THE market for roses is driven by novelty—and always has been since French nurserymen started large-scale rose-breeding 200 years ago.
The unchallenged assumption is that new roses are better than old. New is beautiful: the really old roses that COUNTRY LIFE readers appreciate —Gallicas and Damasks—are only for contrarians and cranks. This year’s novelties, we are told, are infinitely better than last year’s. And no person of taste should grow anything like those vulgar, scentless Floribundas in shades of orange and yellow that were so fashionable 50 years ago.
Well, I suppose there’s some truth in that, but I have no doubt that the gorgeous roses we adore today, such as David Austin’s ‘English’ roses, will likewise be sneered at by garden snobs in another five decades’ time.
Fifteen years ago, my wife and I wrote an Encyclopedia of Roses that was well received, although it listed only 2,000 of the 15,000 different roses then known to be available in commerce. The French edition sold very well—it was published by Gallimard (very upmarket) and seriously reviewed in Parisian newspapers such as Le Monde, which considered it to be an important contribution to the history of Western culture.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 19, 2018-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 19, 2018-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
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The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
