Latest Rose Garden

Last year, 2009, a friend offered me 12 China Doll roses that had been in her garden for about 15 years. The shade had increased to the point where they were not growing or flowering well. I swapped them for a spare food processor that I had bought on ebay. However, the price didn't stop there. By the time I bought 300 clip-lock bricks for a wall, 3 tonne of garden soil and a concrete statue for the centre (made by a local fellow for a very reasonable cost), and spent several weeks building the wall (using a level to get it right, much to the joy of my husband, who hates visitors to think that he built my crooked garden brick edges), the cost had skyrocketed.

I planted a dozen small statice plants around the outer edge, not realising how well they would grow there. The roses arrived in June with huge, old woody bases and only a few lingering roots. I didn't hold out much hope for their success. I should have had more faith in the ability of roses to overcome adversity. I only lost one and since last spring they have grown to about a metre tall and flowered profusely. I have now ordered 6 more from Swanes to fill in the centre part of the garden so it looks like a hedge.

Roses

Although Spring is supposed to be a great time for roses, I find that here they look good for a short while, then the sudden early heat we have had over the past few years causes them to flower and fade quickly. However, now that Autumn has been around for a while, the roses are flowering brilliantly and lasting much longer with deeper colours true to form.
I have over 150 rose bushes and have ordered about 15 more to arrive soon. Not sure where I am going to plant them, but where there's a will, there's a way. Roses are one of the most drought- and heat-tolerant plants I know. Even in weeks of 42 degrees over summer, they still only need water once every 5 to 7 days provided they are well mulched. White Iceberg and Pierre de Ronsard have coped remarkably with hot, dry north westerly winds for most of spring and summer.

I have developed a love for the simple, single rose flowers such as Mutabilis, my favourite 5 petalled rose. I have two bushes, one each side of my summerhouse entrance.

Multi-coloured rose flowers, such as the Delbard Painters' series are another addiction - Paul Cezanne, Alfred Sisley, Henri Matisse, Camille Pissarro, Grimaldi and Maurice Utrillo - all grace my garden beds, as well as Hocus Pocus and Abracadabra, which didn't do so well in the garden, but is thriving in a large pot.

David Austin roses, which always remind me of little cabbages, do particularly well here with very little blackspot and prolific blooms.I particularly love the colour of Pat Austin. Now for some photos....

I had a lovely Mothers' Day, adding 3 new chrysanthemums to my collection. However, I got really excited this morning when I noticed my Blue Lechenaultias, (purchased 7 months ago and thriving), were in flower. The tiny, dainty blue flowers are vibrant and the plant is really healthy. My brother, a native plant expert and purist, told me when I bought them that he had had little success in growing them in SA, so I feel very honoured that they are doing so well when they could easily have decided not to, as they so often do.