A Kew Gardens Miscellany – the Roses (some flower, lots of hips), a glide through the Davies Alpine House and of course, some autumn leafery (see the Ginkgos) …

An unexpected bit of free time today and lo! A parking space by the Victoria Gate which meant I had to stop - and (first things first) smell the roses. Gertrude Jekyll, Stanwell Perpetual and Madame Isaac Pereire brought High Summer right back on a mostly overcast mid-November day. Soul food. From the Rose Garden,…

A day at the RHS London Rose Show – full & fragrant with five excellent talks … #RHSLondon #Roses

Claudio Bincoletto is at the show each day and I'm sorry that I'll miss his talk tomorrow afternoon (at 4pm now I think) - Roses and their exotic scent: preparations to preserve aroma, and the ancient secrets of rose water, rose jam and wild flower cordials, Claudio Bincoletto, Master Forager I'll also miss Peter Scott…

Roses at Kew Gardens – Wild Roses, Old Roses, English Roses. A Grand Start and so much more to come…

and the new 2015/16 Handbook of Roses, which I picked up at the first RHS London Rose Show today... and a duck, at Kew Gardens, to round things off!! The Rose Garden at Kew Gardens today - with a lot of roses popping but still much, much, much more to come - a fine selection…