Back in October 2023, I posted about work being carried out at the Storeton road entrance to the Rose Garden. We wanted to clear away the ivy, large cherry laurel bushes and weeds and open up the space to become more welcoming. The fuchsia shrubs at the front edge were drastically cut back and some replanted elsewhere. The holly tree at the side of the entrance had the lower leaves and branches trimmed to raise the canopy so that drivers or passers-by would get a glimpse of the long border and want to pay our green space a visit.
In the picture above , you can clearly see that the plants have taken and are happily growing. Extra plants have been added, such as Hellebores and more ferns. We were delighted that all the native English bluebells came up in Spring, although this meant Sian and Dave had to remove many Spanish bluebells that were around. All the daffodils also flowered.
The front edge nearest to the lawn has lots of snowdrops and then Sweet Woodruff, and the smaller fuchsias are bushing out and will be flowering soon. Our volunteers are always keeping the weeds under control as much as possible and it will only improve as the planting matures. I'm sure that visitors to the Rose garden will see a clear improvement, as the long border previously seemed to stop at the oak tree and then went rather unkempt. Now, the long border flows into the newly planted woodland area with interest right up to the sandstone wall by the entrance. Next time you pop in, take a few minutes to appreciate this recently renovated section of the long border.
Thanks again to Sian and Dave Turner for their hard work and vision for what could be achieved in this part of the Rose garden.
