Members  Musings. Personal visits to gardens and shows.
Ian and Lynn Lancaster

NORFOLK   GARDENS   2010

In July we decided to combine some sea air with visits to gardens, some recommended by RHS, and to National Trust properties. We booked a few days at Overstrand, near Cromer, with an overnight stay near King’s Lynn.

On the way we stopped off at Wisbech to visit Peckover House (NT). Wisbech Rose Fair, an annual event, had taken place from 30^th. June to 3^rd.July, during which the Peckover gardeners had given specialist rose talks.  We had missed this, but were in time to see some of the lovely roses in the gardens and to have a free guided tour.  Many of the varieties were older roses, so they had flowered earlier, but we could see that they had been floriferous. Paul’s Scarlet Climber, Blush Rambler, Blush Noisette, Crimson Shower, Dorothy Perkins and Minnehaha were still clothing some restored Victorian rose arches with their colourful blooms.  Savoy Hotel was prominent in the main rose garden with its lovely blooms, chosen because apparently the actual Savoy Hotel company had made a substantial donation towards the restoration of the gardens. Pot o’ Gold and Margaret Merrill were also here. Sombreuil, Adelaide d’Orléans, Francis E.Lester, and Phyllis Bide were other notable varieties among the sixty-odd roses to be found. Octavia Hill was an appropriate choice, as she was born and lived nearby and helped found the National Trust.  A plan of the roses was available. The Peckovers were a Quaker family who made their money from banking, like other Quaker families for example in Birmingham, in the days when people felt they could trust them with their money because of their simple faith and dedication to helping people worse off than themselves. (I will leave you to your own thoughts here in the light of recent events!)  The house gave a flavour of their life including their charitable activities in Wisbech, such as providing the Working Men’s Institute, which also gave educational opportunities to poorer people. The Georgian house dates back to 1777 and the gardens were increased to two acres after the owners acquired a neighbouring garden.  Staff were very friendly and welcoming and, like the gardeners and volunteers, obviously enjoyed their work at this very pleasant house and garden.

At King’s Lynn we had an enjoyable morning investigating this historic town with its Hanseatic connections as one of the most important ports in medieval times. The towns of the former Hanseastic League have now formed a modern association to forge links between them.  We were interested to note that a little garden had been constructed next to a very modern multi-storey car-park, complete with rose pagoda, which helped to link it to the older buildings with a floral theme.

In the afternoon we went on to Houghton Hall (RHS recommended), a Palladian mansion built to reflect the status of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first Prime Minister, its first occupier.  This provided a fascinating outlet for our historical and architectural interests. The five-acre walled garden recently won the HHA/Christies “Garden of the Year” award.  It is divided into “rooms”, including a double-sided herbaceous border, formal rose parterre with over 150 varieties of roses, kitchen garden, statues, fountains and glass-houses and is surrounded by a deer park.  It was quite a windy day, so the perfume of roses wafted towards us as we approached.  Beds of Iceberg formed a spectacular square around the rose parterre which had box-edged rose beds with a circular sunken garden in the centre surrounded by lavender bushes and a paved area with seating and potted hydrangeas.  There were wide arches with roses, clematis and sweet-peas and lilies and half-standard roses in the beds. The roses were not labelled, as a relaxed atmosphere was preferred by the owner, but we recognised Veilchenblau, Sally Holmes, Frau Dagma Hastrup, Roseraie de l’Haÿ, Ferdinand Pichard, Rosa Mundi, in the outer layer of the garden, where pentstemon, foxgloves, white hydrangeas and diascias were used as companion planting. There was also a beautiful wisteria pagoda.  After a very pleasant afternoon, we resumed our journey to the sea-side.

Our hotel overlooked the sea and had quite a few roses in its gardens, which were used to decorate the restaurant tables, a pleasing touch.  For our next outing we went to Mannington gardens (RHS recommended, but no longer offering free entry to RNRS members), noted for its roses.  “In the Heritage and Modern rose gardens are roses in areas with designs reflecting their date of origin from the fifteenth century to the present day” to quote their leaflet.  Peter Beales had helped with the design of these.  As we expected, we were rather late to see the gardens at their best and they had also been affected by the bad Winter, especially the modern roses, but we were able to appreciate the amount of bloom there had been, especially on the climbing roses. Minnehaha, Blush Rambler, Ethel, Chevy Chase, Ballerina, Sussex and Oxfordshire were all noteworthy, as was a beautiful Raubritter. We enjoyed sitting in the sensory garden with its views of the medieval moated manor house, a romantic setting for the gardens.  We were also reminded by one of the information boards that in ancient Rome a wild rose was placed at the door of a room where secret or confidential matters were being discussed, so that the term “sub rosa” means to keep a secret.

In the afternoon we went on to Blickling Hall (NT), a fine example of Jacobean architecture.  After a fascinating tour of the house (Anne Boleyn lived at the previous house on the site), we visited the lovely gardens with their parterres and double-bordered flower beds designed by Norah Lindsay. There were some good roses in the well-maintained mixed borders and the helpfulness of the staff was pleasing, as at our next NT house.

This was Felbrigg Hall, another very interesting Jacobean house, but quite different with its less consistent design.  Having noted that there was a flower festival on at the Church, we decided to visit that first, as it opened earlier. The subject was “Leading Ladies” and an interesting one it proved to be, celebrating the lives and work of fourteen famous women throughout history.  Each arrangement had its own interest with quotations from each person summarising their views and ideals.  I found the one for Edith Cavell, the daughter of a Norfolk vicar, who was executed in the First World War, particularly moving.  It was surmounted by red field poppies with a poppy wreath bordered in black underneath and surrounded by small arrangements of red and yellow bi-coloured roses, which were apparently Edith’s favourite flower. The whole display of arrangements was very thoughtful and thought-provoking.  I believe the same volunteers provided the beautiful floral arrangements in the House itself, another pleasing feature of both these NT properties.

The house showed what the owner had collected on his Grand Tour of Europe, which he, unlike some of his contemporaries, had taken as a serious opportunity to educate himself.  The “Rose Bedroom” had a suite and bed hangings covered in a rose pattern.  We were told that a firm called Turnbull’s had carefully copied the original design, which was badly faded, and that the material is now also commercially available.

In the afternoon we went into the delightful walled garden which was an imaginative project with beautiful herbaceous borders, again with roses, fruit trees, herbs, vegetables (used in the restaurant), a dovecote and also allotments, which local people had applied for and been allocated.  This is a scheme which the NT is finding to be mutually beneficial at some of their walled gardens. We liked the way children were involved and were encouraged to write about their enjoyment of gardening.

Certainly Norfolk has gardens to be proud of.       

                                                                                  Lynn Lancaster

Thank you Lynn for your interesting report.  I too spent a few days in Norfolk and visited Houghton Hall and Felbrigg Hall and agree with all your comments.  We also visited Sandringham where I was most disappointed with the gardens as many of them were just lawns with a small display of plants in each corner and in the centre,  but the mature trees there were beautiful and well worth looking at.

On our way back we called at Bressingham Gardens where a little steam train will take you round the estate.  There is also a very interesting display featuring the Dad’s Army personnel and props from the TV series, which was filmed in nearby Diss.   I enjoyed seeing Jones Butchers Shop and the Bank.  Another thing there was an old fashioned musical Carousel with painted wooden horses which many of the party went on.  Another place we visited was the Norfolk Lavender Farm with 100 different varieties of lavender and a herb garden with over 50 different types of herbs.

Norfolk Lavender also have a Rare Breeds Animal Centre and Meadow Gardens.   Well worth a visit.            

                                                                                                   Jean

WINTERBOURNE  BOTANIC  GARDENS  2010

On Father’s Day in June the Society was represented at Winterbourne’s Garden Day by our vice-chairman, John Windsor, assisted by Ian and Lynn Lancaster. It was a sunny, if slightly windy, day and John provided and set up a lovely display of his roses, including some highly-scented and attractively-coloured varieties. His Warm Welcome, Rosarium Uetersen, Westerland, Graham Thomas and Irresistible specimens were all commented on and admired. He also displayed single roses in picture frames to show the sort of exhibits we use to encourage entries at our shows. This too attracted interest, not least from members of the Birmingham Fuschia society, who wondered if they could adopt the idea.

As usual the Winterbourne staff had worked hard to erect all the stands on the house lawn and to create a convivial atmosphere with refreshments and musical entertainment. We were very interested to see all the changes and developments that have taken place and to have these explained by Alison, who is now fully in charge of the department, and Lee, who is now the garden and house curator. The Edwardian Arts and Crafts house has been renovated and is now the catering department and the centre for Adult Education courses in gardening and arts and crafts, many of which were represented on the various stalls. The house can be booked for weddings, parties and conferences. A new café has been provided and serves light lunches and teas daily. The ground floor of the house has been developed as an interactive display of the Edwardian life of the Nettlefold family. There is a children’s room with dressing-up clothes and wooden toys of the era and school visits can be arranged with suitable activities.

