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THE HOME ROSE GARDEN

In a small garden some parts are unavoidably shaded for at least half of the day. Roses need sunlight, and so the most shaded parts must be regarded as unsuitable for them. By planting full or three-quarter standards in the slightly less shaded positions, one can often lift the main part of the plant into more prolonged sunlight. Roses do not grow well in drive­ways and similar narrow parts that produce draughts.

It is easy to keep trees out of one's own garden, but one's neighbour may choose to grow them. They may create exces­sive shade, and are apt to cause worry, for their roots will be attracted by food and water given to the roses.

Sometimes the home garden is big enough to allow whole beds, each of one variety. This is very effective and gives the best results, for each variety can be treated in the manner best suited to it. Some like copious watering and some very little; some like more manure than others.

In beds of mixed roses, tall-growing varieties must always be placed at the back. Alternatively, climbers can be planted along the fences, then standards or tall-growing bushes, and then average-growing sorts. Keep roses well back from paths.

The purpose of a home garden of roses will vary according to whether the owner wishes to have, as his prime objective, a garden display, cut flowers for the home, or specimen blooms for exhibition. The number of plants will be governed by the garden design and the area available. The garden should be small enough to be well cared for, with or without paid assist­ance, depending on how much the owner wishes to spend on upkeep. In a big garden there should be pillars, pergolas, and arches to relieve any sense of flatness.

If a man is to enjoy his roses fully he must work amongst them. Once he allows his garden to become his master, either by excessive work or expense, it ceases to be a place of enjoy­ment, and defeats its main purpose. Far better to grow fifty plants well than to grow five hundred and either neglect them or regard them as a drudgery. The smaller number will give him better plants, better blooms, and possibly more blooms.

With display as his chief aim, he must have a free-blooming rose hedge; he must fill his beds with Floribundas and Hybrid Teas; he must cover his fences with climbers and have Hybrid Wichuraianas over arches. He will, of course, want cut flowers, but plenty will be available from these plants. If cut flowers be his main interest and goal he will concentrate on Hybrid Teas, not forgetting those that give winter blooms. He may be among the few who have learnt the decorative value and lasting properties of blooms of the Floribunda group. Unless he is interested in watching the performance of many kinds, he will do well to plant several of each variety rather than one of each of many sorts. This will give him large bunches and bowls of one variety during seasonal flushes; they are easier to arrange and probably look better than mixed colours.

The rose exhibitor is in a different category: he needs blooms of quality rather than quantity. He wants them par­ticularly at the time of the shows at which he desires to com­pete. He has no use for the early-blooming or late-blooming sorts, for show dates are fixed to catch the seasonal flush of blooms. To the really hardened specimen-bloom grower, garden display or home decoration is of little interest, despite his love of the beauty in flowers, and his garden is apt to be drab and devoid of colour even at the height of the season. Many of his varieties will be poor growers, shy bloomers, and have "weak-necked" blooms. These types are worth while to him, for their blooms are so perfect. Fortunately such roses and such men are becoming less numerous.

Most modern roses are said to be of the dual-purpose type, for they produce large numbers of blooms fit for garden and home decoration, while a good proportion of them is up to specimen-bloom standard. Consequently the modern rose ex­hibitor's garden has become a much more interesting and beautiful place than that of his earlier prototype.