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Looking at the beautiful rose – suggested gardens to see this beauty

June 17, 2010 By 4 Comments
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Roses always come at the top of the list in literature and various gardening shows. The sheer abundance of varieties, colour and smell makes it a truly inspiring plant. Whatever garden you have, there will be a rose variety to suit whether you have a balcony, small patio or city or county garden, you can enjoy this flower.

One of the best times to truly appreciate the scent of roses, is just as the sun comes down on a warm summers evening, is absolutely heavenly.

Roses are always popular with weddings, anniversaries and valentines.

Every survey that asks the nation – what our favourite flower is, the answer is always the same – the rose.

The english country garden is not complete without one or two of these delightful flowers.

Last year, there was a survey to find out the worlds favourite rose, impossible you would think! Well the results showed that it is indeed the David Austin rosa ‘Graham Thomas’ do you agree?

In the language of flowers the rose stands for –

- Love

- The Yellow rose can mean  – jealousy

The rose is a perennial flower and has over 100 different species within the family Rosaceae. Every year the collection grows, with new varieties being introduced all the time.

David Austin has over 800 varieties!

The huge variety of roses means that if you want to grow a rose, there will be a variety for you; from the shrub, floribunda, tea, climbing, patio etc…

The RHS have provided a guide to how to plant roses

To ensure greater success with growing your chosen rose, the advice is that bare root roses are the best to buy, from a reputable grower. As roses are available everywhere, including the local petrol station and high street DIY store, you can never be sure of where the roses have come from, and how long they have been there.  Buying quality roses can be costly, but this is where cutting corners doesn’t usually save in the long run.

The problems associated with roses are – rust, rose black spot and powder mildew, greenfly / aphids and ants that seem to be attracted to container roses.

Greenfly can often be got rid of by using a water spray with water and a bit of washing up liquid, sprayed directly on the leaves. You could also ladybirds into your garden to munch them up – purchase a ladybird breeding kit.

In reference to ladybirds there is currently running a UK ladybird survey, you can help them by recording any sightings.

Roses will bloom with a good feed such as a general feed or specialised rose feed, mulching, and careful watering.

It’s also best not to plant a new rose where other roses have been, particularly if they were diseased

If you love roses, then a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show is an absolute must! Hampton Court Flower show is also a great show to see this beauty.

Last year I had the opportunity to visit the Hampton Court Flower show, and their special Tudor Rose Marquee was breath taking. The crowds were horrendous and trying to get close to the displays was hard, but the display of toses were gorgeous. I wouldn’t have missed it! To see a 3D video presentation of the marquee take a look at the RHS video – Tudor Rose Festival.

Not sure which rose to choose?

David Austin has helpfully provided a guide to help you choose the perfect rose for you!

Some of the best roses for cut flowers are –

William Shakespeare 2000

Graham Thomas

Winchester Cathedral

Gertrude Jekyll

Evelyn

I also love the Albert Bell, with stunning yellow flowers and lovely scent.

Want to learn how to make a beautiful display of flowers?

Sarah Raven has an excellent website and also provides flower arranging courses

Sarah did a wonderful programme on supporting UK cut flower growers, if we can support our local growers, not only will have gorgeous flowers, but also help specialist nurseries stay in business.

More information about the beloved rose -

  • The World Federation of rose societies

Where to buy roses –

Apuldram Roses

Country roses

David Austin

Peter Beales

The Country Garden Plant Centre

The Real Flower Company

Gardens to admire roses –

Each of the RHS Gardens – Rosemoor, Harlow Car, Hyde Hall, and Wisley have wonderful display of roses. Wisley are currently developing a new rose garden. If I had to pick one for roses then it would be Hyde Hall in Essex! One word – AMAZING! You will overdose on this beauty, if it’s possible to.

From the 19th -20th June RHS Rosemoor are holding a special weekend in honour of the beautiful rose -Scents of Summer

National Trust gardens tend to have a great show of the wonderful rose

Mottisfont house and gardens in Hampshire, have special events when the rose is in bloom, Check if there is a garden near you that has similar events.

