 |
| This is the third in a series of posts inspired by the Garden Media Guild Awards 2011 and the people I met at the lunch in London where winners were announced. For the introduction to this series click HERE. |
For a few years, I tried to grow
a lawn. Crane Flies misunderstood my intention and left me with leatherjackets
to babysit.
Blackbirds and starlings (plus, I
think, the odd thrush or two) agreed to help out in teams and gathered up beakfulls
of the disgusting, powdery brown maggots in relays but the lawn was lost;
several times over.
I switched to nothing but plants (with
paths between). And I grew two big roses, a Rambling Rector and a Madame AlfredCarriere.
The Rambling Rector I loved. It
filled a third of the garden with flowers. It filled much of the street with
scent. It filled the roof of the shed with holes . . . and, earlier this year,
with grief in my heart, I cut it down and paid a lot of money for a new roof.
Goodbye Madame Alfred Carriere
too. I never really liked it. The blooms were too big, too floppy, too
ephemeral and it kept reaching over the path where bikes should go - and had to
be hacked back whenever a wheelchair needed to go by.
The other day I came across an
old snap-shot of my garden - my shed to be more specific - hidden
by roses and jasmine. The jasmine has gone too. I liked its leaves, couldn’t
stand the scent. My heart went glug. My family didn’t like the garden when it
was a thorny jungle. But I did.
My regret was kindled further when
I met two people from David Austin Roses at the GMG Awards lunch. This chance meeting sent me back to thinking about roses and wondering what to do about re-junglifying my garden.
Over to you.
Are you able to recommend a white
or cream or pale yellow rose that will grow in full sun and smell lovely and
clamber over my newly renovated shed without wrecking it? (Don’t say ‘Plant it
somewhere else’. There isn’t anywhere else for a Rambler or a Climber to go.)
Are you able to recommend a cream
or yellow rose that can be grown as a well behaved standard in a place which is
in dull light all winter but, in the summer has shade till coffee time
(mid-morning) and sun for the rest of the day?
Is there a cure for someone who
doesn’t like roses but who is missing the chaos they can make in a garden?
6 comments:
Climbing Mermaid. Love that, but I have no room for it. Some modern roses have no thorns, you could explore that option.
Esther, I prefer ramblers to the climbers they can almost be left to their own devices to a certain extent. I haven't as yet found a place for it, but one that is catching my eye is the rambler City of York http://www.countrygardenroses.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=City-Of-York
David Austiners? Who by they? zealots? advocates? employees? and GMG?Riddly language for me but without a doubt those David Austin climbers are the ones for restraint in space - 8 ft more manageable than say, 15 or 20 foot. Love your blog!
Hello Elephant's Eye. Thanks for the Climbing Mermaid suggestion. Although I don't think that shape of flower would suit the location, I'm really grateful that you suggested taking a look at thornless roses. I hadn't realised they exist!
Hello Alistair, I very much like the look of the rose 'City of New York'. Thanks for the suggestion. The place I'm hoping a rambler would go is up a Spanish Broom which is on its last legs. I'm hoping that would provide a framework for it. The challenge would be to persuade the plant to prefer the tree and to leave the shed alone.
At Ludwig's Roses, called Satin Touch
http://www.ludwigsroses.co.za/cat_searchResults.php?Name=&Cat=14&Height=0&Shape=0&Fragrance=0&Use=0&Colour1=0&Use2=0&Colour2=0&Use3=0&Colour3=0&SearchRose=Search
But you will need to find a local supplier.
Lady Banks rose? (Rosa banksiae) Not strongly scented, but nice.
Post a Comment