The gardens have continued to be developed and are well maintained. Changes have had to take place in the walled rose garden because of the age of some of the roses. Some have been removed and others moved into fresh ground created by moving the grass paths, so that the ‘adopt a rose’ scheme can be continued. Mixed planting has been introduced to give greater all-year interest and obelisks provided to give height.

With competition from other events on the day (not to mention the football), visitor numbers were not huge, but interest was genuine and we felt we had spent a worthwhile and enjoyable day in most attractive surroundings. For full details about the house, gardens, events and courses, opening times and charges, please visit their website at www.winterbourne.org.uk where there are some delightful photos to view.

COUGHTON  COURT  GARDENS

Coughton Court gardens were, as usual, very attractive when we visited the Rose Week, which this year was a low-key event.

It was interesting to note that their designer, Christina Williams, won a gold medal and Best in Show for her courtyard garden at Chelsea this year.

                                                                    Lynn and Ian Lancaster

Roses in May 2010

This year we decided to visit Italy and Switzerland for our May holiday via some scenic rail journeys. We had wanted to visit Milan and Pavia, in particular the Certosa di Pavia, since attending a history course a while back, so of course we wanted to find any rose gardens to see while we were there. Accordingly Ian e-mailed the Tourist Office in Monza, who told us where their rose gardens were and how to get in touch with the Italian Rose Association for opening times. They also sent us a lot of useful information on the area, including a map of the enormous park which surrounds the Villa Reale, which Empress Maria Theresa of Austria had built for one of her sons and where the rose garden is situated. The famous car race track is also part of this park. The Rose Association invited us to meet them on May 22^nd, when the results of their trials would be available and their members would be doing their first session of judging for 2011. Their secretary, Luciana Lupi Timini, was kind enough to send details of buses from Monza station. We also decided to include Geneva on our trip, though we knew the roses there would flower later on.

We first flew to Zurich, since the volcanic ash allowed us to, from where we had a scenic train ride to Lake Como, staying in Como to have a relaxing start to our holiday. They had just had the most rain for years which had caused the lake to flood and damage the promenade. Fortunately the weather improved on our arrival, so we were able to enjoy our time there and see some roses in gardens near the lake. Como, like Lyon, is a silk-weaving town, of interest to me since some of my ancestors were silk ribbon weavers. However we were to have a pleasant surprise on our last day there, as we decided to have a short boat trip to visit places close by.

Accordingly we disembarked at Cernobbio on May 16^th, to explore the village, not in the hope of seeing George Clooney in the expensive café at the edge of the lake, nor to take tea at the even more expensive hotel in order to see the famous gardens of the Villa d’Este. Calling at the tourist office we learned of a garden, set in the valley, open always to everybody. “Il Giardino della Valle” had been created in the early 1980s as a result of the efforts of a remarkable lady, who had the vision of turning an unsightly illegal rubbish dump into a beautiful garden. She had succeeded in persuading the local council to allow her to fulfil this aim and is still working in the community garden all these years later, despite being well into her 80s and despite the difficult, steep nature of the site. The garden is now in a trust, so money can be raised through its supporters. It so happened that, on the day we arrived, the gardens were to be the venue for a rose event sponsored by the Italian horticultural society, Ortofloricola Comense. We first met a young man who explained that he was helping the lady who was responsible for the garden, at which point Pupa Frati herself appeared and we were proudly introduced to her. We explained that we were rose society members and would like to know about the event, as fortunately she spoke English. She was so pleased at our interest that she invited us to return to take part later in the afternoon. She explained that the idea was to encourage people to bring along their roses to an informal competition. There would also be a talk by a rose expert from a nearby nursery. This was to stimulate interest in roses and to encourage people to grow them. She rather feared that not many would turn up, as their roses, like ours, had been delayed by the weather. The roses would be put out on tables and, after the talk, would be judged, with those present, both experts and members of the public, casting a vote for either the most perfumed or the best rose in the competition. We later learned that this had taken place for the last 7 years, so it was an established event. A small buffet would complete the evening to which we were invited. How could we refuse such an offer from a delightful and dedicated lady!

We duly returned, after a pleasant tour of the gardens and village with its historic churches, to be greeted by Pupa Frati, who had had her afternoon nap, which she confessed to needing these days after her gardening sessions. Quite a crowd of people arrived with their roses and quickly placed them, each pot with a number, in neat rows on the tables. The talk was about the development of roses and we were able to get the gist of the Italian because of our knowledge of the subject matter. Among the potted roses the lady had brought were Molineux, Rose à la parfum de l’Haÿ, Louis de Funès and Manou Meilland. We sat next to a man who spoke excellent English because he had worked internationally, and he helped explain the background to the event. We were also introduced to the lady who was giving the talk, who in turn invited us to visit her nursery, “Il Faggio” (beech-tree) which was in the neighbouring village of Tavernola. (Unfortunately we would be moving on, so didn’t have time to do so, but we have since looked at her web-site which has some lovely pictures: www.ilfaggiovivai.com.it). We then had time to view and sniff all the roses and fill in the voting slips we had been given. It so happened that we both voted for the winner of each section. The charm and apparent spontaneity of this event is perhaps something we in England could learn from, if we wish to encourage the general public to take an interest in roses, as informal discussion of the merits and characteristics of roses in a social atmosphere is a good way to learn more about them, possibly also to help encourage new members? (Pictures are on www.ortofloricola.it).

Our next destination was Milan, where we found plenty to satisfy our historical, architectural and football interests. It was the week of the European Cup Final, and hundreds of flag-waving Inter Milan supporters descended on the city to watch the match on the big screen in the Cathedral Square. We preferred the one in the Hotel bar, where we shared the excitement of the barman, who intended to have a tattoo on his arm if they won. Amazing how football, like roses, is an international language! There was also a special display of models of football stadia in a town-centre shop, because a second world-class stadium for Milan was being considered. Other shop-visiting was restricted to window-gazing, as the fashions were more in the footballers’ wives’ price-range! We enjoyed the museums we visited and also our train trip to Pavia. Here we successfully found the bus and the long walk to the monastery, noting that the monks’ cloister was surrounded with beautiful rose bushes.

On the Saturday we duly caught the train to Monza to meet the members of the Italian Rose Association, as arranged. A kindly Italian lady took us under her wing and helped us find the bus and told us where to get off. The rose garden is dedicated to Niso Fumagalli, who founded the Italian Rose Association in 1963 and then went on to create the gardens in the grounds of the Royal palace, which were named after him in 1992 by the Town Council of Monza who own them. The World Federation had given the “Award of Garden Excellence” in 2003.We were met by Luciana, who introduced us to other members of the society. We were given a copy of the trial results and names of the rose-breeders and judges. We noticed that Ken Grapes and Gerda and Mike Roberts had been the British judges. Winners were HT Crazy Fashion (NIRP crazy)- most perfumed, HT class-a yellow rose by Kordes, Floribunda MEImardies by Richardier for Meilland, which also won the park roses category, and a magenta climber Maritim by Tantau won the shrub, climber, ground-cover and miniature class. Chris Warner had entered a purple climber in this class, Chewpurplex, which was sadly not doing as well as some of his other roses, such as Alibaba and High Hopes, but Ian and I felt that the winner was the best of all the new roses, so the standard was high. Members of the public were being asked to vote for next year’s “people’s choice”, so we did participate in that. We spent an enjoyable morning looking at and photographing the many beautiful roses before partaking of the champagne buffet which was provided for members and guests. All the roses were exceptionally healthy in this advantageous setting and the gardens were very well cared for. Roses we noted as standing out on the day were Teasing Georgia, Sahara, Yellow Look, Blaze, Beautiful Sunrise, Crépuscule, Sombreuil, Chartreuse de Parme, Sally Holmes, Fandango, Sceptred I|sle and Jude the Obscure. A section of the garden was dedicated to a “Rose Hall of Fame” with among others  New Dawn, Queen Elizabeth, Ingrid Bergman, Peace, Iceberg, Double Delight, Pascali, Fragrant Cloud, Elina, Just Joey, Graham Thomas and our favourite Papa Meilland looking good. The garden was at its peak, although we were told the roses had come into flower later, as with us, and we had a very enjoyable time. We managed with some difficulty to negotiate the bus back to the station and travelled back to Milan with the aforementioned Inter Milan supporters, which made for a lively, though well-natured, journey.

