The meadow is full of small jousting blue butterflies

For #RoseWednesday 🌹 a few lemon to creamy white blooms. Nelson's Pride (Amanda Beales, 2006), Crème de la Crème (Gandy, 1995), Tea Noisette William Allen Richardson (Marie Ducher, 1878) & very fragrant Hybrid Tea White Parfum de Provence aka Jeanne Moreau (Meilland, 2005) 🤍 🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the repeat-flowering Tea 'Archiduc Joseph' (Nabonnand, 1892). Rose pink cupped double blooms can open peach or copper shades & fade to crimson. Healthy dark green foliage with red tinted stems. A good tea fragrance. Makes a lovely 5ft bush 🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the richly scented Bourbon 'Boule de Neige' (Lacharme, 1867). Camellia-like double white globular blooms stand on glossy dark green foliage. Mine is climbing around a pillar but doesn't exceed 7ft. Does well in partial shade. Buds are tinged with crimson🌹🌱 #Roses

For #RoseWednesday 🌹 the repeat-flowering 'Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseux'. An ancient mossy rose which is a natural sport of the Autumn Damask 'Quatre Saisons'. Brownish green moss on stem & bud & a profusion of small double white flowers with a blush tint. Sweet fragrance 🌱 #Roses

The most stunningly fragrant rose in my garden is Hybrid Tea 'Fragonard' (Delbard, 2001). An upright bush with glossy dark green leaves & large double silvery pink blooms whose intense rich fruity old rose perfume scents the whole garden around it. Fabulous as a cut flower.🌹🌱 #Roses

A watched tomato never ripens 🌱🍅

First of the courgettes. My favourite Trieste White (a Cousa type zucchini) & Goldrush 🌱

For #RoseWednesday 🌹 the diminuitive China 'Irène Watts' (Guillot, 1896). Double creamy blooms which open shades of salmon, peach or apricot with a sweet fragrance. A dwarf bush of around 2ft, the leaves may be tinged with bronze. Fabulous for a pot or the front of a border. 🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the classic Bourbon 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' (Beluze, 1843). Very large pale to blush pink quartered blooms that open flat & are strongly fragrant. A superb, free flowering rose that forms a short bush. Her one weakness is a tendency to ball in the rain. 🌹 #Roses

Today's rose is the superb 'Old Velvet Rose', the Gallica 'Tuscany'. Described by the herbalist John Gerard, 1596 it is dark carmine red to mauve with the gorgeous sculpted petals of the Tudor Rose. To my mind better than its offspring Rivers' Superb Tuscany ('Tuscany Superb').🌹🌱 #Roaes

What big eyes you have

Today's Old Rose is 'Shailer's White Moss' (discovered by Henry Shailer, 1788). A white form of Old Pink Moss (R. centifolia muscosa). Lovely mossy buds, highly scented full flat & quartered flowers which have a blush tint in the centre passing to pure white. Summer flowering. #RoseWednesday🌹🌱

