It’s Roses time!
I could easily fill this week’s blog with roses of all sizes shapes and colours but I will try to resist. Just a couple then! ‘Ghislaine de Feligonde’ is a short rambler which mingles on the trellis with Wisteria. Clusters of flowers open from deep apricot to almost white and are fully double. Not as thorny as some ramblers and easily contained. A good choice for a small garden I think.
The greeny, creamy Foxgloves mentioned last week turned out to be white! However, by a stroke of luck they are almost exactly the same colour as Rosa ‘The Pilgrim’ on the trellis behind.
The kind lady who follows my blog and offered to swap some of her violet Hesperis matronalis for some of my white ones arrived yesterday with a bucket of beauties! Thank you Gay, they are now planted and look amazing.
I collected over 800 self-sown Tradescantia seedlings from the Collection beds this year and, after many hours in the greenhouse and several bags of compost, they are all potted up. However, they grow very fast and in a few weeks they will all need potting on! Many of them will flower this year giving me the opportunity to select the best as potential new named hybrids.
The Sweet Peas are in full flower now and need picking every other day to keep them going. I love the old varieties like this ‘Painted Lady’, but the grandiflora types too. They all need a lot of watering and feeding to flower well but the rewards are definitely worth it. Their beauty and scent are the essence of a cottage garden in early summer.
And another rose to finish, I couldn’t resist! ‘Amber Queen’, one of my absolute favourites for the complexity and beauty of the flowers. It begins as orange/apricot becoming rich deep yellow when fully open. A Harkness rose, not David Austin, introduced in 1984 and possibly still the best of all the yellows.
Have a great weekend. We are off to Ashton-under-Hill village Open Gardens this afternoon if the weather holds. Thunderstorms are forecast for this evening and overnight but we do need the rain!
David
Davids Garden Diary 
Good morning David. That Amber Queen is a beauty. As always, enjoying your blog.
I love that rose, what a stunning colour. Gosh what a lot of seedlings you have, but a great project. My sweet peas are way behind this year, they haven’t liked the cold.
I love Ghislaine de Feligonde too, but mine isn’t in flower yet. I haven’t seen Amber Queen before, what a fabulous colour. Painted Lady is a delight. Enjoy your garden visiting.
Love the violet Hesperis 💜 Your Ghislaine de Feligonde’ is exquisite! 🌸💞
“The Pilgrim” and those foxgloves is a very happy accident, they’re a lovely combination.
The roses are gorgeous. Wish I could have them but they would be devoured by japanese beetles. Hesperis is considered invasive here, though I always liked it – reminds me of my grandmother.