Next day we set off for Geneva, where, as expected, the roses were only just beginning to come into flower and the judging would not be taking place till later in June. We walked along the Gustave-Ador promenade where there is a succession of single-species rose beds, all looking exceptionally healthy, which would be an absolute delight when fully in flower. However one bed of yellow roses suddenly shone out at us – Colin Dickson’s Bright Smile gave us pleasure to see. Unfortunately when we arrived at the Parc de la Grange we were unable to get close to the rose-beds, as a notice informed us the grass between the beds was being replaced following an invasion of “hannetons”. (We were later amused to see the chocolate shop in town selling huge chocolate versions of these insects, which we found out to be cockchafers or maybugs.) However there were some roses in flower and we were able to visit the trial grounds, though few flowers were to be seen there. The trials are of course run by the Horticultural Society of Geneva, which was founded in 1855. Maintenance of the parks and gardens is by the Department of Environment and Green Spaces of the town. We were unable to obtain a copy of their brochure on roses, but we did learn that they aim to reduce the use of chemicals to a minimum, including on their roses, as you would especially expect in Geneva. The next day we caught the bus to the Botanic gardens, on the opposite side of the lake. (Tourists staying in Geneva are given a free transport pass for all buses, trams and local boats.) We headed for the historic roses section and found the older roses in flower, notably Annade Dieshach, a seedling of La Reine, John Hopper and various rugosas, notably Agnès. In the scented garden were Yves Piaget, Papa Meilland, Sutter’s Gold, Fragrant Cloud, Whisky Mac and Elizabeth of Glamis. This part of the park was laid out in a very accessible way. We had a relaxing time in Geneva, but it was all too soon time to catch the train to the airport for our journey home to our own roses.                                                         Lynn Lancaster

LE  ROEULX,  BELGIUM  2009

At Belfast we met Catherine Beumier-Dupont, who invited us to be part of the judging panel for the trials at Le Roeulx in the Belgian province of Hainaut, along with Jim Hunter from Glasgow. As we had very much enjoyed the company of Catherine and her husband, Philippe, and knowing we could again use Eurostar and the local train services, we decided to seize the opportunity and to visit Brussels at the same time.

Catherine booked us in at a hotel in La Louvière along with other judges and very kindly met us at the station despite being very busy. In the evening we attended a rustic supper at the Cultural Centre in Le Roeulx. En route Philippe did a detour to show us the hydraulic boat lift on the canal, which has been listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. We were made to feel very welcome and enjoyed this relaxed meal and our introduction to the local beer, St. Feuillon, which is very strong. We met up with Jim Hunter, who had arrived earlier in the week and had also been made thoroughly welcome. He made a presentation and a short speech, some of it in French, as he had as a young man worked on the gardens at the Commonwealth war cemeteries in France. (He had been asked to make a report on their current condition on his drive back to Scotland.)

Next morning we assembled at the gardens for coffee and a snack before beginning the task of judging the 54 roses from seventeen breeders in seven countries. The roses were laid out in square beds, one per rose variety, and with several plants of each. The plots were numbered, but had no other identifying feature, including no classification of type, except for two climbing roses which were being judged over three years, the rest being over two. The President of the permanent jury, M. Claustriaux, explained the criteria, the marks being divided up into 5 for the flower and 5 for the bush as a whole, with a separate mark of up to 10 for perfume, though this only counted if the previous two scores were good, as there was no point in a bush having a good perfume, if it was not healthy. Results would be announced at the meal in the Chateau Orangerie.

We thoroughly enjoyed judging the roses, during the course of which we met other judges whose company we had enjoyed on previous visits to Belfast. Japan was represented by a delightful lady who is the cultural attaché at their embassy in Paris. We reassembled for a glass or two of champagne and a ham roll at the centre before walking via the attractive main road of the town with its lovely old buildings and the gardens of Notaire Debouche to the Chateau, where we were welcomed by the Prince and Princess Olivier de Croÿ Roeulx for the baptism of the rose Laurent Nicolas, and another glass of champagne. We were given a specially-produced English translation of the description of this rose, as follows,

“This new hybrid musk was produced by Ann Velle-Boudolf of Lens Roses (Y 985). It is dedicated to Laurent Nicolas Neels for his outstanding services to the queen of flowers during more than thirty-five years. The rose is reddish pink and opens itself completely showing its beautiful yellow stamens. Pretty large flower size: 8-9 centimetres diameter. It flowers profusely in large clusters from 3/5 to 12 flowers. The shrub can reach a height of 120 centimetres, is disease-free and winter hard. The foliage is medium green and semi-glossy. It can be used for hedges or as a shrub between other plants.” It certainly is striking.

We also had time to walk around the delightful gardens, before entering the large Orangerie for the formal meal at one p.m. Three long rows of tables stretched the long width of the building with named seating for about 150 people. A lady who spoke excellent English told Ian she had read our articles from the previous newsletter on the Internet and introduced us to two of the organisers of the event in Avignon. Lynn was seated next to Baron de Dorlodot, who is the Secretary-general of the Royal Association of Historic Houses and Gardens of Belgium. It was interesting to hear his views on the future course of such gardens. He explained that the meal was cooked and served by students from the catering college. We were very well looked after by other English-speaking guests who had been seated near to us and enjoyed sharing a love of roses with them.

During the course of the meal, which was again accompanied by the local beer, Ian was asked to sign the certificates for the trials winners as he had been given the honour of being appointed President of the International Judging Panel for the event. It became clear that he would be asked to make a speech and present the awards. Fortunately those present realised that this would have to be in English. He expressed his pride at being asked to do so and his hopes that more English representatives would come in future and especially that they would enter their roses for the trials. These sentiments seemed to have been welcomed, and we certainly felt they were pleased to have us there. I thought how proud my Dad would have been that Ian had been given this great honour, since it was he who had encouraged his interest in roses. (It was later that I realised that coincidentally it was the centenary of my Dad’s birth!) Ian then had the pleasant task of presenting awards and certificates and in each case holding aloft a flowering cutting of the rose, which the receiver then paraded down the rows of guests for them to see. The meal was completed with the parading and serving of the sweet course, by which time it was five o’clock. We were then once again kindly given a lift back to our hotel. We followed this very pleasant event with three days of sightseeing in Brussels, which we also thoroughly enjoyed.

Results of the trials

1 Ground cover rose - Certificate of Merit for a Delbard rose (02.4470.201)

2 Miniature rose -       Certificate of Merit for a Poulsen rose, Poulcot 011 (Rift)

3 Cluster-flowered roses - Gold Medal for a Vissers rose Midsummer Snow,

                                           Silver Medal for a Delbard rose (02.4270.101)

               Certificates of Merit for Pink Blanket by Spek and Meilonpias by Richardier

4 Park Roses-          Gold Medal for Meilathery by Alain Meilland,

                                Silver Medal for Y1027 by Lens

                Certificate of Merit for Hagruco by Van de Pasch

5 Single stem roses- Gold Medal for Meilapiazal by Richardier

                                 Silver Medal for Meilampario by Alain Meilland

                Certificates of Merit for Korzigaho by Kordes and Meikerira by Richardier

6 Perfume Prize- Meilapiazal by Richardier (see also above )

                                                                                  Lynn Lancaster

TRAVELS  IN  FRANCE  WITH  ROSES  2009, part two

We returned to France in June, as fellow rosarian John Baxter suggested he would drive us to Paris in July to visit the Bagatelle rose gardens and the Roseraie du Val de Marne, formerly known as Roseraie de l’Haÿ, with a view to going on to other gardens.

After a tour of John’s own rose garden, we set off for the Channel tunnel and on to Paris. Here John’s driving expertise was fully tested, as a thunderstorm caused the traffic to be even more chaotic than we expected. Luckily John had stayed before at the hotel where he had booked us in for three nights, handily situated at the junction of Rue de Seine and Boulevard St. Germaine, and knew where he could find a car-park. The bar next to the hotel rustled us up omelettes and chips for a later-than-anticipated meal, and this and a glass of wine enabled us to recuperate.

Next morning we set off for a leisurely stroll round the neighbourhood, beginning with the peaceful Luxembourg gardens, where there were a few roses, on past the Panthéon and the Sorbonne University to the Musée de Cluny where the Avignon pope’s golden rose is housed. Here we visited the gardens laid out for the Millennium so that people can sit and relax in peaceful surroundings right in the heart of the city. Their theme is medieval, a series of enclosed gardens, to fit in with the museum, so they are full of symbolism, much of it of course involving roses, with roses such as  Félicité et Perpétue. Display panels explain the significance. We also managed to go into Notre Dame Cathedral where we could admire the rose windows. Outside were some beds of roses. We later saw pot roses on sale at a shop near our hotel at 35 euros, with a Pierre de Ronsard at 75 euros. [In Avignon they were selling the roses at 20 euros as a show offer.]