Garden of the Rose in Hertfordshire

Coughton Court Gardens in Warwickshire

Castle Howard in Yorkshire

Any cottage gardens will have a host of wonderful roses added to their design. Check with your local National Garden Scheme , support a charity and see wonderful gardens!

We have a collection of rose cards  and gifts suitable for all occasions, including -

Engagements, Weddings, Valentine’s Day or just simply because you or the intended recipient of the card loves roses!

Add your special message for a truly special card!

www.sendaflowercard.com

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The Chelsea Flower show and Floriography

May 27, 2010 By 1 Comment
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Well, have you been enjoying the wonderful Chelsea flower show? I have! I look forward to this time every year, when we see the best in garden design and displays that can tempt and enthuse us to get into our gardens.

Unfortunately I am unable to go to the show this year, so I have been enjoying the coverage on the television. The BBC coverage is very useful, and  because the crowds are so large at this highly popular flower show, you can often miss the detail, so watching the BBC shows on BBC1 and BBC2 and their red button programmes, can help enormously. I love learning from the amazing Carol Klein whose plant knowledge is just amazing!

The colour schemes at this years show are so fresh and calming. With the weather that we have been having over the last week, the cool planting schemes of the M&G garden designed by Roger Platts and The Children’s Society Garden designed by Mark Gregory provides a restful scene.

I love the detail of The Victorian Aviary Garden designed by Phillipa Pearson and Jonathan Denby, with the wonderful Peacock mosaic path! (I want one of those LOL)

My favourite areas have always been the floral pavillion and the small courtyard gardens, and I always make a beeline for them when I go. I do admit that I spend most of my time admiring the stunning floral displays in the pavilion. So if you are going, please make sure you don’t miss these areas as you won’t be disappointed!

The key planting schemes that I have noticed this year, are the pretty aquilegia, the varied foxgloves, scented lavenders, the delicate grasses and of course beautiful roses.

Gardens with a message

In the Show Gardens category - The Stephen Hawking Garden for Motor Neurone Disease is a very thoughtful garden. I love the fact that not only can you design a wonderful garden for sight, smell and touch, but also by including a meaning into the design – it can be the best kind of advert there can be! I do hope that the visitors will take on the message behind this garden, understanding the wonderful work that the MND Association do.

In the Small Urban Gardens category there is the garden called Dyslexia – A Barrier to Education? Designed by Tim Fowler, which also seeks to provide a message in the design of the garden, looking at how the brain analyses various information.

In the Small Courtyard Gardens -  Green & Blacks Rainforest Garden designed by Jane Owen and Ann-Marie Powell, is thoughtlfully detailed to make us think about the Cameroon Rainforest and the people who live there.

Admiration

I have enormous admiration for the designers and growers who have had such a hard time this year getting their plants ready for the show, as the weather has really tested them. I am also amazed at how plants that have been brought over from various countries have survived the long journeys that they have travelled to be included in the designs, and with the ash cloud situation, it has been even more difficult for them this year.

I think that all the people who have been / are involved in the show should be awarded a medal, for their talent, patience, hard work etc… in bringing us an extraordinary, wonderful flower show for us to admire.

Language of flowers

Today the lunchtime show looked briefly at the interesting subject of Floriography – The Language of Flowers. The BBC website has further information on the significance of flowers, but if you would like to know more, please visit my website, where I look at the history of floriography and give examples of popular flowers. I have also used this as a basis to look at particular businesses by choosing flowers that best describe their business.

Going to Chelsea?

If you are going to the Chelsea Flower show this year, I hope you have a wonderful time. If you write a blog post about your visit, please share the link to your post in the comments section for others to read and enjoy!

Don’t Miss

The Real Flower Company who specialise in the most wonderful English rose bouquets, have just been awarded an RHS Certificate of Merit for outstanding presentation. We send our congratulations to them! You can find them at stand MW5. They are also running a very special competition to win 6 months of English scented roses more details can be found on their website.

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