. ‘Madame Antoine Meilland’ in France, ’Gloria Dei’ in Germany and ‘Gioia’ in Italy. But this might never have happened! The our break of war in Europe and the invasion of France by Hilter's army threatened to destroy the rose nursery. Meilland took action and managed to smuggle out of the country 3 parcels containing budwood. One of which was sneaked onto a diplomatic plane, and the last one heading out of France. The rose was sent to fellow rose breeder Robert Pyle of Pennsylvania. It was not until after the war did Meilland hear of the fate of his rose from Pyle, it had survived! Not only that it had flourished. Meilland decided to change the name of his rose, from ‘Madame Antoine Meilland’ to 'Peace'. Its new name was publicly announced on the day that Berlin fell in 29th April 1945. In 1945 it was given as a gift to each of the delegates at the United Nations inaugural meeting.

Meilland later wrote:

“How strange to think that all these millions of rose bushes sprang from one tiny seed no bigger than the head of a pin, a seed which we might so easily have overlooked, or neglected in a moment of inattention.”

 

Peace is considered as a tall bush rose which can be grown as a shrub. It is extremely hardy and strong in growth and each stem carried a single bud. The buds are large in size and uncurl to show a huge bloom which is easily the span of my hand. The petals peal outwards to form a delicate rosette with the eye fully visible. The petals are a beautiful shade of lemon yellow with the outer ones tinged with pink tips. The sight of this rose makes you want to cup it in you hands and give it a hearty sniff! Its scent though it a lot lighter that you would expect. Despite this the scent is elegant and delicious.
This rose would make an excellent cutting in a vase mixed with pinks, purples and whites. I have created a new border for a cluster of five Peace bareroots so they look rather lonesome at the moment. I have to have a good think about what I am going to mix them with. Perhaps some Stock. They tend to be mixed with purples when I Google Search images but as I already have a forest of catmint shoved in every border I am a little bit reticent to put some more in. Catmint is an excellent accompaniment though.

I planted my bareroots in March as as we are only into the third day in July I think I will leave it until September to make a summary review for this roses' performance review. So far I am extremely impressed with its nature. I would highly recommend this rose in your garden as it is really low maintenance and pretty much does very well without any intervention... unlike some divas I have planted. So for now this entry is... TO BE CONTINUED!

And they're off!

As per usual my Gertrude Jekylls are the first over the starting line and I am, as I am every year, blown away by how stunning they are. The gorgeous big, fat rosette shape blooms which burst out of an impossibly small bud. So many petals cannot surely fit inside something so small? The smell is just amazing. A mixture of Melon and Honey. I have only three in a 3 metre long border so the impact could be better. I am thinking of adding two Charlotte rose bushes or possibly a pair of white Claire Austin roses. In the rest of the garden everything is coming on nicely. The Icebergs look healthy after last years bout of white mold which is a relief. I planted a Climbing Madame Caroline Testout in a huge container on the north corner of my house last summer. I had the hope that it would grow up and across my window seat/bay window and across the back of the house. Its done much better than expected and it has grown 3 metres since last summer which is amazing. There are about 50 or 60 buds which are ready to pop so hopefully in a few weeks time i will have enough information to write up about it and publish a few pictures.
My miniature roses are in full bloom now and they look great at the front of the border. I am surprised that they have survived as my son has adopted their spot as his favourite digging spot. So even though half their roots are visible they seem happy enough. Miniatures definitely live up to their reputation of being extremely hardy! In the next few days I will post about the variety of diseases that we can expect to see over the next three months and how best to tackle them. I have had to deal with only Blackspot, Mildew and Greenfly so far so its good to do some research.