Day two saw us heading off down the Champs Elysées, round the Arc de Triomphe to the rose gardens of Bagatelle, the day after the trials judging. We were thus able to view the winners of this year’s trials, among them Apricot Drift and Jazz, and also to gain a foretaste of next year’s entries. Having spent the morning enjoying and photographing the formal rose gardens, with roses such as Ferdy, Lupo, Pride of England, Nozomi and Leonardo da Vinci taking our eye among many others, we went for a full-blown lunch, including wine, at the Orangery restaurant. Here we chatted to an Australian couple on the next table and were soon into a long conversation about roses. John was even able to tell them where in Adelaide they could obtain the roses they wanted, as he had visited there, and e-mail addresses were exchanged! We next went into an exhibition about Charles Darwin in the Pavilion, with an associated garden outside. John then took us off to an informal area where ground-cover roses and shrub roses were to be seen. Those for 2010 judging were very healthy and floriferous, with some highly scented, an interesting prospect for next year’s judges.

Our next port of call was to be the Roseraie du Val de Marne, which was not so easy to find. Our efforts were richly rewarded as we were completely overwhelmed with the standard and number of the roses there. Wide arches covered with blooms straddled the paths and led to the central dome of trelliswork. We took numerous photos and I can only refer readers to the website to get a flavour of the scene. The gardens were created by Jules Gravereaux, who began his collection in 1894. They were to become part of the social scene, where he played host to the celebrities of the day, and they are now listed as a heritage site. A grant has apparently been obtained for the restoration of the trellises in the Autumn of this year. Today there are 3,300 different species and varieties, wild and cultivated, ancient and modern, from all over the world; a total of 16,000 rosebushes in 13 separate collections. Among these we noted Mme. F W Flight, Ferdy, Ethel, Botticelli, and, Len will be pleased to hear, Pretty Lady. We were charged a mere 1 euro 50 per person to go in, which also would have allowed us to stay for a free evening concert, if we had had time. It is also worth visiting the website for cultivation techniques, since only roses have been grown there for so many years. As the café was closed, we visited a nearby patisserie for quiches and cakes for our lunch before resuming our journey to Orléans.

Having been deceived once more by the lack of signs, we suddenly found ourselves in the main square in Orléans being greeted by a large statue of Joan of Arc on horseback. We quickly followed a brown hotel sign and, with this inadvertent stroke of luck, ended up at a hotel with very welcoming and helpful staff. We were shown to two large rooms, given helpful directions about where restaurants were situated, how we could get to the park next day and other useful information. John was taken to the hotel’s underground car park where the car would be safely looked after. We had time to walk around, visit the famous Cathedral and obtain a very refreshing drink at a small café, since it was a very hot evening. We then discovered a superb restaurant with an attached wine shop for our evening meal.

The next morning we were off to the Parc Floral de la Source, just outside Orléans, for our third rosy treat. The park itself opened in 1963, part of an ambitious project of urbanisation initiated by the City of Orléans and the Regional Council. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000 and is designed to be very family-friendly. Books, magazines and games can be borrowed for use. Schoolchildren had made models for display, and there were small areas where people could sit and relax, some to read, others to paint, for example, and small tables and chairs were provided for picnics. At the centre of the park, the source of the Loiret River emerges. The park is run on environmentally-friendly lines and this means that the rose garden is organically managed. It is called the Roseraie du Miroir and was created in 2000 by Eric Ossart and Arnaud Maurière, landscape designers, who had also designed the gardens at Cluny in Paris. The garden wraps itself around the mirror pool. The main pathways are punctuated by a series of pergolas where roses and clematis climb. The roses are displayed in association with perennials and herbs. There is a long circular bench from which there is a lovely view overlooking the château and its “embroidered” garden.

Our fourth garden is at the heart of the French rose production area, Doué la Fontaine, in the heart of the Loire Valley. We first arrived at Saumur, where John had in mind a hotel at the side of the River Loire. It was right across the river from the romantic château. We opted for a room with a view of the château and actually sat up to watch it floodlit after dark, along with other historic buildings all along the opposite riverbank. As it was a Sunday evening, we at first found it difficult to find a place to eat, having crossed the river and walked up to the castle, where we found the restaurant closed. Then we spotted a family-run crêperie which provided us with an excellent meal, sitting outside on this occasion. 

We set off next morning to find the rose gardens. Opened to the public in May 1999, Les Chemins de la Rose is a 4 hectare landscaped floral park, created so that the public can view roses in a natural setting. The park is planted with more than 1,300 varieties of botanical, old and modern roses. In all there are more than 13,000 rose bushes. Trees, shrubs, perennials and clematis accompany the collection. Display boards give information on the roses and all types of rose products are available in the shop, where we were also able to have a cup of coffee on the terrace. This was to be yet another few relaxing hours surrounded by our favourite flower. Even the peacocks seemed to be completely at home in their perfumed surroundings.

Our final stop was in a hotel on the outskirts of Rouen, with rose beds in its grounds. It was then time to make our way back to the Eurotunnel for the crossing home. This was not to pass off without incident. At a service station, John decided to return to his car for a short snooze, while Ian and I had a coffee. When we emerged, we became aware that a group of gendarmes, complete with weapons and armoured vehicles, were stationed near to the car, one with a sub-machine gun pointed in John’s direction. Close scrutiny of our actions followed, as we opened the car boot to put something inside, got into the car and drove off. We realised that we had inadvertently parked in the lorry section of the parking area and that several lorries had also arrived. It was such a surreal situation that we had to laugh once we were clear of the service station. We returned to England without difficulty and, on arrival at Northampton, were treated to a tour of John’s friends’ roses. A pleasant finale to a lovely holiday!

Each of the gardens we had visited had its own attraction and they were all totally different in design. We recommend that members visit the four websites for further information and pictures.

www.jardins.paris.fr          www.roseraieduvaldemarne.com 

www.parcfloraldelasource.com       www.cheminsdelarose.fr

                                                                                  Lynn Lancaster

TRAVELS  IN  FRANCE  WITH  ROSES, 2009, Part one

When deciding on a holiday destination for this year, we discovered that there was a Rose festival at Avignon in May which we could again reach via Eurostar and TGV. I had always wanted to visit the Roman theatre at Orange and the Roman amphitheatre at Nimes, and Ian was keen to take me to see the Popes’ Palace at Avignon, so this followed on well from last year’s trip to Lyon from both an historical and floral point of view.

As the weather turned out to be the hottest May for forty-five years in Vaucluse, we were anxious to see the roses at the earliest moment, not knowing what to expect. The Tourist Office staff were most helpful and quite excited to think we had travelled from England to see the roses, as they hoped to attract more English people. They took details of the RNRS.

The roses were all in large pots in a spiral formation in the Palace’s main courtyard, several pots of each variety. Round the edge of the cloisters were the producers’ stands and one for the French Rose Society. Monique Laperrière, its secretary, was most welcoming and was pleased to hear we knew Ann Bird. She also said how much she had respected Harry Wheatcroft, whom she had visited in Nottingham many years ago. I shall leave the description of the roses to Ian, later in this article.

This year there was also a display of clematis by Arnaud Travers, a French breeder who links with Raymond Evison. We had a very pleasant chat with him. He gave a talk and Powerpoint presentation in the afternoon which we found very clear and interesting, despite its being in French. We also met François Felix of Edirose, who is the French agent for Tantau and Harkness, and who was equally friendly and informative.

The Lions club had organised a Fragrance competition, but, because of the theme of visual disability, black glasses were provided, so that you concentrated on the scent of the roses alone. The lady then said, “Try it without and you will find you make a different choice.” This was indeed the case – we each chose the same two, but the opposite way round each time! They had also provided a quiet room in the palace where you could relax with your eyes closed and listen to readings or music. During the morning Ian was interviewed by the local radio, as a token English person!

As part of the event, children and adults could make floral arrangements and posies of roses. It was lovely to see the pride on the children’s faces as they presented their offerings to their mothers, as it was around the time of the continental Mother’s Day. There was also a Rose Café with delightfully decorated Perspex tables and chairs where meals and snacks were served. We took full advantage of that at lunch-time.

We visited the palace itself on another day and were therefore able to see the roses again. It was interesting to learn that the Pope would present a golden rose to favoured guests, usually royal ones, and that this is still to be found at the medieval museum in Paris. The important symbol of the rose was to be found on the medieval wall-hangings. Medieval-style temporary gardens were set out on the square beside the Popes’ palace for the duration of the show.

From the local press we learned that 700 of the rose plants were to be given to local primary schools to be planted in their grounds by the pupils in order to mark the 700th. anniversary of the arrival of the Popes. Those with insufficient grounds were to plant theirs in the little park near the Tourist information centre. Hence we later witnessed the arrival there of excited small children dressed in medieval costumes, the event to be followed by a medieval-style school lunch.

