Cottage garden roses

When a cottage garden is well designed it makes you forget the planning that went into creating it and takes over by establishing new hierarchies, thriving on apparent randomness and developing a personality of its own.

Roses are very good companions in this environment and blend in flawlessly to add a romantic touch to the eager spikes of veronicas, tall stalks of delphiniums and fresh energy of daisies.

Cottage garden roses don't have the aristocratic look of the long stemmed hybrid teas, their flowers show up in bunches on gently arched stems to mingle with the fringed yarrow leaves and the fragrant lily cups.

The perfectly formed corollas of Bishop's Castle for instance, are held tightly in the cup of their outward petals and their middles unfold in the neatly quartered pattern they inherited from their bourbon relatives.

Surrounded by gladioli, lilies, bee-balms and zinnias, projected on the delicate weave of the sweet peas in the background, the summer garden would be incomplete without roses, the quintessential summer flower. There is no such thing as a disappointing rose, each one charms you in its own way and you end up filling your garden with them if you have the space and the sun exposure.