Over the last few weeks I have been doing a fair bit of rose maintenance. After trimming off any weaker side shoots from the bottom and doing a huge amount of weeding and mulching, I have given each rose a generous scattering of TopRose and been round with the Rose Clear twice already. I don't know about you but I have not seen a single ladybird yet so the greenfly are out and doing loads of damage. I wonder whether it had something to do with all the late snow that we had in March in the UK. I think I have got through about four litres of Rose Clear already. It does an excellent job and it is chemical free which is a bonus. The next thin on my list is to go out and start securing the stems. Roses such as the Graham Thomas and Lady Emma Hamiltons need quite a bit of support. I generally don't get a good opportunity unless the kids are at nursery or in bed as they just pull all the canes out and start sword fighting!

 

 



New Roses!

I decided that I needed even more roses in my garden. I have several spaces still up for grabs and I started with a border which currently contains seven Braithwaites planted in a V shape. in the middle of the V there is a Greecian statue of a almost nude woman holding an urn... we inherited this lady when we bought the house and have named her Ariagne. Well my mother and daughter did! Behind Ariagne there is a space which would fit 3 roses. The important question was WHICH roses. The Braithewaites are a blood red and there is already a patch of apricot Lady Emma Hamilton's in the neighbouring border.

In the end I decided to go for a Blue/Purple/Lilac rose as I thought that this would be the best contrast. I looked at several varieties which included the Cardinal de Richelieu, Indigo, Twice in a Blue Moon and Rhapsody in a Blue. I finally decided on Rhapsody in a Blue as they are long flowering, it grows into a tall bush with lots of fresh green foliage which is highly disease resistant. According to David Austin it will grow as tall as 4ft5 and this will be perfect for the back of the border. It will be mixed in with white Campanula's, Catmint, Orange Monbretia and Forget-Me-Nots. There is also a few Foxgloves dotted around but not as many appear to have come up this year so I may have to invest in some plugs which will flower this summer. The bare roots arrived in March and I planted them immediately. Unfortunately the weather has been horrific and it snowed within 48hrs of them being planted. Some of the new buds have been damaged and now that the leaves are started to open they all appear to have burnt edges too. Fortunately though they are still protruding buds which as developing. I have added some Top Roses and I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The other roses that I have invested in are 8 Peace roses. Three for a new border that I have dug and 5 for the front garden. My front garden currently contains a few Gertrude Jekyll's so a few Peace would compliment the soft colours in the front garden nicely.

 I also chose Peace because I have decided to venture away from my comfort zone of growing on Old English roses and try Hybrid Teas for a change. unfortunately it has only a light fragrance but the impact of it beautiful colouring will let it off this point for me. Its hardy and incredibly disease resistant. It should grow to approximately 4ft with fairly dark foliage. I still need to decide which perennial I will plant to accompany it but a white and a lavender sound like the colours to go for.
Like the Rhapsody's the bare roots also got damaged so again fingers crossed for this summer!

Bare Root Roses - Time to get planting!

Bare Root roses are available to buy between November and April as this is when they are ready and the ideal time for them to be planted. This is because it is the plants natural resting period. A Bare Root rose means that the rose will arrive in a bag and not in a pot filled with soil.

Although most people have started to buy more container roses than bare root there are still more advantages to buying a bare root. For starters you are provided with a greater degree of choice. They are also available during their resting period so they are more happy to be moved and re-planted than they woulod be at any other time during the year. It is also cheaper to buy bare root roses than container ones. Initially I always bought container roses as I thought I was making life easier for myself but this really isn't so. By buying my roses between November and April I allow the rose to get nice and comfy in its chosen spot and therefore, as it'll be well and truely established, it'll be ready for the flowering period.

When your rose arrives there are several things that you should look for. Firstly the roots should be slightly damp when you get them out of their packaging. There should be a nice healthy number of roots. Make sure there is no damage to any of the roots or the bud union (a bulb-like section of the plant which the roots come out from and so do the stems). Damage can be caused by the extraction of the rose whilst at the nursery.
There should be plenty of buds along the stems which will indicate future growth. You do not want to see any mildue either. For a more detailed look into diseases take a look at my next post which covers the variety of diseases, how to treat and prevent. Once you have decided that you have a healthy rose its time to get planting!


