Many people have been asking me how the rose garden is developing, after the big plant out in January.

On arrival at the house last Thursday for a cheeky last-minute weekend I was thrilled to see that some of the roses already had flowers. Across a sunny weekend more opened. I was even able to enjoy one of my favourite gardening activities, a spot of deadheading.

On our previous visit over Easter we spent a long time weeding amongst the roses and the ground had stayed quite weed-free which I was very pleased to see. The thick layer of wood-chip mulch is helping to prevent germination of annual seeds and we will be relentless in removing any residual perennials as they show their faces above ground.

The grass paths between the beds will take some time to develop. We are simply allowing them to grow of their own accord as it is now too late to reliably sow seed in our French climate, especially as we aren’t there full time to water regularly.

Of the 87 plants (all bare-rooted) we put in all bar possibly two are growing well and we aren’t going to give up on that final two until we are sure. Here are some photos of some of the flowers I took on Tuesday in gorgeous sunshine.

The Verschuren variegated rose. We planted four, one in each quadrant.

Not a rose, but a magnolia grandiflora which was already in the area subsequently designated for the rose garden so will become a feature in one of the quadrants.

 

Climbers are beginning to grow upwards and will soon need to be tied in to the vertical pillars.

 

There are some glorious oranges and yellows

 

And whites and pinks

 

And of course deep reds.

All are fragrant, specially selected for that quality.

Many of the bushes haven’t opened a single flower yet although all are laden with buds. There is no sign of black spot or any other disease, although a little greenfly could be seen on one or two bushes. The prolific bird life will undoubtedly deal with those.

I’d better plan my next visit quickly; there’s going to be a lot of deadheading to do in coming months!