Roses are among our favourite garden plants – and deservedly so. They are versatile, produce vibrant colour all summer long and well into autumn or even winter, and many are deliciously scented. Garden designer Joy Grey shares her favourites.
The British have a long-time love affair with roses and this has been a bumper year for roses. I am often asked the near-impossible-to-answer question ‘Which is your favourite rose?’ There is so much choice and the answer very much depends from what aspect – beauty, fragrance, health, shrub, climber or just a very good all round rose?
Here are some of my favourites for clients’ gardens. With a little care and attention all, to my mind, are wonderful.
For exceptional fragrance and flowers: R. Gertrude Jekyll’
For a shady or north wall: R. ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’
For a sunny sheltered wall: R. banksiae ‘Lutea’
For climbing into trees: R. ‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’
To train up pillars: R. ‘Pink Perpétué’
To train on a wall: R. New Dawn
Attractive foliage: R. glauca
For impressive hips: R. ‘Geranium’ (moyesii hybrid) A
Thornless: R. Zephirine Drouhin
For hedges: R. ‘Roseraie de l’Haÿ’
For ground cover: R. Kent
For a sunny mixed border: R. The Generous Gardener (pictured above)
As a standard: (6Ft.) R. Ballerina
Best disease resistant: Bonica
There are, of course, many more very beautiful roses to choose from and your tastes might well be different to mine. Whenever possible try to see roses in bloom before purchasing by visiting rose nurseries or rose gardens during the flowering season. Now is a good time to do this.
Places to see roses:
Malleny, Balerno, Midlothian
Saughton Park and Gardens, Edinburgh
Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden at The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
The Alnwick garden, Northumberland
The Queen Mother and Piper Aplha Memorial Garden, Aberdeen
GOOSE GREEN DESIGN
The Grey Cottage, Goose Green, Gullane EH31 2AT
t: 01620 842866 | m: 07971163565
e: joy@goosegreendesign.co.uk
