A Mid-Summer Garden

A mid-summer garden in a sub-tropical climate such as ours is very much at the mercy of seasonal changes. All gardens have their challenges, ever-changing and shifting with the seasons, and AT MY ROSE GARDEN the impact of summer is readily evident.  The very nature of gardens though is that each season has challenges as well as spectacular offerings; like gorgeous sunsets and looming clouds heralding summer storms.  

Until the summer rains come, the garden is suffering from limited water, hot winds and high temperatures. And our grey, cracking clay soil becomes parched and splits to reveal deep crevices.  Our mantra is 'mulch and more mulch' but as a relatively young garden we are years away from a deep rich soil that retains moisture well.  Nevertheless we are seeing positive changes in the soil, with the garden beds showing signs of improvement in the soil structure.  

And this means that despite (or due to) the heat, flowering herbs and other lovely things are thriving; feverfew, tansy and cosmos to name a few!  

While some roses are flagging temporarily, other roses have taken no notice of the mid-summer heat wave. Take for example the Noisette rose, Milkmaid.  Bred to cope with Australian conditions by Alistair Clark in 1925, she has romped untidily to the top of a large archway, threatening to greet and overtake Lamarque (also a Noisette) creeping up the other side.  Unlike Lamarque, Milkmaid flowers only in Spring, so we are expecting a wonderful display of creamy white blooms this Spring.

Rosa Laevigata is equally exuberant, almost completely covering an entire arbour on her own.  Her thorns are strong and hooked, perfect for climbing but a little dangerous if you venture too near.  Even though she is a Spring flowering rose too, she will get a good trim before Autumn.  She is already so large that a quick haircut will make little difference to the Spring display!

And the Tea rose, Mrs B R Cant, continually offers up her strawberry pink, blowsy blooms no matter the weather.   She is a reliable bloomer, coping well with extreme weather conditions throughout summer, from hot and dry through to soggy and wet.  And I know that she always has several gorgeous, Tea scented flowers and exquisite fat buds just ready for picking.  In fact, I think she thrives on having her flowers picked so she can produce even more! 

Then there's the gorgeous, pale pink New Dawn, covering her arch in one season.  And Comtesse de la Barthe blooming away with her porcelain pink blooms.  The climbing form of Comtesse de la Barthe is competing with New Dawn as to who reaches the other side of their arch first!  



And who can dismiss the lovely creamy blooms of the early Hybrid Musk, Pax, perpetually blooming through all that summer can throw at it.

Half the fun of creating a garden is that it never stays static and each season has its own special features. And now is the time to enjoy and appreciate this season's delights.