Garden Lawn Rose Arch

The entrance to the Frisbee Lawn was one of the first places to get a rose arch. And for many years this worked really well, with a lovely white Iceberg rose trailing over the archway.

Iceberg roses on the Frisbee arch - 1999

This early photograph was taken in the summer of 1999, before the grass in the Frisbee Lawn had dried off. The lawn had just been mowed and everything was looking neat and tidy. The white rose seems happy in this picture, and the conifer isn't too big - yet.

Frisbee Arch - 2010

I've always worked hard keeping the narrow Frisbee border weed-free and watered. It looks its best in spring and early summer - with masses of yellow daffodils, followed by yellow irises. It has some evergreen shrubs, too, for interest in the other seasons.

Things Do Change

But things do change. The white Iceberg rose started sulking, while the conifer grew and grew.

Finally in 2009 things were completely out of hand. So I pruned the rose totally back to its base, and the tree trinmmer took to the conifer. My instruction was to trim it into 'a blob'!

Update - 2010

It's now spring in 2010 and yes - the rose is regrowing, with several strong new shoots, but is not up to reaching for that archway, as yet. The conifer is now an extremely green blob, still rather large for this space, but better than before.

Patience is required before the Frisbee Archway can return to its former floriferous glory. Oh well - I can wait another year or two...