Everything's coming up roses!!

 Here are just a few of the David Austin roses I had to leave behind.  I had about 8 in big planters, but eventually I had no option but to plant them.  In the event it was another 3 years before we finally sold the house.

As I have written in other posts (last summer) this was bought marked Charles Thomas (yellow!) this clearly wasn't and I believe was Eustacia Vye. That's the nearest match anyway.

This is Cardinal de Richelieu.

One I really regretted leaving behind - Jude the Obscure, one of my Thomas Hardy themed roses.  Still, he was growing happily with the trellis to keep the wind off him, AND guess what arrived today, as yet another house-warming gift from my best friend Gay (we started off as penpals 50 years ago now).  Yes, Jude the Obscure - the poor chap is in a pot with a note to take out of the box and put outside (it keeps picking with snow and is PERISHING cold!) and give it a good watering.  Poor chap - he'll have frozen roots tonight.

Tess - one of my favourites.  I am going to replace her with a climbing version to be trained up the front of the house.

Tuscany Superb - an absolute must for my new garden.

Veilchenblau - such an unusual colour and it fades to a beautiful shade of grey-purple too.  I have just the right bank for it to scramble over too.  

The globe-shaped flowers of Raubritter are just stunning.  I had to add this to my garden after seeing it at wonderful Cothay Manor in Somerset.  This looked amazing in the setting of the beautiful gardens there.  It may just have fallen into my shopping basket when I was looking at Trevor White's site for a stunning purple rose called Indigo, which will also soon be on its way to me.  Neither were in stock at David Austin (Raubritter not even listed these days).

Anyway, my best friend Gay sent me Jude today (as mentioned above) and by the same post, another dear dear Dorset friend sent me a generous voucher to spend with David Austin, so I have spent the happiest afternoon looking at their rose catalogue and choosing what I will buy.  The two ordered from Trevor White are bare root and will be with me by the end of the month.  They're an early birthday present from Keith.

I will show you my David Austin collection when they arrive, but the short list is:   Bathsheba, Tess, Eustacia Vye, Tuscany Superb,  Emily Bronte, Shailer's White Moss, Reveil Dijonnair, Hippolyte and Roserie de l'Hay - the latter Tam always said was the scent of my garden in our old home . . .

I am blessed, truly, with wonderful lifelong friends who are so happy that we have finally made our move to our forever home, and whose gifts will remind me of them every time the roses bloom.  Hopefully it won't be long before they can come and see them for themselves when they come and stay.  D - you know who you are - a HUGE heartfelt thank you to you and Gay for giving such pleasure today and in the future.