Roses (and others) everywhere

This post is very picture heavy - I love roses and this is their time, so I'm celebrating it.  Above is 'Mary Rose'.

Gladiolus Byzantinus, echoing the pink of the roses.

Rose 'Geoff Hamilton'.

Rose 'For Your Eyes only'.

Rose 'Eyes for You'.

One of the patio peonies 'Athens'.  Again, there is a bit of a pink theme!

Rose 'Cottage Rose'.

Rose 'Constance Spry'.

Rose 'Charles de Mills'.

A white peony 'Madrid' - just coming into flower.  This one is a patio peony but I have planted it in the border.  It has taken a while to get going.

Another patio peony 'Rome'.

Rose 'Bright as a button'...

Rose Ferdinand Pichard.

Lewisia Plum.

Lewisia Plum close up , showing the lovely striped flowers.

Rose New Dawn and Blush Noisette aren't quite in flower yet, but have lots of buds. More to look forward to.

Rose Winchester Cathedral started to develop rust as well as black spot, so I made the decision and it has gone.  However, a replacement white rose, Susan Williams-Ellis has just arrived, so I am looking forward to seeing what she will be like.

The roses are certainly centre stage at the moment and some have grown very tall this year.  I am really surrounded by them and I love it!

June 2016 in the garden - a riot of roses despite the rain

It has been a very wet June this year.  I have been waiting relatively patiently for my roses, peonies and poppy to flower, only to see the blooms turning into a soggy mass.  However, on those few occasions when it wasn't actually raining, I did managed to take some photos.
I love roses and have gradually built up quite a collection in the borders and in pots.  Various shades of pink are my favourite but I am branching out into deeper shades and the odd apricot and white too. All of the roses are scented, but some have a stronger fragrance than others.  Above, top row l to r: Jacques Cartier, Constance Spry, Arthur de Sanchal (my latest purchase); middle row, l to r: Gertrude Jekyll, Bright as a Button, Ferdinand Pichard; bottom row l to r: New Dawn, Frilly Cuff and Cottage rose. I hope I have identified them correctly, but it is quite difficult, as several of them do look very similar.

Above top row l to r: For Your Eyes Only, Chandos Beauty, William Shakespeare 2000, middle row Molineux, bottom row l to r: Madame Hardy, Mary Rose and Rosa Mundi.  

My patio peonies have done well despite the rain.  Above on the left is Madrid, in the middle is a new one this year, Rome and on the right is the one poppy flower which wasn't ruined in the rain.  I have Patio Peony Kiev too, but it hasn't flowered this year.  

I treated myself to some new petunias called 'Night Sky' which I wasn't sure about when I saw them in a catalogue earlier in the year.  However, when I saw them in the flesh, I was intrigued by the patterns and I like the way each flower is different. They do seem to glow and are a darker purple in real life.  I suspect they are a bit like Marmite - love them or hate them - but I love them.  They are scented in the evening too, which is a bonus.  I am hoping that July might bring a little more sun, but with the weather in the UK, you just never know!

British Flower Week 2015

Photo from http://www.britishflowersweek.com/blog/

Just in case you weren't aware, this week is British Flowers Week, which is a 'week long celebration of British flowers and the UK cut flower industry'.  The dress above was made by Zita Elze, using larkspur.  not very practical, but absolutely stunning! Wouldn't it look lovely printed on chiffon? Of course, I do have some flowers in my own garden which I feel should be celebrated (although usually, I don't need a special week!), so without further ado, may I introduce...

Rose Frilly Cuff, new to me this year and planted in a pot.  The colour is a bit deeper than this in real life and it has a delicate fragrance.  I wanted to add some deeper colours of roses to my garden, as all the others seem to be pale pink, apart from one yellow.  This one has a beautiful colour and form.

Nigella or Love in a Mist.  I have always loved these flowers and remember them growing in every garden from my childhood.  I sowed seeds in the border, but the plants decided they would rather sow themselves in pots, which is what they did.  They are so lovely, I left them to grow where they wanted.

I have some nice shades of blues and whites in the Nigella.

My favourite rose, Gertrude Jekyll, with the most delicious fragrance.

A new rose again this year, Bright as a Button, a floribunda type, which has a very open flower and is again in a pot.  

The star of the week just has to be Oriental Poppy 'Checkers' which I grew from seed and which features annually on my blog.  I was concerned that the flowers would be totally battered by the heavy rain we had at the weekend, so dashed out to take a photo last Friday, just in case they were reduced to a soggy mass.

The flowers start off a very pale pink and then whiten as they age.  I'm pleased to say that they have survived the rain and are still looking lovely today.
There are more roses to come, with several new ones too and I shall also post a photo of the white peony if its buds open.
I hope British Flowers Week is a great success!