Today's Old Rose is Rosa centifolia Muscosa 'Old Pink Moss'. A natural sport of R. centifolia discovered circa 1696. Medium to large full double pink blooms which fade slightly as they age. Mossed buds & strong thorny arching growth. Lovely strong fragrance. A 4ft shrub 🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the Autumn Damask (Rosa damascena semperflorens) 'Quatre Saisons'. An ancient rose thought to be R. gallica x R. moschata. Loosely double flowers, sometimes quartered, which can look a little crumpled. Strong fragrance. Flowers from June til October 🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the gorgeous 'Crimson Boursault' climber 'Amadis' (Laffay, 1829). One of the few Boursault roses (R. pendulina x R. chinensis) still commercially available. Long arching thornless stems (10-12ft) with sculpted pink flowers. No perfume but I forgive her🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the Bourbon 'Louise Odier' (Margottin, 1851). A strongly scented vigorous bush full of very double pink to lilac medium-sized blooms. Almost continuous flowering, the scent is sublime. 🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the compact hybrid Gallica the 'Rose de la Maître-École' (Coquereau, 1831). Named after a district of Angers where Coquereau lived & ran his nursery. Rose pink fading to lilac & mauve quartered double blooms with a strong old rose fragrance. #RoseWednesday🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is a highly fragrant Alba 'Mme Legras de St Germain'. Of unknown origin (pre 1840) she has large cupped blooms of exquisitely ordered ivory white petals fading to a clotted cream centre. Tall for a shrub & almost thornless with a heady lemony citrus perfume.🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is an old cottage garden favourite 'Bourbon Queen' ('Reine de L'ile Bourbon'; Mauget, 1834). Double deep pink to magenta, crinkled & beautifully veined blooms. A strong sweet fragrance. A vigorous bush or small climber. Summer flowering. A rose to stop & inhale🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the Gallica 'Tricolore de Fandre' (Parmentier, 1844). An eye-catching compact 3ft bush with intensely striped medium double blooms of blackberry purple & raspberry pink on cream. Very pretty & sweetly fragrant. I am surprised it is not more widely known. 🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the fragrant Damask 'Gloire de Guilan'. Of unknown antiquity it was collected in the mountains of Iran where it was used for making attar by plant hunter Nancy Lindsay. Introduced 1949. Large, pretty open blooms which stand up well to rain. Summer flowering 🌹🌱 #Roses

For #RoseWednesday 🌹 the pretty Bourbon 'Honorine de Brabant' (a sport of Commandant Beaurepaire: Remi Tanne, 1916). Informally cupped & quartered fragrant blooms of creamy white to blush pink striped with cerise, violet & mauve. The striping varies in each bloom. Few thorns. 🌱 #Roses

Today's rose is 'The Wax Rose' - the Gallica 'Duchesse d'Angoulême' (Vibert, 1836). Delicate soft pale blush pink flowers with a deeper pink centre, sometimes tinged crimson from the buds. Strong old rose perfume. A delightful, refined 3ft bush with few prickles. Summer flowering 🌱 🌹 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the Hybrid Perpetual 'Sidonie' (Vibert, 1847). A Damask Perpetual, akin to a Portland, with a lovely strong Damask fragrance. Fully double flowers of blush to deep pink usually formed in clusters. A very pretty, short, repeat-flowering bush. 🌱 #Roses 🌹

Rosa glauca, the red leafed #rose (once known as R. rubrifolia). Native to the mountains of central & southern Europe. A pretty bush whose shape is rather like the dog rose. The leaves are violet grey & it has single bright pink flowers in summer which contrast the foliage. 🌹🌱 #Roses

A rose that for all the world looks like a peony! The stunning Hybrid Perpetual 'Paul Neyron' (Antoine Levet, 1869) has very large upright deep rosy pink blooms on glossy dark green foliage. Nearly thornless, fragrant & repeat-flowering. Makes an excellent cut flower. A beauty 🌹🌱 #Roses

Today's Old Rose is the Gallica 'Charles de Mills'. Of unknown origin, likely Dutch, before 1786. Very pretty large deep crimson to purple or dark lilac full-petalled flowers with a unique flattened shape & a dark green centre eye. A compact but vigorous nearly thornless shrub 🌹🌱 #Roses

On days of heavy summer rain my mind is drawn to Cherrapunji. I have been to Shillong many times but never quite made it up the hill to the wettest place on Earth. This is one of my favourite books - the perfect read for a wet afternoon. ☔️ 📚 💦

A few more Moss roses as the rain hammers down to water them. 'Mousseaux du Japon' (unknown), 'Shailer's White Moss' (Henry Shailer, 1788), newly opened 'William Lobb' (Laffay, 1855) which will fade to mauve/purple & 'Mousseline' aka 'Alfred de Delmas' (Moreau-Robert, 1881). 🌹🌱 #Roses