Rose gardens: A setting for romance

That takes a bit more conscious effort, so when an occasion presents itself one should make the most of it.

In February the occasion is obviously Valentine’s Day and roses will always provide a perfect setting for a romantic meal outdoors, or even a picnic.

It can be as simple as setting a table and chairs into a rosy corner, scattering rose petals around, filling a vase with beautiful blooms, popping the champagne and the rest is history

Don’t worry if you don’t have any roses in the garden. One, two, or more, containers filled with roses produces an instant rose garden, and it is easy to move them around to get the look you want. Garden roses from the nursery are still young plants and take a few months to fill out. For that instant, rosy look, plant one such rose in a pot and surround it with mini-pot roses in the same or harmonious colours. Go for fragrance. When buying from Ludwig’s Roses, pick up a catalogue that clearly indicates which roses are fragrant.

The showiest roses for containers are compact, bushy, medium high plants. Many hybrid teas have these characteristics and are fragrant. For an abundance of flowers, you can’t beat floribunda roses, as well as Colourscape and miniature roses. Another tip from Ludwig Taschner is to plant fragrant roses at the front of a bed (easy to smell) and less fragrant roses behind.

This is a mix of old and new fragrant favourites.

• “Blue Moon” (hybrid tea) is a much loved oldie that looks delicate but is a strong grower. v “Ecstasy” (crimson red hybrid tea) is a natural choice for the romantic. This is an excellent cut rose, with thornless stems.
• “Garden Queen” (compact hybrid tea) has become the queen of fragrant roses. The huge blooms are a blend of deep pink and violet.
• “Harmonie” (hybrid tea) has both an alluring fragrance and colour: with blooms being a blend of pink, orange and soft yellow. A healthy, vigorous grower.
• “White Figurine” is a new miniature rose with an exceptionally sweet perfume. It produces clusters of perfectly shaped white blooms.