I’ve been thinking back to my first rose garden. It was in the mid nineties in our first home in Gonubie, East London.

Roses and Reading

I knew nothing about roses or growing them, other than that I loved them. I started by taking out a book on roses from the local library and read voraciously about everything roses, sifting through the beautiful images and making mental guest lists of which roses I would invite to my first garden party.

I learnt everything I knew about roses, as a beginner, from books and magazines. From planting to picking and pruning.

Esther, my alpha rose

My first choice back then and alpha rose for me, based on my research, was Esther Geldenhuys. She is perfection. I later planted her sports Leana and Lisa too.

Heady choices

I chose roses based on colour and their reputations from my reading. Perfume was also an added attraction, and so Burning Sky, Sheila’s Perfume and Just Joey made their appearance. All still favorites. Although Just Joey has to top this list.

Olde favourites

Old-fashioned roses such as Peace and Double Delight added gravitas and poignancy.

Softness on a stem

The soft pastels of Joybells, Antique Silk and Memoire softened my mood. Joybells is a beautifully formed rose.

Floribundas were Icebergs and Pearl of Bedfordview. I made most of these choices based on their credentials in articles in gardening magazines and, of course, their appeal.

A few hazy memories are Bushveld Dawn and Duet. I want to imagine I had these roses. However, this was before the age of digital and cell phone photography and I am certainly not going to scratch through boxes of old photos to verify my musings…

I used to spend hours wondering through the rows of roses at Floradale Nursery in Beacon Bay. Coastal conditions are not the easiest for growing roses and the constant battle against poor soil and pest control dampened my initial verve with rose gardening. Life presented some challenges and I decided to choose my battles.

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There’s gotta be a little rain sometime

Highveld hopes

Sporadic attempts at growing roses in a small highveld townhouse garden kept my love affair with their balm of colour and form alive.

Peace, Just Joey, Simplicity, Iceberg and the ultimate Margaret Roberts came and went. Only Just Joey survived, although Peace was a diehard runner-up.

Peace must be one of the most grounding roses I know. In some of my toughest moments Peace has centered me.

It was during lockdown last year, that I decided to rekindle my love affair with roses as a therapy, giving me something beautiful to nurture and on which to focus during tough times. This time I’ve planted mostly in pots. This floral renaissance is a separate chapter.

Never forget your friends

I often think back to my first rose garden of 25 years ago and the roses I remember to this day. I want to acknowledge them. All chosen with intention and the forerunners of my floral obsession.

The gentle rose offers a powerful joy known only to the heart.

Andrew Pacholyk

Photo Credits: unless specified all photos are from Ludwig’s Roses and Google images.