When planting a bare root rose it is a very simple process. Firstly dig a hole which is approximately 1ft x 1ft. The hole must be wide enough for the roots to comfortable sit in without being cramped. In regards to depth 1ft should be about right but in order to get it right place the bare root into the hole. The bud union should be level with the top of the hole. Make sure the soil at the bottom of the hole is loose. Place the bare root into the hole and add a spades worth of compost, then fill the hole with the remaining soil. Once the hole has been filled compress the top off the soil with your foot and add further soil if necessary. I would then spinkle around the rose with a handful of fertiliser such as Top Rose then add another spades worth of compost over the top. To finish off water the rose well.

Understanding the Variety of Roses

I always knew that I wanted to have a rose garden but I didn't exactly know what the differences were between rose types. So this post will provide a breakdown of each of the most common types so that you will know exactly what you are looking for when you pop into your local garden centre or are ordering online.

FLORIBUNDA
The Latin translation of this name means "Many Flowering" or "Abundance of Flowers". They are defined as this due to the multiple clusters of blooms which are produced on each bush, generally between 5 and 15 per stem. Floribundas originated through cross breeding between Hybrid Teas and Polyantha's in the 1920s. They are the brightest in colour of all the rose varieties and they grow to a smaller and more compact height than a Hybrid tea. Because of this the Floribunda rose isn't ideal for taking cuttings from as the stems are to short and they come in clusters which are difficult to separate. So if you want one you have to take the whole lot! Therefore they are predominantly a garden display flower. They are often preferred by gardeners, over the Hybrid Tea as they tend to flower longer and have excellent repeat blooms in September. The actual flowers vary in shape and size. You can purchase a Floribunda which has the bloom appearance of a stereotypical Hybrid Tea but with come in clusters, so the best of both plants combined. Its colour accents the various sections of my garden and their shorter and less dense structure allows them to fit in nicely with a mixed border. I have mine mixed in with some Lavender and Asters. For maximum impact always plant in groups of odd numbers and no less than three.
EXAMPLES: Friends Forever, Iceberg, Fellowship, Arthur Bell, Purple Tiger, Sheila's Perfume, Rhapsody in Blue, Cinco de Mayo, Mardi Gras, Singin in the Rain, Burgundy Iceberg, Glenfiddich

HYBRID TEA
Often thought of as the most popular type of flower in the world the Hybrid Tea is a combination between Hybrid Perpetuals and Tea Roses. Of the Old English Rose category this is the most modern of its type. The blooms are single on long, strong stems which grow quite tall, they can grow up to 2 metres! The blooms are perfectly formed large, high centre buds which makes them an excellent cut flower. Hybrid Teas exude elegance in a garden. They can be grown singularly or in groups and they can provide an eye catching centrepiece to any border. They produce a lot more foliage than the Floribunda so they fill out a border more. If looked after the Hybrid Tea will flower continuously from June through to October. I visited my father's house last weekend and his selection of Hybrid Teas were still absolutely stunning and had dozens of blooms. The occasional sprinkle of Top Rose will ensure that they are happy. I have just purchased my first selection Hybrid Teas and I have gone with PEACE which is pictured above. My other roses are very blousy so I have decided to mix it up a bit with a bit of structure and elegance.
EXAMPLES: Peace, Savoy Hotel, Elina, Icecream, Belle Epoque, Twice in a Blue Moon, Mr Lincoln, Perfect Moment, Cesar E. Chavez, Royal William, Gold Medal, Black Baccara, Wainwright

ENGLISH ROSE
The English Rose variety is lush and romantic in nature. They are characteristically tightly packed full of petals which almost explode out. When looks like a relatively average size bud could produce a bloom as big as a hand span. Most English Roses have a very strong scent when are reminiscent of an Old Tea Rose. They have a healthy repeat of blooms which are although reduced in size, still make a wonderful visual impact. The blooms are either single or come in clusters of up to three so this makes an excellent cutting for a magnificent floral display. They produce a healthy amount of foliage which makes it an excellent choice for the border. as it is a dense shrub it mixes perfectly with a variety of perennials. This is by far my favourite variety of rose and easily the most common in my garden. The rose pictured on the left is a Braithewaite produced by David Austin. They can grow up to about 2 metres tall and about 1.5 metres wide.

