Roses grow on you!

                                         

Recently I counted the rose bushes in my garden and was surprised to have more than forty. You'd exepct from that number to overwhelmed with rose blooms when you enter the garden but they are well spaced and blend in to the other planting. There is plenty of room for more.

At my previous home I had a designated rose garden that was a mass of roses and clematis is summer but here I have to be more subtle. Looking around, I am constantly seeking new places to plant them. Luckily my trusty under gardener loves them too so when I suggested building a rose walk he was very willing.

The shady place we walked right past

Choosing the site took some time. We could place arches over the existing path, or a pergola against the house but in the end we opted for a shady part of the garden that was in definite need of brightening up. Although the corner did have it's charms, cool and moist and fragrant with earth and moss, we never lingered there. We always walked right past on our way to the most used part of the garden near the greenhouse. Not without trepidation we began to thin the huge kiftsgate rose, a massive rambler that has been ambling up the tulip tree for some years now. then we removed some branches from the tree and a nearby ash until we gained dappled shade.

Man at work

There are few roses that appreciate deep shade but some will tolerate dappled sunlight and when it was time to choose I selected those that David Austin recommended for shady areas. I ordered The Generous Gardener - a vigorous climber, Tottering by Gently (a pretty yellow shrub) and Rambling Rosie (a short rambler) and Snow Goose, another short rambler. Then we began the ground work.

Taking a break

The arches were erected first. I didn't want anything fancy for they will soon be swathed in roses and clematis (she says optimistically). When they were up I wondered what we'd done. It looked like  a row of medieval gibbets but I know the wood will fade to a more natural colour and the planting will soften it. We also incorporated the garden bench and turned it into a sort of arbour. Since this is the shady part of the garden, anything we plant up the fence tends to disappear into next door's garden to bask in the sun. I dont mind sharing but the wooden arches will enable us to train the roses into the sunshine on our side. It looks quite pretty already with a short pink rambler I bought some years ago.

I need more roses!

Lifting the turf was tough. I am not as sprightly as I once was but plenty of rests and a big pinch of determination soon had it done. We then dug over the ground, improved the soil with improver and waited for the roses to arrive. We mulch every year and this bed will recieve particular care to improve the soil further.

Taken in the late afternoon, it is brigher in the morning

I spent some time deciding which rose should grow where and then began digging. We added horse manure to the hole and gave them a good watering in. I didn't feed them as all my roses will be having their July feed soon and I will do it then so we don't get out of sync with the other plants.

Sitting in the arbour

We soaked the rope overnight to allow it to shrink and then put it loosely in place. We will give it a while to settle before securing it. I am hoping it will be strong enough to support all I need it to. I am still waiting for the clematis to arrive from Taylor's Clematis and will spend some time underplanting. It looks quite underwhelming at the moment but I know it will grow and improve. In the meantime, I can look at photos of my old rose garden and think about where I can grow more roses.