Brigg Matters Issue 61 Summer 2021

SUE HOY’S ALLOTMENT
In Search of the Perfect Rose
Nothing says summer quite like the sight and scent of
roses in the garden. Although there are roses in flower
as early as May and as late as October, June is often the
peak time in British gardens, the weeks when they are
at their glorious best. Roses hold a special place in our
affections; it’s the English national flower, the symbol
of romance and there’s nothing to match its voluptuous
abundance in gardens
large and small all
over the country.
We’re all familiar with
the large, high-pointed
blooms of hybrid
tea roses, which are
often used in massed
plantings, but they
are only a small part
of the fabulous rose
story. Roses come in
an amazing range of
vibrant – and more
subtle – colours;
they can be grown
as climbers, shrubs,
ground cover and
miniatures, so there’s
space for a rose in
every garden. So how
do you begin to make
a choice from the
thousands of varieties
and types available?
I’m greedy, and
want to enjoy my
roses for as long a
period as possible,
so I always look for
roses which repeatflower
throughout
the season. Some,
particularly older
varieties, are only in bloom for a few weeks in
midsummer, whilst others flower from May right through
to September – fantastic garden value. I also want scent
in a rose. Although there are some very lovely unscented
roses, for me the perfume makes all the difference,
whether wafting over the garden on a warm summer
day, or enjoyed at close quarters in a vase. By the way,
each rose has its own unique scent, from the orangey,
spiciness of the beautiful climber ‘Albertine’, to the ‘true’
rose scent of ‘Roseraie de l’ Hay’.
It’s also a good idea, if possible, to buy roses that have
some disease resistance. Some of the older roses are
very susceptible to fungal diseases such as rust and
black spot, which are difficult to control, while modern
varieties tend to be
more resistant.
Having said that,
I grow one of the
oldest-known roses,
‘Great Maiden’s
Blush’. It suffers
badly from rust
but I love its palest
pink, flat, quartered
blooms and delicate
scent. Decide too,
how much space
you have; there’s
no point in planting
a very vigorous
climber or rambling
rose, which could
reach 9 metres, on
a bungalow, or a
2-metre shrub rose in
a tiny garden.
Climbers are
particularly useful
in smaller gardens;
wherever ground
space is limited, go
upwards. Climbing
roses can be planted
on fences, house
walls, trellising,
over archways or
even tunnels. All
will add atmosphere
and character to
your garden along with glorious scent and colour. A
good shorter climber, reaching only about 2.5 metres, is
‘Parade’, with a nicely-shaped, deep pink flower; ‘Pink
Perpetué’ is also good.
Among larger climbers, ‘Ginger Syllabub’ is very striking,
with large, amber-pink blooms and good fragrance.
‘Clotted Cream’ also has large blooms with creamy-yellow
54 Brigg Matters
Brigg Matters 55