Roses, roses and more roses ...

I made a lovely visit to Moor Wood House roses earlier in the month. They hold the National Collection of Rambler roses and everywhere you looked there were roses and every sniff you took was filled with their scent. Ordinarily they would have an Open Day at the end of June, but this year has not been ordinary! Not only has there been CV-19 to contend with but also the fact that roses (and others) have flowered much earlier than usual, by 2 weeks or more. This has meant that a visit to the roses at the end of June would have resulted in seeing no flowers. Luckily for me, a friend heard Henry Robinson give a talk where he mentioned that they were welcoming visitors who phoned to book and she did and along we went. We were given a wonderfully informative tour of the roses. There were so many roses that I had never heard of, and sooo many white ramblers - all magnificent but hard to tell apart at first glance! It was interesting to learn that even the venerable Graham Thomas wouldn't chance his reputation on trying to identify an unknown white rambler!

I've attached one or two photos of those roses that particularly caught my eye (or my nose - 'Charles de Mills' may not be a rambler, but my, he smells good!). The photos don't capture the beauty of the setting - the house sits proudly in its Gloucestershire valley, with roses seeming to clothe the hills. It is well worth a future visit so have a look at the website www.moorwoodroses.co.uk

The roses, working clockwise from the top are 'Cedric Morris' intertwined with 'Brenda Colville', 'American Pillar', 'Windermere', 'Haiwatha (with daisies), 'Wickwar' (with spaniel!), and 'Princess Louise'. Gorgeous!