We are surrounded by trees at Veddw Garden and when we first came we thought it was a super idea to grow rambler roses up them. So whenever we could afford a day off and a plant we went off to a wonderful rose nursery in the Cotswolds, at North Nibley and bought several. It made a great day out.
This nursery man, Keith Marshall, once sighed at my proffered list: ‘yet more big white ramblers’ and indeed several were just that. And many years later one or two have at last appeared, maybe a hundred yards up in the trees. Scarcely visible. Certainly offering very little spectacle or scent.
What a treat, maybe 30 years on.
However, after a random visit to David Austen Roses we fell in love with Rosa Belvedere and started that up a huge holly. It has a slight scent, now impossible to enjoy as it has smothered the holly and gone huge but high. It is amazing, beautiful and very difficult to do justice to in a photograph.
We also covered the unsightly garage with Kiftsgate, which settled down happily, creating one of the first green roofs in the country as a variety of other plants joined it. Originally I would get up on the roof and arrange the huge stems across the roof, to spread it all out. I wouldn’t dare attempt that today and I have nightmares about what we will do if the roof collapses. But the rose in flower is wonderful and as you stand between that and Rosa wichurana, now Rosa lucieae, which has spread for about a hundred yards along the opposite bank, you may wonder which rose is creating the amazing scent on the air. Often. Not always. Scent does seem to depend on the weather.
Kiftsgate – drone picture by Charles Hawes
Rosa wichurana, now Rosa lucieae,
And that is the way to grow a rambler, I have decided. Sideways. You need a large space and to give the thing maybe no support at all. Then it will spread and spread, layering itself and spreading scent and flower for yards and yards. All within sight and smell. Sadly, you will also have trees and shrubs seed themselves into the middle, unreachable amongst the thorns. Charles usually somehow gets them out, though I keep suggesting we let them grow and see if the rose goes up with them.
One of the Cotswold roses was Wickwar, bred by Keith Steadman, which the RHS describes as a compact, dense, rambling rose to 3.5m tall. I’m not sure about the compact – it’s another enormous spreader. I originally planned this to grow up the trees at the edge of the garden, but then our fibre cables were strung above it and we started pulling it down. Which was a great idea, creating an enormous hedge of richly scented flowers and beautiful grey foliage. You must move to a large garden in the country and do this thing! Rambling Rector should have been alongside it, but has so far, many years on, failed to appear.
Wickwar – gorgeous.
When we got married, surprise surprise, we were given another big white rambler – Wedding Day. Here it is.
That looks fine, perhaps. Except that Charles is standing on our next door neighbour’s roof for that photograph. The rose is huge and hardly visible.
Wedding Day as seen from the garden. And why did I ever buy that peculiar purply thing?
So, visit us in June and you will have some treats. But I’m not sure that Mme. Alfred Carrière will be one of them. Where is this rose best to go? I grew it on a pergola once and stared up in frustration as it flowered above my head. I removed it and preferred the pergola empty. Reluctant to be without this much praised rose though, I then grew it into some shrubs, where, at last, (took some time) it flowers. And then it goes over rather horribly.
Mme. Alfred Carrière – no-one tells you how shocking she can be.
Albertine, beautiful, prickly, sumptuous, scented and necessary, is doing better, managing to be nearer our noses. And Charles thinks it goes over prettily. I would forgive it almost anything. I grew up with it and would not be without it.
The wonderful Albertine.
This year has been the best ever for Kiftsgate and Luciae- their combined scent is just gorgeous . Wickwar too is huge- it has stems extending 5 metres at least. As for Anne’s estimate of the size of the first two. Ahem – reduce these in your mind by about 80%! Such a shame that the majority of our ramblers are now best viewed with binoculars but then they are 30 odd years old. I think we should plant more- lots more- and then train them sideways.
It’s true that I didn’t actually measure them.
I have the thornless Zephirine Drouhin growing up my very thorny hardy orange (Citrus trifoliata). It blooms between the orange blossoms and the formation of hundreds of tiny inedible oranges. I can see it from my kitchen window or from the terrace above it, spread out over the top of the tree. It has worked better than I ever thought it would, but have always wondered whether I am supposed to do any pruning. I certainly can’t cut it back, other than to cut it down.
I also have the thornless Lady Banks rambler (Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’), which long ago climbed well above the fence it was assigned to and up and over an American holly and anything else it can manage. Every year I sigh and think I really should cut it back, but it is so spectacular! Any encouragement one way or another would be appreciated!
I can’t think of any reason why you would limit these delights. They sound happy, as you do too!
Back in my early gardening days I was almost enticed by the ramblers in trees. I think it was a photo of an old apple tree with roses clambering through it. Then my practical side kicked in. How do you pick the apples? How do you prune the apple? So no go. Sure are lovely. In someone else’s garden.
Sensible – as long as it was a productive apple tree. I have sometimes had my eye on ours, because they are small, accessible trees. And I was thinking of clematis. But……well, maybe?
Three cheers for ‘Albertine’; a beautiful rose. Can I suggest ‘American Pillar’ as your next sideways rambler? I miss mine, lost to Rose Rosette Disease far too young! (https://kansasgardenmusings.blogspot.com/2010/09/american-pillar.html)
No scent!!
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