Garden Rose Pergola

The pergola with its resident roses has been a real success. It forms part of a natural walkway from the back of the house over a bridge to the new Hazelnut Tree Orchard.

The main roses which cover the pergola are a matching pair of the orange-apricot Crepuscule, planted at the corners nearest the house. Crepuscule has the added feature of beautiful new red foliage growth. A rich red climber (Santana) and a lemon climber called Casino are planted at the other corners near the bridge over the water race.

Below is one of the earliest photographs I have of the Pergola, with the vegetable garden backing on to it. The rose in this picture has been shifted out, because its colour clashed. This picture was taken after just one summer of growth.

For the first summer I planted dark blue sweet peas (extremely fragrant and long flowering) here to climb through the rose canes. Walking through the pergola was a very fragrant experience. The rose which I think is Lavender Lassie has since been shifted out - its colour clashed horribly with the apricot Crepuscule.

Update 2010

Well, nothing much has changed - except that one of the Crepuscules was damaged in a snow storm and over the succeeding year wasted away. Finally it had to be chopped down at the base, and is no more. But this gives more room to Casino, the lemon beauty.

And I keep forgetting to grow more sweet peas here. Blast! Must put that on my list...

Update 2011

Aha! I miss the balance of the two Crepuscule roses, one on each side of the pergola. So this mid-winter I've paid a visit to the local rose nursery for a replacement Crepuscule. I hope it grows well - of course I'll plant it in fresh dirt.