After two threatened thunderstorms some rain arrived yesterday. What a relief. No relief on the slug front though. A promising cutting of a clematis was stripped bare. I found the culprit and removed it elsewhere. Good news: Blue tits feeding in the box bushes – they seem to have finally found the box moth caterpillars and there are plenty of them to find. In the garden the roses are triumphant: colour, scent and so many buds to open. It looks like being a great year for them. Here’s six of them for this week.

One

‘Madame Isaac Péreire’. This is an old rose, dating back to 1841. It’s not a repeating rose but the scent is gorgeous, the colour fantastic and it has beautiful flowers.

Two

‘Scepter’d Isle’. A relative new comer, dating from 1996. This is one of the classic English Roses with a repeat flower. Another one with beautiful scent.

Three

‘Natasha Richardson’ Oh, I think there is a pattern here – beautifully scented, fantastic repeat flowering. Wonderful.

Four

Some variation for you. This one is a climber. ‘James Galway’ A light pink flower with a beautiful scent! This one was introduced in 2000.

Five

Another climber, and one of my favourite dark red roses. This is ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. Described as a compact climber, this one is in its second year of growing over an arch. Guess what? It has a wonderful scent!

Six

Another stunner in the red range is ‘Darcey Bussell’. I have three of these planted together to provide the summer back drop to a garden bench. The scent, in case you were wondering, is of course, beautiful.

Yes, I like to have roses in the garden. I keep thinking about adding more but bio-diversity is healthier methinks. Deadheading on a summer evening is one of my favourite garden jobs and an added bonus is that the slugs leave them alone. Perfect.

There’s plenty of lovely things on The Propagator’s page this week. There will be inspiration to be found in the links too. Have a look, join in, enjoy!