The Roses

The Roses are starting to flower.

 Draped all over the chook yard is Souvenir de Madame Leonie Viennot which smothers itself in large pink blousey blooms. The thick heavy stems are starting to bow the roof. I would rather put in an extra support beam than cut those laden branches off. There's not much perfume to my nose, just a rosy smell.

Lovely pink Lorraine Lee is doing well even after being moved. The fruity perfume it emits is a favourite, plus its long flowering period.

La Reine Victoria has only a couple of cupped lilac pink flowers. It doesn't flourish in my garden and will soon be covered in black spot. The blooms are still lovely, so she stays.

Monsieur Tillier with its unusual shade of salmon pink flowers is out. I pruned its large old canes hard one year when when I was sick of it growing the wrong direction, and it hasn't really forgiven me.

Some old tea roses probably shouldn't be treated that way. Luckily I'm still getting flowers.

Lady Hillingdon, another tea, is always reliable with pointed yolk yellow buds and sweet perfume. The flowers open out, fading to cream.

I love the colours of Hugo Roller, looking almost edible with its strawberries and cream petals. It's another tea rose I've had for many years, with a lovely fragrance. Unfortunately if the weather isn't favourable in spring the blooms can turn brown, although this year I've had no trouble.

My Sombreuil has plenty of  beautiful saucer sized white flowers with delicate flesh pink centres in the newly opened blooms. Despite growing against a warm wall, it isn't the vigorous plant I see photos of elsewhere on the net. One thick stem that I'm not game to prune but loads of flowers at least.

The last pic is, I think, Duchesse de Brabant. I moved this one from mum's garden and it has done very nicely. The lovely soft pink nodding flowers and healthy foliage are a welcome sight.