This is the most wonderful time of the year in Lot-et-Garonne for roses. They just adore our clay soil. After a week of heat and then yesterday’s heavy rain, many of ours have lost their blooms. And although most will continue to bloom over the coming months they will not reach the same sheer abundance that we have in May/June.
Not sure how many I have now - probably well over a hundred. This is just a few of them …
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My goodness, Sue, they are wonderful!
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Lovely roses Sue! Ours were badly frosted but have come back strongly. Luckily, heavy wind and rain yesterday didn’t really damage them. More storms coming tomorrow though.
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I loved looking at all of those photos, thanks! I’ve been amazed: several times I’ve had success when I’ve taken a cut branch and simply stuck it in the ground. It hasn’t been successful every time, but about five times (out of at least a dozen). I’ve found new growth and one of these has just put out a small bud for the first time. We live in the Charente, with clay soil here as well.
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It’s wonderful isn’t it! I do the same, which is why I have so many roses now. I’ve learnt to prune them very hard in spring and I hate throwing the strong sturdy cuttings away. So I have big pots of potting compost and just stick about 7-8 cuttings in each pot. Usually at least one of the cuttings takes and sometimes several.
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I stand in awe! I have just put in New Dawn against the shed and Buff Beauty in front of the bird bath. Paul bought a deep pink rambler 20 years ago and I moved it from a large pot to open ground. So I had to take it back to the frame and 80% of the cuttings took. So we now have a baby hedge of pink roses…Can I advise you all to take rose cuttings in November and December, most should take so long as they don’t dry out in spring.
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Oh sorry, I couldn’t! Mine are still in bloom. With 3-4 pots of any one type of rose with 7-8 cuttings per pot I’m really not that fussed if the early spring cuttings don’t all take. And our rainy season these days is late winter/early spring. Then come April it stops and I water from then on.
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Hi Sue, yes, the weather isn’t what it was… I found that here in 22 the garden is really only dormant in February. I will experiment in the coming years. Amenity horticulture is one of my 2 trades, trained a long time ago in Cardiff Parks and Gardens Department.
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Use rooting powder or gel on your cutting and you will have a lot more success with them rooting, or use honey as a natural rooting gel.
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I use cinnamon. Where are you getting rooting powder Colin? I thought it was no longer available, only the liquid which I don’t like.
Amazon or I have seen Bio Technology, Algoflash and Doff in a few garden centres.
My neighbour swears by this stuff.
Heavens! That looks suspicious - white powder from the Far East. 
Great if you want to grow another nose 
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Hi Gudrun, I think that’s a great point, to take rose cuttings in November and December. However, I do think the key point you make is to make sure they don’t dry out. In fact, I’ve had success with getting rose cuttings that I’ve planted in the ground in late summer and during this rainy spring, as well as in late Autumn, to begin to take root! I do think in the case of the rainy spring successes, it’s because they were stuck into fertile, rain-soaked, soil. Cheers.
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I know where I want to spend my summer vacation! Tucked into a hammock somewhere within the confines of that second large photo. Smelling the luscious scent of the peach roses (you just know it is light and lovely with a touch of fruitiness), listening to the bees buzzing drowsily amongst the little purple flowers (a type of verbena?) and quaffing a lemonade - or possibly a more potent potable - out of a frosted glass with a long paper straw. Book lying open on my lap, soon to topple off when I nap.
Lovely - thank you!
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Thanks a bunch for posting these (see what I did there!). So beautiful and such variety. This region does seem to grow the most lovely roses and they are such a pleasure.
Please feel free to post about your garden anytime.
And thanks to everyone else for the advice I have been noting and will try to follow.
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We are the exact opposite to you Sue, sandy, heavily flint laiden soil, luckily we have many trees so the leaves mulch back into the soil, it showed how diverse roses are though.
We have nowhere near the selection of your stunning displays, they mostly get left to their own devices bar pruning and keeping the greenfly at bay, as most of our time is taken up either cutting grass or renovating.
on your collection.
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yes, verbena bonariensis - butterflies and hummingbird hawk moths adore it. It’s such a thug! Introduce one plant into a garden and then a few years later it’s everywhere.
I rarely remember the names of my roses, but I do know that peach rose is one of David Austin’s. Our local garden centre owner told me that DA grows some of his roses specially for France - they need to adjust to the different climate. This part of France, I guess the problem is our long dry summer - mind you, not so much this year - third night of thunderstorms.
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Thank you Colin. Love your photos, especially the last two (very French!). And the first two (rambler? climber?) what a mass of blooms! Love your roofs as well!
Re keeping the greenfly at bay, may I encourage you to leave nature to its own devices. If you have greenfly, then within a short time you will have ladybirds who will sort them out for you.
I’m a HUGE fan of nettle “tea” - add two to four coffee spoons to a watering can or put a spoonful in a spray bottle - works wonders in terms of the health of the plant.
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