Garden and Home South Africa - October 2015

olls in with the summer rains can also spoil the flowers and
create the perfect conditions for rose rust. “The only solution is
to plant varieties that can survive the wet conditions and discard
those that can’t,” explains Gail.
Typical of an estate garden, there’s plenty of shade in this one,
particularly in the narrow strip next to the house where Gail
plants her vegetables in summer. “In winter, nothing grows here
because of the lack of sun, so I simply let the vegetable patch rest
during the cooler months.”
An expert rosarian, Gail loves to interplant rose bushes with
alyssum, English daisies (Bellis perennis), campanulas, lobelias,
peony poppies (Papaver varieties), delphiniums, larkspurs,
bearded irises, daffodils, snowflakes (leucojum) and forget-menots.
She was delighted to see columbines (aquilegia), foxgloves,
poppies and violas self-seed from the compost she brought from
her old garden.
Gail sprays the roses right after pruning with oleum or lime
sulphur. When the first leaves shoot, the bushes are drenched
with Koinor. She then sprays them for blackspot every two to
three weeks with Chronos.
Gail maintains she’s constantly planning new features for her
garden. She’d like to grow clematis and is patiently waiting for
a particular peony to flower for the first time. “The front
garden is my happy place because it’s filled with rose scents
and frequented by birds that come to eat from the feeders,” she
quips. “I’d also add more roses in a heartbeat as they’ll always be
my passion.”
GAIL’S GARDENING TIPS
Always prepare the soil before planting.
Don’t overplant. “When I first started, I tried to fill all the
spaces immediately, so I had to remove quite a bit after the first
season,” she says.
Water your garden regularly.
If you love roses, join a local rose society; you’ll learn so much.
(Gail is a member of the Midlands Rose Society.)
Start your garden with cuttings from your friends – it’s much
more rewarding and it’s also cheaper.
“I find roses like ‘Bewitched’, ‘Porcelain’, Oyster Pearl’ and
‘Blue Moon’ don’t do well in humid conditions. Roses that do
are the ‘Granny’ roses, the ‘Eden Rose’, ‘Summertime’, ‘Foxy
Lady’ and ‘St Andrew’s’,” she says.
THIS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM FAR TOP LEFT: The
narrow back garden features a formal fountain and is surrounded
by beds filled with roses. Climbing ‘Sympathy’ rose frames the
garage. Gail plants her hanging baskets in spring. This mix
contains violas, cream million bells and blue lobelia. The popular
disease-resistant ‘Granny’ roses – ‘My Granny’, ‘Granny Dearest’ and
‘Granny’s Delight’ – flower almost throughout the year. The pretty
white fragrant flowers of Trachelospermum jasminoides blend in with
the surrounding pastel colour scheme. ‘Nahema’. This bearded
iris is a blend of copper and pink.
gardenandhome.co.za | OCTOBER 2015 109