June

I’m fully falling in love with roses. Specifically David Austin roses. I got the 2019 catalogue mailed to me and I’d been dreaming of the day that i would bring home a rose of my own.

For Mother’s Day last year I was given the Queen of Sweden rose and truly it was my gateway rose. Now I can’t stop myself and I have 3 others, including a JUST recently acquired new one I still need to get in the ground.

To be honest, roses are a new journey for me. Having been growing at an allotment before having my own garden, investing and planting woody shrub plants was not something I was doing. That said, having a garden full of flowering shrubs was always a dream. Now that it’s an option I’ve added some beautiful woody shrubs and hope to add more.. but that’s a post for another day.

Back to the roses.. this spring I’ve been battling saw fly caterpillars who really can do some damage for being so tiny. The larger caterpillars were a light yellow, the tiny larvae are green-grey with a dark head. They skeletonize leaves, leave little bite holes in the flower buds and leave a silky web cocoon. I removed them by checking the tops and underside of leaves and between the sepals and petals, squishing any I found. I was doing daily checks whenever possible and after a few weeks of staying on top of it, my roses are looking healthy again.

I was a bit late and lax on my spring maintenance this year as I was happily preoccupied with my newborn and you know what.. the roses persisted.. Mother Nature usually finds a way. In future springs I’ll be diligent about removing the dead leaves used to mulch the roses over winter and adding compost for an early boost. I’ve learned that removing dead plant material and giving roses space to breathe around other plants is really important to prevent diseases and pest pressure.

Im just starting out on this journey with roses and am learning so much as the roses mature and come into their own. With two young kiddos I don’t have the time to dedicate daily care but I am of course totally swooning over every single bloom.

Roses in my garden:

Queen of Sweden

Gentle Hermione

Molineaux

Tranquility