Autumn's Loyal Friends
Summer has long gone and autumn has stomped through the garden gate. Like some drunken reveller disturbing a rather select gathering, leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake. The UK generally in the last couple of weeks has had relentless heavy rain and more recently very high winds, which have torn their way through every garden in the country. Many parts have suffered floods and stand feet deep under water. In my part of Cheshire it has been the wettest October since the war, having had 5 inches of rain so far compared with the usual 3 inches for the whole of the month. Luckily, my garden is situated on a modest hill, around two hundred and fifty feet above sea level, so is safe enough from flooding.
Looking out on to my soggy garden on yet another grey, wet day, it is hard to imagine those heady days of high summer. Do you remember? Woken in the morning by bright, warm sunshine. A quick tour of the garden before breakfast, astonished to see how much growth everything was putting on. Roses and clematis in full bloom, the Philadelphus scenting the air with it's delicious perfume, and that special light of early morning bathing the garden in sharp clear sunshine.
Some plants have an annoying habit of looking better in other gardens than your own. I have a couple of these two-faced inhabitants. I first made their acquaintance some years ago, down in the Oxford Botanical Gardens. If you have never been before, make it one of your 'must see' stops there is much to see and learn about, as there is in many of the other gardens attached to the City's University colleges.
Back to the Botanical Gardens. It was love at first sight! In the rose garden were some very fine specimens; the problem was which to admire first. There were many gasps and sighs during my worship of the old roses. Mountainous cascading blooms met the eye at almost every turn, and such beautiful form of flower and above all intoxicating scents assailed the senses.
Moving on to the species roses, I was struck by their sheer size, such monsters. But there was a difference, here they had the room to 'strut their stuff'. Displaying their magnificence, totally unfettered by space restrictions imposed on most ordinary gardeners. The names alone were like a roll call of Hollywood film stars; rosa. Moyseii, with it's blood-red flowers and huge hips, rosa. Brunonii (Himalayan Musk) creamy-white flowers in large clusters, rosa. Filipes 'Kiftsgate', another monster (I grow this one), with large clusters of small creamy-white scented flowers.
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