When I began planting this garden one plant I knew I would be planting lots of roses. Over the years I have planted many and indeed this year several more have gone in, but that as they say, is another story. Today I am talking about one particular rose, Wild Edric.
Wild, as I like to call him, or Mr Edric, was planted specifically to scramble up and around the eating apple tree that oversees the Dancing Lawn. Mr Edric grew quickly and fast is around 8 foot tall. He flowers early and he flowers long and has very good scent.
In my daily wanderings around my garden I like to tweet photos of 'my favourite rose' of the day and often it is Wild Edric. This time of year in particular it is as not many of the others have quite reached flowering stage. He is very spiny, which is how he is such a good scrambler and I always think it was one of my better planting decisions.
Earlier this year however, the eating apple tree blew over during Storm Ciara. As I tidied up the tree I also had to cut back Wild Edric somewhat to avoid the prickles and also to remove damage. I knew that not much would set back this rose and thought it might even be a cut back he needed.
It was indeed a rejuvenation for him. Wild Edric has decided that with nothing much to scramble upon that he would prefer to sprawl.
He sprawls to great effect and has taken on a lax and romantic demeanor that makes me recall the roses at Ninfa. Ok, ok, I know I get more than a little beyond myself at times and I know my garden bears no resemblance at all to Ninfa, but it is something in the drape and lean of this rose that for whatever reason takes me right back to my visit to Ninfa a few years ago in what currently feels like another lifetime.
As ever with my garden, a lot of what is best within it is not exactly what I planned but what nature has decided to do. I love this element of gardening and embrace it. Dear, dear Wild Edric, I loved you before but now I love you more. You have been freed from the requirement to scramble and are now my favourite sprawler.
If you want to know more about whom Wild Edric is named after you can read about him here: