Forever Beautiful

GET THE LOOK

There are so many times when roses evoke a ‘wow’ from us! This bed, planted up with pale lemon ‘Forever Busy’ together with ‘Bridal Pink’ and ‘Amarula Profusion’ with purple ‘Vodacom’ at the back, is one such instance. These floribunda roses show off what floribundas are known for: a multiplicity of blooms that tumble downwards to create a magnificent border. The effect is enhanced by spot-on placing in terms of height. The lowest-growing rose, ‘Amarula Profusion’ (knee height), has been planted in front, with hip-height ‘Forever Busy’ and ‘Bridal Pink’ both in the middle, and ‘Vodacom’ at the back, growing to shoulder height. Other tall-growing pastel roses lead the eye along the bed, with some deep red added for liveliness. This garden, which was part of last year’s Joburg Rose Garden Bus Tour, was designed by Karen Gardelli.

- Ludwig Taschner

5 resolutions for roses

Even though January is the middle of the rose year, the start of a calendar new year always feels like a fresh beginning, so there’s no reason why the rose garden shouldn’t benefit from our renewed energy!

Cut back tall growers, especially if the roses have shot up and you feel that the flowers are too high for you to appreciate. If you look at how the rose grows you will see that the present flowering stem has developed from a previous stem, and if that stem has leaves it is safe to cut down to it, making sure that there are still leaves below the cut. Don’t undercut all the stems at once but do it in two or three stages a week apart.