New french doors at Genus HQ have replaced a window and necessitated the removal of a grape vine that was originally trained over it. Groundworks had disturbed the roots, grapes would shower down on the paving, staining it purple, and the fruits themselves were largely pip with little flesh. We left the training wires on the wall and the iris’s at the base were thinned out and relocated or replanted.
But what to replace it with? With a south facing aspect roses have always thrived in this bed that has heat radiating from the limestone walls and soil that we have been mulching now annually for over 10 years. So a rose it was.
The Generous Gardener from Mr Austin was our choice. With pale pink lightly scented flowers and a maximum height of about 15 feet this would fit the spot perfectly. With the addition of our homemade compost, a sprinkling of bone-meal and a dash of rootgrow, our new resident was watered in and, with the promise of next years display, the predicted foul weather suddenly seemed such an insignificant worry.