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roses all the way?
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Posted by campanula UK Cambridge (My Page) on Fri, Nov 13, 09 at 17:29
| I have been gardening for 13 years and roses have risen and fallen in favour. First ones I bought when I barely knew what a hybrid tea, floribunda or shrub rose was - those ones have long gone. Then I guess my gardening trajectory was a familiar romp through flowering shrubs (large, easy), bedding plants(flower for ages), hardy perennials(getting a bit smarter now), salvias, grasses (fashion following, too many magazines)meadows, wildflowers (seeing the bigger picture) but I am ready to come home to roses and just go for it full on......with a little expert help. cheers, all. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: roses all the way?
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| Oh, we all have trajectories... you are not alone. But, Hey! Welcome back to roses! This is the place!! |
RE: roses all the way?
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| campanula, you have the good fortune to live in a climate kind to Delphiniums, & Foxgloves which are close to a perfect visual counterpoint to roses! |
RE: roses all the way?
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| campanula, have you formed any ideas of what groups of roses you'd like to plant? I imagine you could go anywhere from the gallicas to the less tender teas like Lady Hillingdon. Ingrid |
RE: roses all the way?
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Sounds like you're ready to synthesize everything you've learned: you can put ALL those things in your garden (well, perhaps not the meadow)! Good luck!
Melissa |
RE: roses all the way?
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| well, in the past, I have generally thought 'must have that' without really thinking where it would go but am trying to be more dsciplined. Although I have a tiny garden, I also have 2 allotments - kind of like a bit of land to rent usually for growing vegetables but in my case, I have gardens. Not being that brave yet, I have just ordered 3 Austins cos I know these roses and they do well for me as well as the climbing rose, Meg. Going for a copper and apricot heap (Jude, Meg and P.Austin) and Falstaff to nestle in next to a rather vigorous cistus. Yep, this is going to be a long haul but hey, i am coming home. |
RE: roses all the way?
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| You are fortunate to live in the land of wonderful gardens. You've probably been to Mottisfont. I would go there for rose and companion ideas. |
RE: roses all the way?
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| And, of course, the best companion at Mottisfont is our own dear Jon! |
RE: roses all the way?
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| Nope, not been to Mottisfont but have read lots of G.S.Thomas. I am looking to grow my roses a bit more loosely and informally - lots of grasses, natives, herbs. True, though, the climate is good for roses, even if my soil is not. I can fix the soil but not the weather.G.S.Thomas swears by Aistair Stella Gray - anyone growing it? |
RE: roses all the way?
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| The usual trajectory most rose enthusiasts follow is to first plant what looks the prettiest in glossy catalogs, half of which will die or get shovel-pruned in a few years, and learn by trial and error which ones will have lasting staying power in your garden. You could save yourself a lot of headaches by finding out what roses are disease resistant and do well in your climate. I guess you've already discovered the hybrid teas and floribundas can be finicky and it's great that you are thinking about the old roses. Even among the old roses, some such as the hybrid perpetuals can still require spraying and a lot of coddling, while others like the damasks, albas, and gallicas, tend to be bullet-proof. And among those choices it comes down to your personal taste and perhaps your vision -- do you want a certain color scheme? How big or small? Will you build or have structures for climbers or are you concentrating on shrub roses, etc? |
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