I adore roses. Let’s be clear, that statement is meant to include ALL roses, I am in no way a rose “snob” demanding a certain petal count, specific color, intense ( or even any) fragrance , or a pretty French name.

I like single roses, I like double roses, I like tea roses, florists roses, old fashioned ramblers, shrub roses, landscape roses, rose hips, gosh I even like rose potpourri.

I could do without the thorns that puncture my always gloveless hands, the blackspot that although it has yet to affect the bloom or life span of any rose here, looks messy, and the rabbit damage that still has me confused because they always chew the thorniest of the bunch and I just don’t get how they do not leave a blood trail from their evil little mouths when they do.

In September and October the roses here are one of the joys of my gardening year. They standout in full bloom taking up the slack from their  perennial bed mates that have gone past . The list of who is in bloom is always a long one , yet varies year to year . Right now all of the Drift Roses are in bloom filling up their corner of the world with sweet little blossoms clustered  tightly hovering over the ground ( they are in order  ‘Coral’, ‘Peach’ ‘Sweet’ and ‘Pink’)

The Knockouts, yellow ‘Sunny’  the double pink, and red are all positively smothered in flowers and buds.

Three climbers, an unknown red and Captain Sam Holland, and ‘New Dawn’ are still trucking along and ‘Sea foam’ is covered in fat buds ( picture is of its first flush of bloom earlier in the summer).

I cut the last bloom off the very fragrant ‘Sharifa Asma’ last week and kept in on my desk  to inhale while I worked. ( I forgot to snap a photo, sorry, but really what you missed is it’s incredible fragrance and I can’t give you that anyway )

‘The Fairy has been in bloom since June non-stop, as has ‘Carefree Spirit’.

                                                       Back for their late summer show after a short mid-summer break  are the Magic carpet roses ‘Alba’ and ‘Coral’ as well as two shrubs,  ‘Julia Child’ and ‘All the Rage’ ( no photo)

and the hips on Rosa glauca are incredible as always.