Last weekend, the 7th and 8th March was the first phase of planting in the Rose Garden.
During the Winter months we had been busy
clearing some of the beds of dead and diseased roses. The cleared beds were weeded and dug over in preparation for the arrival of over 500 new bare root rose bushes. Here you can clearly see how the spacings were marked out with canes and stakes before planting began. We aimed to plant up 4 large inner beds and the 10 outer, circular beds. More roses will be ordered for planting in the Autumn, the quantity will depend on how much money is raised in donations during the year.
By Saturday lunchtime all the volunteers had just finished planting up two large beds. The first was filled with Rose National Trust, a red rose. The gentlemen in this picture on the right are looking over the second bed, which we filled with a yellow variety called Arthur Bell. Each bare root rose bush was dipped into a gel containing Rootgrow, a mycorrhizal fungi which will help to get the roots established faster to create healthier shrubs. Rose English Princesswas the third variety to go in.
The four large beds and a few circular ones were finished by the end of Saturday. Sunday morning began with rain so planting was postponed until the afternoon. When the sun eventually came out the work continued and by late Sunday afternoon all the roses had been planted. 
