David Austin trip

Sat nav...... Was using the one on my phone but the signal dropped out hehehehe. We made it in the end! Oh and got to the right one even!!

 

Well catztail I was gonna rely on the trusty iphone for my sat nav but i think I'll have to bring the actual satnav. The other half is familiar with the area through work so I'm hoping that counts in my favour :yess: But we shall see!! I will look out for those brown signs anyway. I think we are going to try and do birmingham botanical gardens on the way back.....I'm sure we can cram it into one day! I will make sure of it

Grumpy thanks for looking for finding the rhapsody in blue for me, I will enquire on Saturday! But may get taken by others too

ClaraLou to be honest I was of exactly the same opinion. I always remember us having the odd rose in the garden as a child, and I had always remembered them more vivdly in the gardens of my grandparents. I always kind of figured it was something that took a long time to perfect. I think it's time to begin! I had never really appreciated them until I saw the rhapsody in blue....it took my breath away....and the scent just perfect for me (I'm not a fan of the very floral scented....i like the sweet scented- as I call it anyway). My friend bought some root cuttings of rumba and woburn abbey, and the results have been breathtaking. Rumba has wonderful red/orange edges, and a light yellow centre. When you catch it in the early morning sun it just seems to sparkle! I bought an arthur bell rose and patio pink rose this year and have been pleased with the results so far. I want to mix up the colours a bit though and line some of the edges of the beds.

 

Oh and ClaraLou, I quite like the sound of CosmoGuy!! Lol.

 

Cosmos, they do one called 'blue for you' and another really nice blue one that we liked but I can't remember the name! It is planted in the gardens so you should be able to spot it. I went with some ideas of what I wanted but once there others take preference!! I've got Falstaff which is a deep red climber and lovely also Jude the Obscure, beautifull perfume and gorgeous orangey colour. Enjoy the day. There is also a really good cafe/restaurant to make the day perfect.

 

Well I took a trip on Saturday, and had a brilliant time. The garden's were stunning. I was impressed with how well the gardens flowed, and was surprised to see a lot of other plants in their borders too (Scabiousa and Rudbeckia stood out for me ). There was a fabulous selection of roses to buy in their garden centre, and all seemed of a good quality. There were a number of roses not featured in the garden for sale too, so it's worth looking if you can't see one you wanted in the gardens (not that it's possible!!). The only problem was whittling your choices down when you got to the shop. I went with:

The Pilgrim - This one caught my eye in virtually every bed I saw it planted. It seems to shine so brightly in the sun.

The Pilgrim - David Austin Roses


Jubilee Celebration - Catztail your recommendation was taken ...just stunning and seems to shimmer in different types of light as you wander around the garden and see it planted elsewhere.



I was certainly drawn towards the musk hybrids.....I love their scent!!I did look for rhapsody in blue in the shop, and also Blue For You....but there were none available. I saw a really nice little rambler rose too called violetta I think, stunning purple too. Couldn't see that one in the shop though. Falstaff was a beautiful rose stingo, it was planted with Munstead Wood in the victorian garden.I was torn between Queen of Sweden and Munstead Wood....but in the end I went with the above Had originally ear marked Margaret Merrill, but when I got to it I was less than impressed... not as I had expected. I did try the cafe too....we had a lovely lunch....would definitely go there again...very fresh .

I did take some pictures with my better camera, but I need to figure a way to upload them as they need converting first.

 

Spruce, I just badger him enough that he finally gave up. It's probably going to happen again though cause I have somewhere else I want to go next weekend. I have 5 days to listen to it......