Garden Centre

Monday, November 2, 2009

A good year for all roses

It’s been an amazingly good year for roses, even heavy-headed roses like the English ones which usually only do well in dry summers because rain causes the many-petalled roses to lose their shape. Nobody could say this summer had been a dry one, but even so, the roses, generally, have done well.

And I’ve been amazed at how well the simple roses have held up this autumn – from my weekend walk I came across not just one, but two, perfect examples of why the simpler, smaller, roses are really worth growing. The first is a dog rose, and one pictures captures the whole lifetime of the flower, from bud through perfect blossom to decaying bloom.

The second is some kind of moss rose that is growing in a neighbour’s garden. She doesn’t know what its called, and says she’s had it for as long as she can remember – she’s in her seventies, so whatever it is, one can assume it’s hardy and long-lived as well as pretty!

Labels: autumn roses, dog roses, moss roses

The All Seasons Gardener at 7:12 AM

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