The Joy of Roses by Pocock's

7th October 04 - Written by RHS Gold Medalists Winners at Hampton Court 2004 - Specialist Rose Growers, Pocock Roses.

(For more information on the small nursery dedicated to growing nothing but roses for the garden, please visit their web site.)

For years roses have been considered hard work, disease prone, old-fashioned and not really the thing to have in your garden and this view has particularly been held by garden designers, journalists and trendsetters.

However, in the last few years people have been saying that it's all very well having a garden full of foliage, but it needs colour and fragrance (sitting on your decking is much enhanced by a waft of perfume from a rose entwined around it or in pots on it). HENRI MATISSE

Roses are the ideal plants to fulfil this need for colour and fragrance, flowering from June to October with simple cultivation techniques. (I have a theory that gardeners in the old days wanted to make themselves indispensable, so they deliberately made jobs like pruning, feeding and disease prevention seem difficult to prevent young 'whipper snappers' from usurping them!)

Anyway, here I am going to show you how easy it is to produce roses that are a joy to behold.

When choosing your roses always choose disease-resistant varieties (there is a list at the end of this article). This does not mean they are totally immune to disease but they are a whole lot better. Bear in mind that roses are sun-lovers so plant them in a sunny spot which hasn't grown roses before. (If you have to choose a spot where roses have previously grown, change the soil by digging out a hole 45cmx45cmx45cm and replace with fresh soil to avoid replant problems.) When planting, ensure that the 'stumpy' bit is just below the surface.