Roses

Madame Alfred Carriere

I have thirteen roses in the garden at present. Four are in flower and the others are in bud. They will all go on flowering for some time and I do love them. The ones in flower at present are Madame Alfred Carriere, perhaps my favourite rose, she has no thorns, white flowers, smells delicious and will go on flowering all summer. 

There is the climbing Papa Meilland, rather unusual as it is usually a hybrid tea, but I love its height  - it peers over the yew hedge all summer, with enormous deep red flowers and a delicious smell.  I have tried to find another climbing one but it is difficult. If you want one you might have to go abroad. 

Papa Meilland, the climbing variety, difficult to find outside Australia!

Felicia is another climber which will go on showing its pink flowers all summer and  Abraham Darby, is also a climber, which has flowers so heavy it can hardly hold them up, a sort of yellowy pink and a delicious smell. There are plenty of other roses about to come out. 

  

Felicia, will flower all summer   

    

Abraham Darby, so heavy!

                                                                  

                                                            

I think there are more bees this year, but I am bad at naming them. They do go for the wild plants, some of them like ragged robin, and some love the foxgloves and the Geraneum pheum, that very black wild geranium. I keep a few at the back of the garden specially for the bees.  

Bee on green alkanet

The birds are very vocal at the moment. Here are a black bird and a great tit I saw this morning.