Be kind to the roses...

 A wonderful tall striped rose.
Guy Savoy

Aha! This morning my head is full of rosy gardening ideas. It's a be kind to my roses day. They are mainly dead-headed (or should be), their early summer flowering finished. Firstly, I should construct a couple of archways (or wigwams) out of hazel tree suckers for the Clair Matin roses in the Hump. Maybe shift the path that brushes past them. Have you ever tried to brush past a rose? Ouch.

My second idea is to water the roses in the Allotment Garden. Thoroughly, painstakingly, systematically, buckets and hoses, every rose down its entire length. And have a wee think about the unsuitability of this garden for roses - apart from the big ramblers etc. that cover the netting fence.

Two hours later...

I know, I know. Not very long. I've started on the Allotment Garden, pulled out all the Lychnis, bucketed water on some roses, and left the hose poking into the rugosa hedge. Thought : perennials in this garden are not happy - particularly daylilies and penstemons. But they can stay for now, and the watering will help.

Much Later...

Yeay! I gave every rose buckets and buckets of water. Oops - I even watered a cat - one of the Freds was curled up snoozing underneath Crepuscule. He hardly moved! Then, taking a deep breath, I trimmed back the Rambling Rector - not sure if I should have done this. He will probably get all excited and bush out loads of new canes. Tipped a load of mulch underneath him.

I've left the hose spraying water over the sad patch of Salvia uligosa. This perennial is important for my bees, so I hope it will revive. It's not quite flowering yet.

 And attendant fly...
Clair Matin Rose

Hello Clair Matin

Then I collected some canes and went into the Hump to say hello to Clair Matin. But I didn't build an archway - just reinforced the semi-trellis fence she leans against.

Hello beans

Checked the beans, steadily climbing the obelisk. almost ready to harvest! Mustn't forget them.

Hello spuds

The potatoes in the Hump are all growing amazingly well. Dug up some of the largest, knobbiest Purple Passion potatoes I've ever seen.

Am going to come back to dead-head and pull out a few weeds. By that I mean that there are only a few - the power of mulch! So it's been a day with minimal challenges and lots of rose kindness. In some gardens roses can take being watered for granted. Oops. Not here.