It was interesting to see how the local and regional councils recognised the value of promoting roses and the local wine in the context of the old buildings which they have in their care. They are promoting public- private partnership in order to restore other buildings in the town. This also involves training people in the skills required and promoting tourism, whilst at the same time involving the local public and especially young people and increasing their awareness of their heritage. The hotel we stayed in was a former nunnery which had been carefully restored and converted and the palace itself is used as a conference venue. It was good to learn that Avignon Tourism recognised the obligation to be aware of the needs of those with disabilities, and that that was part of the Rose trade’s interest in breeding for perfume as well as health. A delightful touch was that pots of roses were also to be found around the shopping centre at the entrance to some of the shops, apparently throughout the season.

If you are interested in finding out more, visit www.alterarosa.com www.clematite.net or the websites of the French rose-growers- well worth the effort.

                                                                        Lynn Lancaster

NEW  ROSES  AT  ALTERAROSA,  MAY 2009

Thirty-two rose varieties were launched onto the French market in the central courtyard of the huge Palais des Popes at Avignon, May 21 to 24, 2009, Ascension holiday week-end. There were many cultivars on show of each variety entered. This was the fifth annual Alterarosa, coinciding this year with the celebration of the 700th. anniversary of Popes becoming resident at Avignon rather than Rome, i.e. at  Altera Roma, the other Rome. The festival is sponsored by Avignon Tourism in partnership with Jardiland, France's largest chain of garden centres, and it also involved the Lions’ Club City des Papes, who were raising awareness of sight disabilities and Retina France, an organisation for research into eye disease. We hadn’t realised this until we arrived.

Some of the roses being launched were already available on British, German and American markets, but were appearing complete with new French synonyms; others were launched in France either in 2008 or 2009.

All members of the public visiting the fete are encouraged to enter for Le Prix du Public, the winning rose being announced each year at the conclusion of the fete. About 25,000 people were expected to visit the show, and 8,024 people recorded a vote.

Time does not permit us to describe all thirty- two roses, but mentioned below are the ones the Avignon visitors liked, and those we felt an interest in. There was never much doubt about which rose was going to win this year. Meilland International was using the fete to launch a large-flowered many-petalled pink variety with an extremely strong scent. They were clearly confident of a win, naming the variety Altera Rosa. The rose was on sale, with 10% of the takings being donated to Retina France. The organisers of the fete were keen to welcome blind and partially sighted people to the show and to raise awareness that, with an ageing population, more people would be diagnosed with eye problems in the future. Altera Rosa won 881 votes and also came first in the scented rose competition.

Lynn and I liked the variety Altera Rosa and both of us had independently made it our second choice. Our first choice was Valchlea, a French floribunda bred by Dominique Massad. This variety was floriferous, with double flowers, yellow ageing to cream, and a strong, fruity fragrance with a height of up to 80 cm.  It is being launched in 2009 in Belgium by Petales de Roses. Our votes were out of line with the Avignon public, as it came 13th. I liked both the overall public second and third choices: Terre du Feu, a striking apricot hybrid tea being launched by Francois Dorieux; and Good Morning, bred by Laperrière, a very striking, many-petalled orange floribunda. One called Music Hall, a Tantau rose introduced by Edirose, was also attracting attention. François Felix told us that it helped to sell roses in a series, for example this one was in a series called Années Folles, and the other series he was marketing here was Les Cyclades, which were ground-cover roses, namely Mykonos, Naxos, Xaros and Amorgos.

He was also introducing the only British rose on show. It was being launched in France as Don Quichotte. We know this as Easy-going, launched over ten years ago in England by Harkness. It is an amber sport of Fellowship. Prima Vera were launching Purple Eden, a purple floribunda with a spicy scent, onto the French market. This was originally launched in 2006 in America by Tom Carruth of Weeks’ roses, known there as Ebbtide. It got a high mark, and caused lots of discussion, but Lynn and I were concerned at some black spot and dieback.

It was certainly interesting to have an insight into the French marketing process, as part of a wonderful holiday. If you are interested in the results, plus pictures of the roses, you can find them on www.alterarosa.com

Rose gardens in 2007

This year our visits were to some extent limited by the rain and floods. In addition to the trips described elsewhere, Ian and I went on two outings with the local National Trust, one to Deene Park in Northamptonshire, which we found very interesting, but unfortunately, just when we were due to visit the gardens, torrential rain prevented us from doing so, and we had to be content with what we saw from the windows. The courtyard however had some lovely old climbing roses which gave a romantic air to the place. The second was to Waddeston Manor, the Rothschild home, where, after a tour of the house, Ian and I headed straight for the rose gardens. Here the rain had again taken its toll, but we had an enjoyable time looking round the garden, which was replanted in 2000 with roses chosen for their scent and perpetual display. It is always interesting to exchange comments with other visitors, which we were once again able to do. The newest rose was Miss Alice among many other David Austin varieties. Gertrude Jekyll and Crown Princess Margareta stood out best with Janet, Windrush, Crocus Rose and Tuscany also good under the conditions.

We also visited two gardens under the National Gardens Scheme. The first was in South Warwickshire, Ilmington Manor, home of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, which boasts hundreds of old and new roses. We also enjoyed the roses growing up the walls of various cottages as we walked round this lovely village, a favourite of ours with its delightful and interesting church, which is where Chris Warner’s father was once the vicar, as Chris later told us. We also had a chat with a gentleman who had come out into his garden to cut his hedge, just as we were passing by, who, after discussing roses and gardens, told us a lot about the village’s history. Apparently he had taught at a junior school in Birmingham and used to bring his class on a trip to the village to give them a taste of country life. He told us about the small Roman Catholic church which had been created out of the old school and which has a Pugin window. The local gentry had worshipped secretly in a room in a house and had always remained Catholics, so the tradition was there throughout. We found the little church a hidden delight. This highlights how a love of roses can lead to so many other discoveries.

The second NGS garden was one which had opened for the first time under the scheme, Latimer’s Rest, the home of Gerald and Christine Leedham at Baxterley, near Atherstone. We were attracted by the comment in the brochure “Brilliant Austin roses star in 2 acres of lush lawns.” We were not disappointed. Almost fifty standard roses lined the lawn, with Golden Celebrations alternating with one of our old favourites Trumpeter. Other notable roses were Crown Princess Margareta, L.D.Braithwaite, Sunset Boulevard, William Shakespeare 2000, Winchester Cathedral, Rosa Mundi, Tuscany Superb, Twice in a Blue Moon, Sexy Rexy and the beautifully-perfumed Belle Epoque. We were able to chat to the gardener, who told us he hard-pruned and summer-pruned the roses, despite Michael Marriot’s advice to the contrary. As I do the same, I was particularly interested to hear this, as the results were stunning! Our own Graham Thomas has done particularly well under this regime this year. Christine also broke off from making tea and serving cakes to walk round the garden with us and discuss her roses in detail. She said she would be willing to do an evening opening for us as a group with sufficient numbers should we wish it, as they can floodlight the garden! Other nearby gardens were also open, but our fascination with the roses meant we did not have time to visit these- perhaps next year, as a friend of mine said they are well worth it.

Another garden we visited this year was Wollerton Old Hall near Market Drayton in Shropshire. Jean Coleman has also recommended this, but as it only opens on Fridays, Sundays and Bank Holidays, we had not managed to go before. This also opens for NGS on occasions and for pre-booked groups of over 25. They also do special events and lectures in addition to normal openings. It is a must for garden lovers. John and Lesley Jenkins began the garden in its present form in 1984, although a much older garden had existed around the 16th century house. The gardens are laid out in a formal way near the house, but become less so as they merge into the countryside. Among the 19 listed areas are two rose gardens, one under-planted with herbaceous and ground-cover plants and the other a deep border, either side of a path, planted with many varieties of David Austin roses and old roses. They were in excellent condition. It is impossible to do justice to this lovely garden in a short space.

My next garden is our very own Gardens of the Rose at St. Albans.

Some members will of course have much more experience of these than I, but, having seen them briefly at the AGM, I was able to take a closer look on 26th. June, while Ian was at a judging session. As we are aware, the paving and structures are looking good and much work has been done with the planting. The roses have now been labelled with numbers and a list of all the roses with their locations is available at the entrance kiosk, price £2. This is where I feel I have to make some criticism. I am not convinced that members of the general public will be impressed by having to pay an additional fee for this, especially those on group visits, and members may well feel that they ought to receive this information as part of their membership package. When you have the list it is very time-consuming and at times irritating to match up the rose to the name on the sheet. One man I was chatting to was on a return visit and had come prepared by having separated each sheet of his list out and put each page into a file with transparent plastic sheets to avoid getting the sheets wet if it rained, as he had struggled on his previous visit. However, it was good to see the roses in flower, despite some apparent gaps, and I had great pleasure in walking round, ticking off on my list the ones which stood out with bloom and health. As I had a list, I found people were coming up to me to ask for information, so it was enjoyable to inter-act with people and hear about their favourite roses and views on gardens in general. I also met people who shared with me their sheer love of roses. It is this shared pleasure which I find the most delightful aspect of visiting gardens. It is also why I enjoy helping on the stand at the NEC and even dead-heading the roses in our front garden!

