Our first trial bed was planted on February 16th 2023 with 7 Rosa Penelope shrub roses. These were planted into cardboard boxes in the ground to allow their roots to establish without any contact with the original soil, which could have been responsible for the decline of previous roses we had put in that bed.
The roses are bought bare-root and can only be planted in the dormant season between November and late February. During the Summer of 2023 we observed the health of the Penelope roses. Delighted by how they were doing, another bed was cleared, weeded and planted, using the same method, with 7 Rosa Sally Holmes. This took place in late October of the same year.
In early March 2024, two more rose beds were prepared and planted with 9 The Simple Life roses, as well as 12 of the Lark Ascending rose. These roses were selected for their vigorous and disease resistant traits, together with their growth habits and open, pollinator friendly flowers. During this year we also worked hard adding low growing herbaceous perennials to the newly planted rose beds. This will create creeping ground cover and reduce the need to weed between the roses. It also attracts insects which feed on aphids which could be on the roses, therefore helping to keep the roses healthy. Many people had commented positively on the lavender under planting on the left side of the garden, looking down from the rose arches. The far side of the garden is more shaded and the soil is less well draining. This has meant we had to grow, divide and also purchase a selection of perennials for under planting. Magill's Nursery, and Rostherne Nursery, both on Leasowe Road, have grown on plants for us for use around the rose beds. Here are the names of some of the plants we chose to use:-
Ajuga, Alchemilla Mollis, Aster Autumn Jewel, Bergenia, Erigeron Karvinskianus, Geranium Cantabigiense, Geranium Rozanne, Heuchera, Marjoram, Stachys Lanata, Tiarella Spring Symphony. Certain other plants may have been dotted in to see how they worked . We noted that darker Ajuga varieties stood out less until we put silvery Stachys or Lime green Tiarellas beside them. This was also the case with dark Heuchera Purple Palace. Our aim is also to have plants which are bee friendly and flower for a long time, are evergreen wherever possible and spread well to carpet the ground.
Overall, the result has been very good and people visiting the Arno have spoken to us , saying they enjoy seeing the colourful new rose beds. We do not plan for the under planting to become another 'Long Border'. Rather, these perennials will spread and require little or no maintenance. As they increase in size, we can propagate them to use in other rose beds going forward.
Here are some recent photographs showing how well they are establishing. Those beds under planted this September have larger spaces between the plants so that they have room to expand.
Clearly, the Alchemilla is flowering well and will self-seed to give us more to move around where there are any gaps. Doing particularly well are the Stachys Lanata, which have almost trebled in size in one season.
To the right, you can see the latest bed which is more shady. The Heuchera Purple Palace was hardly noticeable, until we planted the lime green Tiarella next to it. The roses were only planted in March of this year but have already put on a lot of growth.
There are a lot of foxgloves in this rose bed, due to send up their flower spikes next May. We plan to move many around and just leave small groups of 3 or 5 , to add some vertical pops of colour.
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As the perennials expand , we aim to divide them up, or remove parts growing too near to the grass edges and transplant them into other rose beds. If a perennial proves to be too vigorous, it can easily be removed and used in another part of the Arno.
Moving forward, this November 2024 will see us planting another 4 rose beds with roses called;-
Morning Mist, Tottering-by-gently, Scarborough Fair and Kew Gardens.
Our volunteers have been hard at work weeding the beds in preparation. They will be planted with the roses and mulched over Winter then next Spring under planted.
At the same time, yet another 5 rose beds will be weeded. With more volunteers we are able to make better progress on the 42 rose beds. Fewer roses also means we can look after those roses better, in terms of feeding with fertiliser, dead heading, pruning and cleaning secateurs between each rose to prevent the spread of any diseases. This new style of rose bed should mean less weeding and more interest throughout the year for our visitors to enjoy. We hope you agree and come and see for yourselves next time you are passing by the Arno.
