WOODLAND GEMS
Snowdrops, winter aconites and cyclamen start the season off in style p16; celebrate the romance of roses
No other flower has woven its way through our culture and into our hearts quite so ardently as the rose. Consistently ranked as Britain’s favourite flower, roses manage to reinvent themselves for gardens whatever our current tastes or trends. And no wonder. Who would want a garden without their fragrance and silky petals, packed into tight rosettes or refined and elegant as a single flower? The hips can be gorgeous too; think of the fat coral lanterns of musk rose ‘Penelope’ or fine red fruit of rosa ‘Geranium’. And then there’s the foliage, ranging from deep green to bronze or silver. Creative rose breeding means that disease resistance, repeat flowering and attractive foliage are expected rather than a bonus, as long as you keep deadheading and give plants a fertile, moisture-retentive soil. Mulch and feed them annually and they’ll reward you with flowers. Bareroot roses are available from November to March, so now’s a good time to plant one – provided the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged. As a rule, roses look better among friends. Plant them with polyanthus, tulips, foxgloves, alliums, nepeta, frothy Ammi majus, asters or penstemons. Or, choose strong foliage plants such as lime green euphorbias, grey Lychnis coronaria or dark Ajuga reptans ‘Atropurpurea’. Just beware overwhelming your rose.
1 BEST FOR A NORTH-FACING WALL: ‘CROWN PRINCESS MARGARETA’
Challenging though a shady wall might seem, there are roses to suit. Vigorous ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ is a famous one, but on a smaller scale try ‘Crown Princess Margareta’. This David Austin rose can be grown as a large shrub or trained against a wall where you’ll get a clearer view of its large, full-petalled apricot-orange flowers that fade to yellow. It’s repeat flowering with a strong fruity fragrance, and its arching growth lends itself to training. H3.6m (12ft)
2 BEST FOR HIPS: ‘GERANIUM’
Rose hips are a valuable food source for garden wildlife, while bringing us bright lanterns of colour. ‘Geranium’ is a Rosa moyesii hybrid that carries instantly recognisable, elongated red hips from autumn into winter. This big arching shrub is at home at the back of a deep border, or let loose in a wilder part of the garden. It doesn’t repeat flower but the dazzling single blooms are an intense clear red, highlighted by gold stamens. H2.4m (8ft) S2.1m (7ft)
3 BEST FOR CUT FLOWERS: ‘JUST JOEY’
‘Just Joey’ must be one of the most recognisable hybrid teas, and one of the best loved. Apricot-orange buds open into large double coppery-pink flowers with crimped edges. Flowers can reach 15cm (6in) across and are carried singly on long stems, making them ideal for cutting. They possess an intense spicy fragrance and flower through summer and autumn with good disease resistance too. To ensure cut roses last, pick them early in the morning, strip off the lower leaves and sear stem ends in boiling water. H90cm (3ft) S75cm (2½ft)
4 BEST FOR CLIMBING A HOUSE WALL: ‘THE GENEROUS GARDENER’
As appropriately named plants go, ‘The Generous Gardener’ is spot on. This David Austin climbing rose conjures an abundance of large, soft pink flowers that fade to near-white as they age. Gently nodding, they’re filled with layers of petals opening to golden stamens. It’s repeat flowering and the arching, almost thornless stems should be trained near a window so the strong old-rose fragrance can steal inside. It can take some shade so try an east or west-facing wall. H up to 5.2m (17ft)
5 BEST FOR FRAGRANCE: ‘MUNSTEAD WOOD’
As velvety crimson as a glass of red wine, this David Austin shrub rose has a strong fragrance that combines fruity notes of blackberry and damson with classic old rose scent. Young foliage has bronze-red tints and plants show good disease resistance. It definitely likes a sunny position without being crowded, so plant near a path and cut a couple of flowers for your bedside table to drink in the scent. H and S1.1m (3½ft)
6 BEST FOR REPEAT FLOWERING: ‘HARLOW CARR’
Repeat flowering is a big sell, especially in a smaller garden where we typically ask more from our plants. ‘Harlow Carr’ is a free-flowering shrub rose that repeats in flushes from late spring right until the frosts, as long as you keep deadheading and feeding. It’s strongly fragrant with shallow rosettes of rose pink flowers in an ideal hue to place with a blue geranium for a classic English colour combination. It’s a tough, reliable grower for all its seeming delicacy, and makes an excellent border edging plant. H and S1.1m (3½ft)
7 BEST FOR EASY CARE: ‘THOMAS A BECKET’
This hale and hearty David Austin shrub has strong, informal growth, like a species rose. The loosely double nodding flowers are just the shade of crimson-red you’d colour a rose as a child. Repeat flowering with plenty of zesty old rose fragrance, ‘Thomas à Becket’ copes with shade and less-than-perfect soils, has excellent disease resistance and is ideal for more informal modern planting schemes. Try it at the back of a border with grasses or even as a hedge. H1.5m (5ft) S1.2m (4ft)
Repeat flowering is a big sell, especially in a smaller garden
8 BEST FOR A CONTAINER: ‘MARGARET MERRIL’
This dainty floribunda rose makes a classically beautiful container plant. Its shapely pink buds open to white, while keeping a faint pink blush. Exceptionally fragrant, it has an intense, sweet scent, which makes for a romantic cut flower. It likes a warm, sunny site and repeat flowers from June into September. Keep containers well fed and watered for the maximum clusters of flowers. You can also buy ‘Margaret Merril’ ready trained as a standard. H and S75cm (2½ft)
9 BEST FOR LIGHT SOIL: ‘LADY OF SHALOTT’
Roses thrive in clay soil, but don’t despair if you’re on lighter ground. Roots typically travel deep so they’re good at finding water and you can improve soil with plenty of well-rotted organic matter and fertiliser. To help you further, ‘Lady of Shalott’ is a tough, fuss-free grower that’s perfect for those with less than ideal conditions. It makes a bushy shrub with lightly arching stems and orange-apricot flowers that tinge salmon as they age. Flowers have a light but delightful spicy fragrance. H1.4m (4½ft) S1.2m (4ft)
10 BEST FOR A PERGOLA: ‘ADELAIDE D’ORLEANS’
If you’re after a waterfall of dainty white flowers across your pergola or arch, this rose won’t disappoint. Granted, like most ramblers, ‘Adélaïde D’Orléans’ only flowers once with just a light fragrance, but the graceful curtain of flowers is elegance exemplified. Its lax growth means it’s easy to train around pillars and is vigorous enough to climb into trees. The small pink buds open to semi-double cream flowers that fade to white. It keeps hold of its leaves for so long it’s almost evergreen and has good disease resistance. H5m (16ft)