We need more roses.

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We have a big garden and when we moved here almost seven years ago it was mostly just grass, with a few borders around the edges. But I’m a plant addict so I keep digging out new beds and then finding that I have filled those and having to expand them or dig out more. One plant that did well here was penstemon, and they have the added advantage that the deer that frequent our area don’t like them. There were quite a lot here already so I added more in a wider range of colours. But this last winter put paid to a lot of them, I don’t know whether it was unusually low temperatures or the fact that it went very suddenly from ridiculously mild to extreme cold literally overnight. A few of the plants are just beginning to show one or two tiny shoots, but most are just dead stalks. The roses on the other hand are doing really well. And even though deer like them, it doesn’t seem to matter. Maybe because we have a lot, a bit of browsing here and there doesn’t have much impact? I do have netting around several of the beds, which is a pain, but even the unprotected roses seem to be thriving. The other snag is that most of our garden gets hot sun for at least half the day from March to September, but then none at all from September to March. But I’m hopeful I can find something that will do ok there. Do roses do well in your garden? All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2023.