A Shropshire Lad – David Austin Climbing Rose
On 20th February this year it was three years since we lost Adam and to mark the occasion Sean and I went to Ashwood Nurseries and bought a climbing Rose to put in the garden as a tribute to Adam. A Shropshire Lad is a beautiful subtle pink rose by David Austin. A vigorous scented climbing rose with very few thorns, dark green foliage and beautiful subtle pink flowers. I have admired this rose for years and so going with Sean and buying it together in remembrance of Adam made the sad day a little easier for both of us.
A Shropshire Lad
A vigorous scented climbing rose with very few thorns, dark green foliage and beautiful subtle pink flowers.
The name is taken from A. E. Housman’s collection of poems about Shropshire published in 1896 where the David Austin rose gardens and nursery are situated. A. E. Housman’s ashes are buried near St. Laurence’s Church in Ludlow, Shropshire. David C. H. Austin, born in Shropshire, is himself a Shropshire lad.
To add to this treat Sean also bought me another rose that I had been wanting for ages, the English Shrub Rosa Queen Of Sweden. I plan to take cutting of both of these when the time is right.
Queen of Sweden – Small buds open to half-enclosed cups which eventually become wide, shallow, and upward-facing. The colour begins as soft, apricot pink, gradually changing to pure soft pink over time. It has a lovely myrrh fragrance. It forms a bushy upright shrub. It was named to commemorate the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Sweden and Great Britain by David Austin in 2004.
English Roses have natural, shrubby growth which makes them ideal for both rose borders and combining with other plants in mixed borders. The more compact English Roses work well in rose beds, whilst taller varieties can be trained against a post and rail fence. Most varieties will perform surprisingly well in partial shade with at least four or five hours of good sun a day. English Roses as shrubs look best when planted in groups of three or more of the same variety. They will then grow together to form one dense shrub which will provide a more continuous display and make a more definite statement in the border. David Austin.
I was very disappointed with the Roses this year as all but two were blighted with Black Spot. I was aware of this fungal disease and have removed infected leaves as I saw them but I didn’t use any spray at all. Some of my bare root roses didn’t flourish at all and I put this down to the very cold wet winter. I also decided that I had made a mistake by mixing spring bulbs in the pots with the roses. Death by Tulip. I intend to try and tackle the problem early next year.
Paul’s Scarlet is a very free flowering old climbing rose, producing large clusters of brilliant, unfading scarlet double flowers, with dark green leaves. A friendly climber as the near- thorn less stems are easily trained. (Information from Ashridge Nurseries)
I have finally had to put some of the Call Ducks out for sale. They are lovely but to be fair to them I don’t have enough room for them. Ideally they need plenty of grass and moving water. I am letting them go for ten pounds each so a bargain for someone.
I have bought two more roses for the side garden. They were an impulse buy at two for three pounds from Lidl. They are both Hybrid Tea. One of them is Rosa Pascali which I have bought before and am very pleased with. It is white with a lovely fragrance. The other one is new to me. Rosa Dame de Coeur has deep green leaves and large, rich, red flowers and as it was sold as a fragrant rose I am hoping for a strong perfume too.
I was doing my usual jobs out in the garden this morning, feeding the ducks and the chickens and cleaning up after them. I was feeling a bit downhearted about a few things when I spotted a few late autumn roses blooming away even though it is late October. The perfume of the Susan Daniel was beautiful and made me realise how lucky I am to be well enough to be working in the garden at all. The Rose Susan Daniel is named after an opera singer. The most striking quality of this rose is its peachy transluscent colour. The ivory outer petals of the buds have lemon at the base opening to coral and finally changing through pale bronze to gold in late Summer. Disease resistant this rose has an amazing perfume. I bought this rose amongst a group of bare root roses from Harkness Roses.