On a recent trip to the Essex coast, I couldn’t but help notice this gorgeous rose-Rosa rugosa ‘Scabrosa’ (kindly identified for me by the lovely people at Peter Beales Roses) in somebody’s front garden, used for fragrant hedging-and what a wonderful hedge! Checking out Rosa rugosa (without the Scabrosa, but still with gorgeous pink flowers) on the Peter Beales website, revealed its true versatility. As a single flowerer, this rose is very attractive to bees and wildlife (Carol Klein talked about the importance of growing single flowered plants only this Friday on Gardeners World, in order to feed our declining bee population), is highly scented, very disease resistant, will grow on any soil, can take some shade, flowers all summer long (unlike many other wild roses which come and go all too swiftly), has gorgeous pink blooms and large red hips…..what’s not to love about this fabulous rose. (Height 4ft x Spread 6ft)
Other sightings which made me want to up sticks and move to the seaside were this combination of Rose, Valerian and undulating picket fence,
Valerian again in all it’s coloured varieties,
this show stopper of a front garden, filled with Roses, Valerian, yellow Sisyrinchium, Foxgloves and Allium,
and its sister border, with Allium, my favourite Gladiolus byzantinus and plenty of Sisyrinchium again.
It’s great to see and understand what plants flourish in growing conditions-light soil, salt, windy and a very open aspect- which are so different, in fact almost opposite to my garden in London-heavy clay and an enclosed (some might say overly packed together), protected environment.
As a veg grower (and eater), I was delighted to stumble upon fields of peas growing as far as the eye could see. A shorter variety than I grow, planted close together, so that staking isn’t an issue.
And finally, it was great to see Samphire (Salicornia europaea) doing its own thing on the beach-a delicacy only available to buy in posh fish shops in London!
p.s. Great advice on how to grow your own Samphire at Victoriana Nursery