The roses which stood out were the ones we would expect to do well - Sally Holmes and Colin Dickson’s new one Desert Island were the first to take my eye. Ballerina, Marjorie Fair, The Fairy, City of York, Blush Rambler, Irish Eyes - the list goes on, and it was good to see roses I had first come to know and love from my first visits to the gardens in the 70s, as well as more modern favourites. I felt that the information plaques describing the different types of roses were helpful to visitors.

A lot of work and effort has been invested into renewing the gardens, and an imaginative design and plan produced. Let us hope that over the next few years we will see visitors returning.

Our visit to Belfast was much enjoyed as usual. As well as the main events described elsewhere, Ian and I managed a closer look at the roses in the Botanic Gardens and a tour of Queen’s University, which was most interesting. The weather was kind to us throughout our stay, but my pink wellies proved a good investment, as the ground was wet under-foot. At Dickson’s nursery, Pat exchanged his walking stick for a quad bike and enjoyed showing us his roses. I particularly admired the red patio rose, George Best, and as I also admired George’s football, which I was privileged to witness both live and on tv (though not his drinking and womanising), Ian has now ordered 3 bushes for the front garden. (This has already become a talking point in anticipation, as neighbours keep asking what we are going to plant in the newly-prepared bed and are awaiting the results!) I also noted Forever Young, amber-coloured; Lovely Fairy, a pink sport of The Fairy; Hometown Ards, a cream floribunda; peachy-cream Isn’t she lovely; and Light Fantastic, a lemony-cream rose, which was of particular note. Colin also had two numbered roses which I liked the look of; one a light purple and one a deeper purple. Wild Rover, the true purple rose we had admired on a previous visit is now, Pat tells me, widely grown in Chile. Colin was disappointed that his favoured floribunda Desert Island (see above) had been dead-headed before the trial judging and did not do as well as he had hoped. It is certainly an attractive rose, described as ‘pastel buff’ having ‘glossy foliage’ and ‘sweet scent’. Once again we were made very welcome.

Our last visit was to Coton Manor Garden, again in Northamptonshire, where we were initially disappointed to discover that they had had to dig out the roses on the terrace, owing to rose sickness, but pleased to learn that they had planted additional roses in other parts of the garden to compensate. As on our last visit, Rosy Cushion was outstanding in the border and the gardens were a pleasure to see.

Once again we have enjoyed a ‘rosy’ year and met some interesting people. I have enjoyed re-living the experience in writing this account. Wordsworth had a point when he spoke of recollecting in tranquillity-one of the joys of seeing lovely flowers.

                                                                                     Lynn Lancaster

A Rosy New Year – and an early garden visit!

The Committee chose Tuesday January 16th 2007 to make a New Year presentation of two climbing miniature roses to the staff at Winterbourne Botanic gardens, University of Birmingham, on behalf of the society.

The roses are the society’s contribution towards the Friends of Winterbourne “Adopt a Rose” scheme, which has assisted the staff to refresh rose-beds in the “History of the European Rose” area of the gardens. This is part of a major restoration of these beautiful gardens, which, as we have said before, are one of Birmingham’s “hidden gems”; a delightful oasis not far from the renowned Barber Institute.

The roses chosen are “Open Arms” and “Little Rambler”, both as examples of repeat-flowering climbing miniatures. They were donated by our president, Chris Warner, who, of course, also bred them.

 Despite the weather, the members enjoyed a tour of the whole garden and were pleased to be one of the first groups to visit the newly restored and re-planted Edwardian greenhouse. John Anthony was able to show his professional appreciation of the design features of this construction, which added to our knowledge. One section of its new planting consisted of cultivars originating from Madeira. We were also able to appreciate the plants in the Alpine house. All the plants looked extremely healthy.

The visit demonstrated that, even in January, garden visits can be very worthwhile. As always we were warmly received by the curator and her colleagues. The society hopes to arrange a visit when all the roses are in full bloom in June and it is also hoped that a joint talk can be arranged with the Friends of the gardens.

Pictures show :-

 1) Alison Darby, Garden Curator, and Lee Hale, Head Gardener, (on left) and John Anthony, Secretary of West Midlands Rose Society, and John Windsor, Vice-chairman (on right) look on as David Jeacock receives the roses from the society’s Chairman, Roy Evans.

2) Roy Evans presents the roses to Rose Gardener, David Jeacock.                                                                                                          

Lynn Lancaster

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2007

The weather decided to do us proud for our second visit to Chelsea on members’ day. The event was even better organised and we were able to get round easily and take photos, despite the show’s popularity. After a tour of some of the show gardens, we could no longer resist the lure of the rose stands in the Grand Pavilion. Here we headed first for the David Austin stand, where we were able to have a quick chat with Michael Marriott before he was again inundated with enquiries. Gertrude Jekyll was looking good, as usual, and L. D. Braithwaite, Golden Celebration and a half-standard Mary Rose took our eye, as did Summer Song, with its striking burnt-orange colour, Queen of Sweden and James Galway, and Shropshire Lad and The Pilgrim as climbers. Jubilee Celebration was also much admired.

We did like the new Austin introductions for 2007, Princess Alexandra of Kent (Ausmerchant) with large warm pink, scented flowers; Claire Austin (Ausprior) a lovely cream, scented variety, named, of course, after David’s daughter; Port Sunlight (Auslofty) rich apricot, tall; Munstead Wood (Ausbernard) deep crimson with a strong old rose fragrance and Skylark (Ausimple) deep pink open-cupped shape with light fragrance. All looked good and seemingly popular. The stand had received a silver-gilt medal.

The Peter Beales’ stand was attracting much interest with a striking row of Dublin Bay climbers against a black backdrop on one side, a sight which really stuck in people’s minds, as later conversations with fellow visitors indicated. Comte de Chambord, Chevy Chase and Clarence House also attracted attention. We had the opportunity of chatting to Richard Beales and asked him what he would recommend as a white climber for a smaller garden. He suggested City of York, which was also good on the stand. It was flowering all down the stems and is a white rambler with remontant flowering and yellow stamens. He agreed that television mention of a rose was a big influence on sales demand. It was good to see Peter Beales on the stand after his illness at last year’s show, pleased with his gold medal.

New introductions for 2007, all bred by Amanda Beales, are as follows:- Rachel’s Delight, a shrub rose with lovely foliage and upright stems and a soft apricot creamy colour; Norwich Theatre Royal with small good red blooms; Faithful Friend a small shrub rose named in aid of  ‘Hearing dogs for deaf people’ with good bright yellow double blooms; Indianna Mae pink with a camellia-like appearance and Wymondham Abbey also pink in colour.

Other roses which looked good on this stand were Macmillan Nurse, Uetersen 1939, Sir Paul Smith, a 2006 climber, floppy but floriferous, and Louis XIV a China rose circa 1859 with very dark red blooms.(We saw this at a later date not doing very well in garden conditions, unfortunately).

Notcutts, incorporating Mattocks, were launching a rose called The Wren, a soft peachy pink old-English style floribunda named for the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Their stand also featured Tickled Pink, ground-covers County of Yorkshire and County of Hampshire, and a yellow/peach patio rose, The Mandarin,-all looking good. The stand had a gold medal.

Harkness had been awarded a silver-gilt, and among their roses Fellowship looked good, as did City Livery. Bonica stood out on the Hillier stand.

Squires Garden Centres had created a silver–gilt winning garden called ‘A Kensington Retreat.’ This really appealed to me, as it had at its heart an inner retreat, to quote them, ‘a rose garden which appears like a jewel in a cage. It is devoted to a collection of red, yellow and orange old-fashioned shrub roses with a garden seat in the corner from which to enjoy the blooms and breathe in the fragrance. A lovely bronze statue adds an aura of calm tranquillity. A place for peace, perfection and quiet reflection just a step away from the bustle of everyday life.’ I would love to have been able to go in and sit there, but it was perhaps only the manifestation of a dream!

On to the Historic Roses Group stand which was ‘flying the flag’ for the RNRS with a very informative presentation on their display boards. Members were deep in conversation, which reflected the interest shown, but we did manage a brief chat with Peter Scott, who sent his best wishes to our society. He said they had been very busy all the time on the stand.

