Hello to Jacques, Ferdinand, Mary, Olivia, Charles, Geoff, Constance...

 It is rose time again and I have been watching the roses slowly start to unfurl.  I so enjoy this time of year in the garden.

Photo grid created from Photo Grid Online App (photo-grid-online.com)

I do have rather a lot of pink roses.  

Above, top row, left to right are: Jacques Cartier, Ferdinand Pichard and Mary Rose.

Middle, left to right are: Olivia Rose Austin, Charles de Mills and Geoff Hamilton.

Bottom, left to right are: For Your Eyes Only, Constance Spry and Gertrude Jekyll.

This is Susan Williams-Ellis.  Still to flower are Blush Noisette, Cottage Rose, Eyes for You, Emily Bronte, William Shakespeare 2000, New Dawn and my newest acquisition, an apricot one, Dannahue.  I look forward to seeing them soon. I have had many roses over the years and quite a few have not stayed with me.  The ones I have now have all done well, either in borders or in pots and I hope they will be with me for many years to come. 

In other news in the garden, Camassia Silk River is in flower.  Described as lime green to white, they are lovely, shorter than the blue camassias and later to flower.  

Pretty creamy/green flowers.

I am also enjoying a few foxgloves and have just sowed some more ready for next year.  Above is an apricot one which I love.  I also have the purple ones and a white one too.  It's all so exciting at this time of year!

I shall keep a watch out for the next roses to flower.  

Roses and Peonies

 So far, 2018 has been a wonderful year for roses.  Everywhere you look, roses have been blooming brilliantly.  I have been really enjoying mine and above is a collage (created by using picmonkey) showing some of the beautiful flowers.
Left column: top, Darcey Bussell; middle, Jacques Cartier; bottom, Ferdinand Pichard
Middle column: top, Rosa Mundi, bottom, Pride and Prejudice (that was a birthday present this February)
Right column: top, Winchester Cathedral; middle, For Your Eyes Only; bottom, a vase of Gertrude Jekyll, Cottage Rose, Mary Rose and Ferdinand Pichard.

The peonies were a bit slow this year, probably due to the cold snap in February and March, but they were worth waiting for.  They may only flower for a short time but they do provide a 'wow'.  These are patio peonies, Rome, Athens and Madrid (not necessarily in that order!)

Other roses have started to flower too and the clematis are also making their presence felt, so there may well be more photos to come.

Any colour, as long as it's pink...

 In June, my garden turns pink - not intentionally so, originally, but many of the plants flowering at this time of the year seem to be pink. Above is the beautifully crumpled bloom of Rose Jacques Cartier.

 As there are so many pink tones, I collaged some together (courtesy of Picmonkey).  From top left: Hydrangea Endless Summer Pink, Rose Ferdinand Pichard, Rose New Dawn. Middle row: Dianthus (not sure which - Iced Gem, perhaps), Rose Blush Noisette, Clematis Princess Diana. Bottom row: Geranium endressii, Erigeron Karvinskianus, Rose Gertrude Jekyll (which is scenting the whole area around it).

This year, Rosa Mundi (Rosa Gallica Versicolor) is flowering its socks off.  I do like the stripes on this rose.  As the summer goes on, the colours will change again, moving to richer red and even the odd yellow, but for now, I am enjoying this plethora of pinks.