THE YEARIN ROSES

摘要

ROSES ARE EXCELLENT, low-maintenance shrubs, with astounding variability in size, habit and flower colour. They can be anything from truly dwarf miniatures, only 1 Ocm (4in) tall, to climbers and ramblers capable of reaching 10m (3 3 ft). Their scentscan be sweet, fruity, musky or tea-like, or complex combinations of fragrances. Their flowers come in every shade and colour, except true blue, and they do not need dedicated beds: many happily grow, and are immensely useful, in mixed plantings. Neithercan roses be dismissed as only for summer colour — some repeat-flower right into December, and if you add in autumn colour and the ornamental nature of the fruit (hips) — and even the thorns of some - you have a genus that can make a valuable contribution to British gardens in every month of the year.