We then resumed our tour of the show gardens and other stands. One of the highlights for me was a stand by Capel Manor College (they had two other stands) which took as its theme four of the World’s main religions, “Growing together in Faith”. It was inspired by an idea from two members of the BBC faith and ethics presentation team and aimed to draw attention to the way in which faiths use plants and flowers as symbols and are linked through horticulture. We asked if we could quote from their leaflet and they were happy for us to do so. The main aim was ‘to show how the rose pervades Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism, providing common ground and shared roots…. It reflects the College’s pride that its student body reflects a multitude of religious beliefs with students working happily together in the pursuit of knowledge and a love of horticulture.’

To quote some references from the booklet to their display:-

‘The Hindu act of worship ‘puja’ can be translated ‘the flower act’ and includes scattering of rose petals and the use of rosewater.’

 

‘Rosewater was used in the East for Wudu (ritual ablution before prayer). Islamic writings and poetry use the rose freely as a metaphor. Roses are said to have grown from the drops of sweat from the prophet Mohammed’s brow.’

 

‘Early on the rose was seen as a symbol of the crucifixion of Christ, connecting His blood on the crown of thorns with red roses. The rose also became the symbol of the Virgin Mary, who was La Rosa Mystica, the thornless rose, the pure one.’

‘According to Jewish legend each righteous man in heaven will have a tent and 800 roses. Roses will blossom in the desert when the Son of Man comes. In 1941 a Jewish student resistance movement in Germany was called The White Rose, for freedom and equality.’ I have a list of the roses they had used on the stand and the symbolic significance of the choices, if anyone would like further details. We certainly found our day at Chelsea to have been interesting and informative, as well as thought-provoking.
Lynn Lancaster

ROSY RAMBLINGS 2006
 

This year we went to Spain for our main holiday in May, as we wanted to visit the Alhambra and the Generalife gardens. There were roses to be seen, but not identified (or photographed, as our digital camera wasn’t working!), but the main interest from a gardening point of view was the feat of ancient Arab engineering which enables the gardens to be watered, via a system of rills and terraces, by the melting snows of the Sierra Nevada – amazing when you consider the heat of the climate and the drought problems experienced by the Spaniards. We also saw roses at the lovely gardens of the Alcazar at Cordoba. However it was hard to imagine that most of the roses had already gone over before we had begun with them in our own garden.

We returned in time to help John Windsor set up the stand for our two-day stint at the Edwardian fete at Winterbourne Botanic Gardens at the University of Birmingham. This was a new venture for our society, albeit at a venue to which we have had trips in the past. The gardens have really been revitalised, in the case of the walled rose garden helped by a well-supported ‘adopt a rose’ scheme to replace some which were struggling. (Our society has agreed to send some roses to them). A new attractive entrance with a small shop, refreshments and information desk has been built and a new Alpine house added. A receptionist has been appointed. During the winter, the enthusiastic gardeners had reconstructed the pergola and cut back the climbing roses there in the hope of re-invigorating them and replacing them where necessary. The roses seemed to be responding surprisingly well. The Japanese bridge has been replaced and much other work done on the gardens, making them a real asset to Birmingham, along with the more well-known Birmingham Botanic Gardens, with whom they are co-operating. For our part, we thoroughly enjoyed relaxing under the shade of the awning which had been erected for us on what was a wonderful week-end of weather, and talking about roses with an interesting variety of visitors, some sporting Edwardian dress, whilst giving advice and publicising our society. John Anthony had provided us with some lovely greenhouse-grown roses, attractively staged by John Windsor, and these were to be much admired and photographed. The gardeners, now three full-timers in number with one full-time student, under enthusiastic leadership by curator Alison Darby and head gardener Lee Hale, are well supported by the Friends of Winterbourne.

David Jeacock, their resident rose specialist, will retire in 2007 (we have already tried to sign him up as a member!) and Gary Leaver, the current student, will replace him. We can certainly recommend a visit to this oasis in the heart of Birmingham, which could be coupled with a visit to the delightful art gallery at the Barber Institute at the University of Birmingham.
 

This event was followed by a couple of sessions on our part at the BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC, where our society helped man the RNRS stand with Ron and Ann Niblett. As usual we enjoyed meeting people from various parts of the country. This year the theme seemed to emerge as requests for white climbers for arches in small gardens. We spent quite a bit of time persuading people that Kiftsgate would not be a wise choice for said purpose, nor even Francis E. Lester. It is amazing how people just go for what they see in many cases, e.g. the ‘Think Pink’ garden, in aid of the breast cancer charity, had borders of deceptively small bushes of Gertrude Jekyll roses: Austin’s and others quickly sold out of these. We wonder what that famous lady gardener would have made of this!

We are very impressed at the determination of our first lady RNRS president to get around the country, and indeed the world, to as many rose events as possible, meeting as many people as she can, in order to bat for the cause. As always, she joined us at the NEC, but we have seen her so often since, including on TV on the ‘Gardener’s World’ special programme on roses, which proved such a marvellous advertisement for all aspects of the rose world.

The next event was a pleasant evening with Mr. and Mrs. Jinks at Country Garden Roses™ on what has become an annual trip. Their roses were as usual in good condition.

 We also took the opportunity to call in at David Austins where the gardens were in fine form and dozens of people were enjoying their beauty. Who says that roses have lost their popularity? We see plenty of enthusiasm!

After a delightful trip organised by our local Walsall branch of the National Trust to Broughton Castle, near Banbury, we met up with Ann again at Coughton Court. Both of these trips emphasised to us the universal appeal of roses to all sections of society. Broughton’s rose garden was magnificent and we were particularly struck by an Adélaïde d’Orléans covering both sides of a huge wall. Lord Saye and Sele came out to talk to us and proved very knowledgeable about his roses and proud of their showing. We are pleased to see that Broughton still offers free entry to its gardens to RNRS members, as does another favourite of ours, Sudeley Castle.

Unfortunately we were unable to attend the society’s other rose trip, as we had already booked an outing to Sulgrave Manor, which also boasts lovely gardens, with an emphasis on herbs. On the Wednesday of that same week, we met up with Ann Bird and other members of WMRS at Coughton Court, during their Rose Festival. Ann found herself giving two guided tours of the rose labyrinth, with a lecture illustrated with slides in between. She was also dispatched by Mrs. McLaren-Throckmorton to invite Ian and me to lunch with them. This was a pleasant surprise and enabled us to chat with the garden’s designer, her daughter, Christina Williams. Ann was to present them with an award by the WFRS for the gardens, having nominated them for this, with Ian as the supporter. As the television news people were there to film this event, the schedule became rather disrupted, but everyone coped in the end, and the delights of this garden with its beautiful selection of old roses and David Austin English roses were enjoyed by all on another lovely sunny day.

The gorgeous weather continued during our visit to Belfast, where once again we were made very welcome by members of the Northern Ireland Rose Society and Belfast City Council. We were pleased that Ann Bird was able to make the trip and that her husband, Geoff, was also able to enjoy the visit. It was good to see John Baxter there, and I leave him to give a full account of the visit. Having made good friends there last year, we felt quite ‘at home’, and it was a pleasure to renew acquaintances at the DARD Rose picnic, where we can all chat informally, before the following day’s business of rose judging. There were some good floribundas to judge, but the entries for HTs were rather disappointing this year. Lady Dixon Park itself was at its magnificent best, and Ian and I were also able to pop into the Botanical Gardens where once again beds of Elinor and Sexy Rexy were impressive. There were also some lovely roses in the grounds of Queen’s University itself. One of the highlights of the day for us was the smile on the face of Pat Dickson, having received his WFRS award for the rose Elinor from Ann at the Lord Mayor’s dinner that evening,
and to share Colin’s pleasure for him. We spent the next few days enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Ards Peninsular and the Causeway Coast with its Giant’s Causeway with other WMRS members. We were even invited into someone’s front garden, having admired her roses from the road where we had parked. A wonderful experience once again!
 

Finally we had another trip to Banbury - this time a hospital visit - but we found time to call in at ‘The Garden at Brook Cottage’, Well Lane, Alkerton, noted for its roses. Unfortunately most of these had gone over, but a large selection of species, old-fashioned and modern shrub roses are grown there. It would be worth visiting earlier in the season to see these in bloom. Their web site, with pictures of Pleine de grâce and Easlea’s Golden Rambler, is at www.brookcottagegarden.co.uk, if you would like to know more.
 

  R H S GARDEN ROSEMOOR - JULY 2004

Our  holiday in Devon was decided on when we saw that, as RHS  members, we were eligible to book one of the two newly-re-furbished flats at Rosemoor House. This would not  only provide a gorgeous setting for a holiday, but give us  access to the beautiful gardens almost from dawn to dusk!

The  house was built around the 1780’s as a family fishing lodge and donated to the RHS in 1988 along with the estate by Lady Anne Palmer, now Berry. There was an existing arboretum, and it was agreed that roses were to feature in two of the gardens to be created in the main section, where the RHS were to situate their show gardens and centre, housing offices, shop, restaurant, plant sales, display and education areas and recently-opened library.

