IN THE GARDEN
soil and can tolerate part shade – a boon for problem areas in the garden. Their hips also offer seasonal interest and food for wildlife. Some, like ‘Iceberg’, do well in pots, making them a great option for small spaces. Whether you favour a traditional rosebed, informal planting or meadow-style scheme, there’s a rose to suit your needs. Caring for roses Whichever style of planting you choose, you should ensure your rose is planted in rich, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil, and that you provide a regular feed of
either well-rotted manure or rose fertiliser. Deadheading regularly once flowers have gone over to encourage flowering is ideal in a formal setting, but many roses, including the rambler ‘Kiftsgate’, produce attractive hips for autumn interest. With their long, rich history and enduring appeal, roses are embedded in our gardening culture. And with such a vast range to choose from, there’s a rose to suit all tastes and garden styles.
flowering and disease resistance traits of modern roses. A variety of planting styles While roses are closely associated with traditional cottage gardens, planted alongside foxgloves, campanulas and geraniums, there’s a variety of approaches in which they can be used. At the Botanic Garden, the Rose Garden demonstrates the evolution and history of the rose. The planting is done in the cottage garden style, featuring roses grown with alliums, nepeta and geraniums. For rose worshippers, a dedicated rose garden might include just one type of rose, such as hybrid teas, scented roses or a mixture. Some cultivars like ‘Iceberg’ and English roses are suitable for growing in pots on the patio. For a more naturalistic, lower- maintenance and modern take, try creating a rose meadow. Here, shrubs, climbers and ramblers can be included among a diverse planting of herbaceous perennials, bulbs and grasses, including tufted hair grass ( Deschampsia cespitosa ), globe flowers ( Echinops ritro ) and catmint ( Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’). The appeal of this approach is that it can reduce the need for careful pruning of roses to remove dead wood and create an open habit, instead just requiring an annual hard prune. Roses are popular not only for their beauty and fragrance, but because they’re practical too. Many varieties thrive in clay
Sally Petitt is head of horticulture at Cambridge University Botanic Garden
BLOOMING BEAUTIFUL Roses have captivated for centuries; the Rose Garden shows off the best
Rosa gallica ‘Officinalis’: The apothecary’s rose (pictured right) has semi-double, crimson-red flowers and good fragrance. It’s low maintenance and grows to 1m, requiring little pruning. Rosa ‘Generous Gardener’: This climbing rose reaches 4.5m in height and is a good selection for an arch, pergola or wall. This is a repeat-flowering rose that produces scented, pale-pink flowers and has good disease resistance. Rosa x pteragonis ‘Cantabrigiensis’: A shrub rose that grows to 2m in height, with arching stems and single, pale- yellow flowers. It’s disease resistant and requires little pruning. BEST ROSES FOR BEGINNERS
80 JUNE 2025 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
Powered by FlippingBook