Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
There have been some changes at Mottisfont in Hampshire. A new garden has been created and there is a new-ish visitor centre. But these notes and images are more about the practicalities of growing Old Roses, with detail from winter and spring. For those wishing to delve deeper into the art and science of rose…
Continue reading ➞ Pruning, care and maintenance plan for your roses, starring Mottisfont Abbey
The beautiful collection of Old Roses at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire - displayed in three separate walled gardens, each with its own distinct character and altogether showcasing several hundred Old Roses varieties with a range of complimentary plants. And the fragrance! Be still my beating heart! Actually, there is a new garden there, that I…
Continue reading ➞ Pruning, care and maintenance plan for your roses, starring Mottisfont Abbey
Spong One of the most famous sports of Rosa x centifolia, originating in 1805, probably in England. It will reach 4ft (1.2m), bears typically rounded leaves of its parent and neat flowers about twice the size of De Meaux (also a sport of Rosa x centifolia), with the same good fragrance. Its failing is that…
Continue reading ➞ The Mottisfont Pictorial Rose Catalogue continues with another update…
Adelaide d'Orleans This originated in France in 1826 (presumably from open-pollinated seed since hybrizing was not then understood) and suggests R sempervirens as a possible parent. Of extreme grace, the lax clusters hang down. It would not reveal is beauty if trained on a wall, so it is best over an arch or a tree…
Continue reading ➞ The parade continues – a perfect rose sanctuary at Mottisfont Abbey
If you want to find just the right rose for your garden, to compare one variety over another, learn about their varying forms and habits and take inspiration from planting combinations and companions, this is the place to do it. Quite staggeringly beautiful. Everything.
Petersham Nurseries in the sunshine this afternoon. A lovely Spring Day with a beautiful, warm and sunny weekend ahead. So much to take in but I have to start with roses... Roses all the way down both sets of benches here - a diverse selection but many, many classic shrub and Old Roses and it…
Continue reading ➞ Roses, Petersham Nurseries and Sunshine
