The scent of my roses in the garden at the moment is just fantastic – really yummy and its especially noticeable first thing in the morning – it sure makes up for having to get up early! I have to walk the dog before it gets too hot (a Newfoundland) although she has just had a short back and sides which makes her look a little odd but she seems way comfier. The scent also gets stronger again as it starts to cool in the evening, ideal for G&T time.
When it comes to choosing roses for the garden there is definitely something for everyone the choice is vast and plant breeders are increasing the numbers all the time. Size wise they go from miniatures, happy to be in a small pot, right the way through to ramblers that are happy to scramble up trees. Flower colour and shape is huge to, but the scent is the key thing for me. Most old garden cultivars and species roses have good fragrance and modern roses did have a reputation for not having very good scent but this has been sorted out I’m glad to say.
You can now get modern roses with their long flowering season, showy blooms AND fab scent. At this time of year keep on top of dead heading and after the first big flush of bloom apply a rose fertiliser which is straight forward as it’s granular applied round the base and lightly dug in. That way you’ll encourage good strong young shoots that will give a second flush of flowers.
I’ll cover pruning later in the year closer to the time you need to do it.
Oh, one last thing, in response to one of my readers question (sorry for the delay there): can you have a clear pond with fish without having a pump or filtration? – Yes! Just make sure it’s planted properly (oxygenators, lilies and marginals) remember to give them time to establish and don’t feed the fish too much or keep clearing the pond out.