We went immediately after the newly re-furbished shrub rose garden had been opened by Alan Titchmarsh, and in time for their Rose Sunday. Even though one of the days in the week was  to prove the windiest and wettest they could remember in  Devon, our enjoyment remained undiminished. Both rose gardens were lovely and in full flower. The modern rose garden had been re-planted in 2002, the shrub rose garden in April this  year. Roses also feature elsewhere in the gardens, notably in the cottage garden and the long herbaceous borders.

On Rose Sunday we were able to have a guided tour by David Squire, who has responsibility for that part of the gardens, and we later attended a talk by Chris Bailes, the Garden Curator. Both were very informative and approachable. We learned that it had been thought very difficult to get roses to grow in Devon, but that they had been determined to prove otherwise. Roses have the advantages of flowering at the  height of the visitor season and are relatively quick to come to maturity. Disabled people can access the gardens easily.

By initially consulting RNRS, ‘Roses to Enjoy’ and rose producers and experts, such as Graham Thomas, Peter Harkness, Peter Beales, David Austin and others, and subse- quently by trial and error, certain varieties had been shown to be more suitable than others, and they had used this knowledge when  re-furbishing the gardens.

Average  rainfall is 40 inches a year, with prolonged periods of dark, humid weather. The soil is silt and clay, so roses root well;  the ph 5-6 rather acid, so lime was used for a neutral ph.  Bonemeal was also added. Organic matter is incorporated into the top spit, but they do break up the clay sub-soil. There is a nasty frost pocket in the valley, so they prune late, ie from February. A pragmatic approach is adopted. There was a watery start to their initial planting, but the roses did  well. Fifteen percent of those they planted in 1990 failed and they discovered that yellow roses did least well and floribundas were more successful than large-flowered roses. About 130 varieties were used in the shrub garden; about 70 in the modern rose garden. They are meant as demonstration  gardens. Sixty percent of the varieties used for the re-planted gardens have been used before, eg Escapade, Southampton, Invincible, Troika, Trumpeter, Mountbatten (though this not quite so good), Amber Queen and Sunseeker.

Roses  are sprayed every fourteen days with fungicide and with insecticide only if aphids are a particular problem, (the volunteer gardeners are crucial in this respect) and a clean mulch is put on in the Spring. As roses tend to be soft and sappy, it is best to give a high potassium feed, but not too late in the year, as then soft growth encourages disease. They have to watch for die-back, as in Winter, degrees of –5 to –6  can occur in the valley.

They are also encouraging use of roses as garden plants, eg Lilian Austin, Graham Stuart Thomas, Buff Beauty, Nathalie Nypels and Bonica and The Fairy as standards. Iceberg (outstanding), Jayne Austin, Sceptered Isle and Cardinal Hume (used with orange and yellow plants- Rudbeckia later in the year), Chicago Sunrise (used with Hemerocallis and Euphorbia  Sikkimensis), Sweet Juliet (David’s particular favourite) with plants such as Salvia ‘Purple Rain’, Geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’, Rosa rugosa alba and Viburnum were all splendid in the long border.

It has been decided that the rose gardens should be re-planted every ten years. The modern rose garden, now the Queen Mother’s Rose Garden, was the first to be re-furbished in 2002. In the previous Autumn, diggers were brought in to remove the old soil, and chainsaws to cut back the growth. Fresh soil and lots of manure were put in place. New black metal arches were put in place and high quality Exmoor paving used. The growth-rate of the roses has been very good and the design of placing them according to a ‘colour-wheel’ was retained. The central arch features Sander’s White Rambler (very scented) and Long John Silver. The standards used around the central beds are Swany, as although Iceberg is magnificent elsewhere in the garden along with Kent, and in the long border, it had previously proved too vigorous and broken off  as a standard here. Clair Matin, Compassion, Hamburg Phoenix, Breath of Life, Escapade, Betty Prior, The Times, Sunset Boulevard and Sceptered Isle were all doing well in what they considered a very good year for roses. Catmint and Alchemilla mollis are considered good companion plants.

The  new shrub garden, dedicated to the memory of Mary Ann Burns Shearer 1911-1994, was the result of a very generous bequest. It was prepared in a similar way. They had cut down the roses in September and prepared the ground in October/ November. A mini-digger had removed the soil to two spits depth and a mix  of fresh soil, manure and leaf-mould put in. Roses purchased  bare-rooted in Autumn had been over-wintered in pots rather than heeled-in, as they had found this more satisfactory. There is a mix of modern shrub, old roses and English roses. These were planted in April with a good dressing of bonemeal. Companion plants had been added in May; some would need to be removed when the roses grew bigger. In this garden brick paving and wooden lattice posts with rope swags have been used. Viticella clematis will be used up the ropes and supports once the roses have established themselves. New  additions mentioned were Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Tuscany Superb. They had placed the bigger roses round the outside, eg Wilhelm, which had done well previously. Stachys and Nepeta ‘Blue Cloud’ had also been used.

We enjoyed returning to the gardens throughout the week, chatting to other visitors during the day and noting down as many of the roses as we could. On one occasion after the visitors had  left, we shared the evening perfume of the rose gardens with a  pheasant, which had apparently adopted them as his domain! We were treated to the close presence of various birds and even a hare as we walked back to our flat in the quiet of the evening. It really was a ‘paradise garden’. A return visit for  next year had been booked before we left.

On our return home, we had one more souvenir to savour – we had treated ourselves to a bottle of Rosemoor Rosepetal Wine, which we can also recommend!
 

BOOKED A HOLIDAY YET

Why  not find out if there are any nearby rose gardens you could tell us about.

Last year Ian and I e-mailed the Tourist Office in Florence and were rewarded by discovering that there were rose gardens open during our trip. These provided us with a lovely detour on our  walk to St Miniato Church on the far side of the River Arno on  a glorious Sunday afternoon. Many David Austin roses were to be seen and the perfume of Sweet Juliet and Jude the Obscure was exquisite.

Later  in the year we made a detour to Apuldram nurseries and gardens  during a stay at West Wittering, near Chichester. Again we  were rewarded with a peaceful and interesting afternoon visit and an exchange of views with other visitors.

The  Society's visit to Sudeley Castle gardens during their Rose Week was also blessed with perfect weather, and much was  gained both in knowledge of roses and in contact with the Head Gardener and his Deputy, whom members were again to meet up with at Shugborough.

Ian  and I also visited Upton House and established contact with the new Head Gardener there, who has interesting plans for the future of the gardens.

We hope to extend our visits , whether as individuals or as a group of WMRS members.
 

ROSE GARDENS AT THE FLORIADE, Haarlemmermeer, HOLLAND

Lynn and Ian Lancaster tell us more about their visit to the Floriade.

At the Floriade they had on display some newspaper cuttings, thoughtfully in English. Headlined ‘Zoo Monkeys eat Roses’ one said that at Rotterdam Zoo the monkeys were getting ‘the runs’ from eating lettuce and endives, so they were now fed on roses, which are far more substantial. The zoo collects rose  waste twice a week and, if there is enough the koalas and elephants are given it too. A rose grower who produces two million roses a year, gathered by machine, had large quantities of spoiled roses and stems as waste. This is now supplied to the zoo. A second cutting told of an idea for  ‘green’ pest control. Apparently one rose-grower had been plagued with mice in his greenhouses. A couple of pythons  solved the problem!

In one part of the Floriade an L-shaped hall housed the indoor ‘cut-flower’ rose competition exhibits, with rose displays in  the surrounding area and a greenhouse section. The  professional growers had produced a beautiful display of the latest developments in glasshouse roses. A section called ‘Rose Symphony’ had huge vases of some of the best cut-roses, such as Grand Prix (deep red), Sambina (pink inside petals, white outside), Red Champ (crimson) and Bull’s Eye (red). Then came some huge magnificent multi-coloured exhibits – three huge urns, piled high with roses, cushions of red roses and a huge room with dining table providing the theme, full of roses in very bright colours.

In contrast the competition section was minimalistic in design. Here were neat rows of identical grey pedestals along the walls, on top of which were identical tall grey vases each containing at least twenty identical roses with magnificent  foliage in a variety of colours. Another row without pedestals stood along the centre. Names of some of the exhibits were as  follows, Tanavil, Milva, Ruiortro, Ruiy 5451, Kornafro, Golden Gate, Explosion, Mimi Eden, Avant-garde, Abrakadabra, Poetry,  Supergreen, Revue, Curacao, Sara, Temptation, Black Baccara, Ruby Red, Bull’s Eye, Aroma, Expresso, Sphinx, Metallina, Moonlight, Tanafiri, a totally different world of roses.

Lynn & Ian Lancaster