Hello my fellow garden lovers, how are you? I’ve been working hard on the garden getting it NGS open garden ready, I’ll pop more about this at the bottom of the post as right now, I just want to share my favourite flower and muse- the rose.
Now I’m not talking about the poker straight, unscented stems from the supermarket/florist, no, I’m talking full ruffles of petals gently falling and a scent so intoxicating you don’t want to actually breathe out- that kind of rose. I still remember my first real proper rose, it was Brother Cadfael by David Austin, now it wasn’t known for being easy to grow, but mine was incredible! Unfortunately I no longer have it, as it got lost when we moved house- along with a Munstead Wood, that luckily has just rematerialised from my mother-in-law after nearly four years (I wonder if she’s still looking after BC also 🙄). Anyway, I don’t have a favourite but I do favour soft blushing cream and a whole range of pinks and lilacs, actually, the only colours I don’t do are golden yellow, bright red and tango orange- this goes for all blooms, not just roses. I have a lot of roses by David Austin and they are lovely, but I prefer to buy from Peter Beales Roses as I find them much stronger and more willing to get going without me nursing them round the clock. Another great one is Harkness Roses - the breeders of chandos beauty- a must-have in my opinion.
Shown below are a selection of old roses from Helmingham Hall in Suffolk, photographed in June this year.
When in a garden of roses, I feel instantly calmed, like a sleeping bee nestled into petals. I find it’s easier to breathe, there is peace. It amazes and delights me- the many different forms in which a rose blooms and unfurls, shedding her petals. It’s graceful, elegant and natural. Fading roses always make me think of the way us humans choose to age. It’s the difference between those chemically treated supermarkets flowers and garden flowers… At some point there has to be acceptance. Both blooms will fade but the garden one will remain beautiful and interesting until the last petal has gone- sometimes resulting in the most beautiful hips. The rose holds my attention from beginning to end.
So mesmerising, roses feature heavily in my pottery work and fabric designs- Now, I’m looking back to my knowledge as an aromatherapist (I trained 30 years ago when I left school) and I’m working on producing some signature scents for A Bunch Of Wild. There is still a lot of work to do but we will be starting with a linen spray and reed diffusers before eventually creating candles and most excitingly- perfume. I will personally blend the essential oils and make the products, as I do with everything that falls under my name. And you might well of guessed, the rose will feature in these new scents. I’m working on just three and my aim is for them to evoke memories of a time and place. This is nothing new for me, I’ve created scents many moons ago and made candles and sprays, I always blend my own linen spray for my own home.
I’m always looking for new ideas for A Bunch Of Wild that I think my customers will enjoy, when walking in a rose garden it’s peaceful and these ideas flow in, I simply wait to see what sets and grows.
So, on other news my open garden is looming. On July the 26th- you will be able to visit my garden in Campton which we’re opening for the NGS. Find more info here. This week has started cooler and I’ve finally been able to tick jobs from the ever growing list- it’s about the only thing that is growing. The hosepipe ban will make me extra fit as I walk what feels like miles to water butts, but my dahlias are worth it and thankfully a few have started blooming, it’s the reason I chose July to open. The gravel garden up by the house features a small pond and the planting is a mix of self-set perennials in a prairie style and fruit trees. A very long walk down the garden path and you emerge out into the secret garden with two prairie planted borders either side that I’m actually pleased with.
The cutting garden by the greenhouse is a little less than perfect but I’m hopeful that fellow gardeners will forgive me for this. I promise I’ll make some excellent cake to make up for it.
I have no idea what the weather will be doing as the forecast changes by the hour but I hope it wont be above 28 degrees, if I could order it, then a partially sunny/cloudy day of 25 degrees with a little breeze would be perfect! Oh and no wasps thank you, nothing more annoying when you’re trying to eat a nice piece of lemon drizzle.
Write soon.
Emma
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