EXAMPLES: L.D.Braithewaite, Graham Thomas, Lady Emma Hamilton, Grace, Gertrude Jekyll, Claire Austin, Queen of Sweden, Charlotte, A Shropshire Lad, Generous Gardener, Falstaff

CLIMBING ROSE
As the title clearly states the Climbing Rose has a growth which allows you to train it up walls, over pergolas, gazebos, up the gable end of a house and fences. The Climbing Rose is, more often than not, a variation or a shrub or bush rose. They can produce blooms on either a single stem or in large clusters. Climbing roses tend to differ from Rambling Roses by the size of the bloom. Climbing Roses have a much bigger bloom, some of which have to most incredibly strong scent such as David Austin's Gertrude Jekyll as featured in the picture to the left. They also differ from Ramblers because they have repeat blooms and are a bit more stouter in form. Once planted they need to be secured to the structure upon which they climb. It also helps if they are initially secured horizontally as this encourages growth and the strength of the stems produced. Ultimately a fan shape should be created once a certain height is reached. The foliage is always healthy and it is possible to purchase thorn less varieties which is especially useful if one is planted by a regularly used walkway. The eventual heights can vary from 12ft to 25ft.
EXAMPLES: Gertrude Jekyll, Climbing Madame Testout, William Morris climbing, Etoile de Hollande, Creme de la Creme, Paul's Lemon Pillar, New Dawn, Ophelia, Gloire de Dijon

RAMBLING ROSE
The Rambling Rose is rambling by name and rambling by nature. Its fast growing stems are fantastic for growing through edges or over walls as long as they are either trained and supported using ties or if they have something to cling onto such as Ivy, Jasmine or Honeysuckle (the latter of which is the case in my garden). Its strong stems help support its vigorous and great width of growth. They do not need pruning very much, only if a stem appears to not be thriving or to thin out areas that have become too dense. It is definitely not advised to prune at all in the first few years. The Rambling Rose can reach metres in length. I have a Paul's Himalayan Musk rambler in my garden and that will eventually reached a length around 25 metres. The blooms are small in comparison to the other rose breeds but they do come in very large clusters which resemble miniature rosettes or small English Roses. This type of rose requires very little attention as it requires little or no pruning and it is extremely hardy against disease. If you have Wisteria growing across the front of your house or an apple tree this variety of rose would look fantastic weaving its delicate blooms through the foliage.
EXAMPLES: Paul's Himilayan Musk, Malvern Hills, Crimson Shower, Long John Silver, Chevy Chase, Rambling Rector, Albertine, Rambling Rosie

MINIATURE ROSE
This is an ideal rose for the smaller garden, but it looks fantastic at the front of a border or put in a hanging basket or container. Miniature roses came about purely by accident through cross breeding in the 1930s and they are such a lucky discovery. The average height is less than 2ft and they have an excellent amount of foliage which is why they are sometimes used as hedging. Aside from a little extra protection at winter the Miniature Rose is treated like its larger relatives. I love having them in my garden as it allows a gardener to add a little injection of colour at a more ground level. I have a few bright yellow ones which are mixed between some bright purple Campanula and they look like little gems poking through. You would expect that because they are small they will be less hardy but that isn't so. They are actually hardier than most Hybrid Teas! I have only had mine for a few months but I have been extremely pleased with the number of blooms it has had. They generally have a single bloom per stem but they can come in clusters of up to three. These don't really make a good cutting plant but if you are interested in making miniature floral craft displays then these would be ideal. They would also make a good pressed flower.
EXAMPLES: Flower Power Gold, George Best, Pretty Polly, Honeybun, Earthquake, Starry Eyed, Wildfire, Green Ice, Rainbow's End, Carousel, Scentimental, Irresistible, Hurdy Gurdy

 

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/