Jacques, Mary, Geoff, Constance, William and Gertrude...

( I created these collage grids using BeFunky )

I love roses. When I was little, I remember there was a lovely 'Albertine' rose in the garden.  That love has stayed with me and over the years, I have amassed a collection in my small back garden.  Some have come and gone, but others have stayed. Some are in the border, but most are in large pots.  With the uncharacteristically hot May weather we have been having in the UK over the last week, they have rushed to bloom. (While they may enjoy the sun and heat, I am struggling!)

Above, top line, left to right: Jacques Cartier; Mary Rose; Eyes for You.

Middle line, left to right: Cottage Rose; Olivia Rose Austin; Dannahue.

Bottom line, left to right: Geoff Hamilton; For Your Eye Only; Constance Spry.

Above, top left, going clockwise: William Shakespeare 2000; Gertrude Jekyll; Roald Dahl; Susan Williams-Ellis (the white one, bottom left corner) and Desdemona (my newest purchase, earlier this year.)

They are doing well and I am enjoying their perfumes.  This isn't the whole collection, as there are a few more yet to flower (Bring Me Sunshine; Ferdinand Pichard; Emily Bronte; Blush Noisette and New Dawn), so hopefully there will be more for us to enjoy. 

Chelsea week 2025

I always watch the BBC coverage of the RHS Chelsea flower show and this year is no exception.  I have never been to the show and am not likely to, as it is expensive, crowded and the tickets sell out so fast.  The TV coverage gives me a much better view of the gardens than I would get at the show.  All the photos are from the RHS website.  

I usually judge the gardens by whether I would like them outside my back door! 

Benches and water features have seemed to be a focus for me this year.  Above is a rather lovely large water bowl and bench  from the ADHD Foundation garden designed by Katy Terry.  This garden will live on at the University of Liverpool.

If I had to choose one favourite garden, it would probably be this one, The Glasshouse Garden by Jo Thompson. I like the snaking rill in the path.

The planting in The Glasshouse garden was lovely too, with the rich reds, pinks and purples.  These rich colours can be seen in lots of other gardens. This garden is going to a women's prison in the South of England.

The RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden was designed by Monty Don, the main presenter of Gardeners' World and showed some lovely, gentle, naturalistic planting.  

I like all the greens around the path here.  

I liked the copper water feature in the Down Syndrome Scotland garden, designed by Nick Burton and Duncan Hall.  This garden will go to a garden at the Palacerigg Country Park in Scotland.

My favourite water feature was in the Pathway Garden by Allon Hoskin and Robert Beaudin.  Very simple, a bowl carved out of a stone. This garden is going to the Shekinah Centre in Devon, which supports people experiencing homelessness.

Really beautiful.  I would love this in my garden!

The London Square Chelsea Pensioners' Garden had this inviting path to explore, with another still water feature.  Designed by Dave Green, this garden is moving a few metres away to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, so that the Chelsea Pensioners can enjoy it.

This bench also caught my eye, made from a tree trunk in the Garden of the Future by Matthew Butler and Josh Parker.  

To see all the gardens, there is a link to the website here.

A new David Austin rose was launched and it is one I have my eye on. called The King's Rose, it is similar to Rosa Versicolor (Rosa Mundi) but is repeat flowering.  It may well be added to my collection - perhaps not now, but in the future...

Roses, roses, roses...and clematis

The roses are blooming, despite the wet Spring we have had and I am loving them!.  Above, starting top left, going clockwise: Jacques Cartier; Mary Rose; Kew Gardens and Cottage Rose.

Again, top left, going clockwise: Olivia Rose Austin; Susan Williams-Ellis; Geoff Hamilton and Charles de Mills.

Top left, clockwise: Blush Noisette; Emily Bronte; Eyes for You and For Your Eyes Only.

Top is Dannahue, bottom right is Constance Spry and finally Gertrude Jekyll.  I still have a few which aren't in flower yet - William Shakespeare 2000, Ferdinand Pichard, New Dawn and Roald Dahl.  For a small garden, I have managed to squeeze a lot of roses in!  (I still have my eye on Bring me Sunshine, but I haven't quite got room for it...yet!)  

To add to the lovely roses, a couple of clematis are flowering too and they make good companions.  Above is Venosa Violacea.

Here is Prince Charles.  Princess Kate, Blue Angel and Perle D'Azur are not quite there yet, but are budding up.  No doubt there will be more photos to come...

Not just pink...

Just to prove my garden does have other colours in it, (although, as I said, it is predominantly pink), this rose was looking so perfect, I had to take a photo of it. It is a David Austin rose - Molineux - and is growing in a pot, though really, it would be happier in the border. It is a lovely creamy/gold/apricot colour and has a proper old rose fragrance. I don't grow any unscented roses as I can't see the point of a rose without perfume. The first thing I do when greeted with a rose is to bury my nose in it and I am always very disappointed if the fragrance doesn't live up to the appearance. I particularly like the David Austin roses as they are beautiful flowers and are bred for their scent.
We have finally had some rain after a few weeks of hot, sunny weather and the garden looks a lot fresher now. I'm a lot happier too because I am not a sun-worshipper and it was becoming unbearably hot for me. But I still have to go out and water my pots as the plants become umbrellas and stop the rain from getting to the roots. A gardener's work is never done...