Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is English shrub “Olivia Rose Austin”-(Ausmixture) from DA roses

https://youtu.be/KR1uRsZLFS4?si=5kqtM...

An incredibly free, flowering variety often the first flower in very early June, and still producing a very respectable show of flowers towards the back end of October

Forming a large, informal shrub, which will need some support which can be grow in the ground, or in a large pot or container. It reaches something in the region of 4 1/2 to 5 feet and also works well as an informal rose hedge.

It enjoys great vigour, health and disease resistance, and over the years has made it onto several of my top 20 and best of collections

Very much the epitome of the English rose soft pink in colour, large flowers packed around 90 petals per bloom each reaching around 4 inches 100mm in diameter and opening completely flat

The foliage is deep, dark, green deeply serrated around the edges, and the growth tips, burgundy red as it flashes to flower

At a glance ⬇️
Hardy and zones 5-11
Fragrance rating 4⭐️s
Disease resistance rating 7⭐️s
Petal count 90
Thorn count medium
Pollinator rating 5🐝s

#gardenerben #itsbensfault #rosegarden
#oliviaroseaustinrose
#englishroses

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6 hours ago | [YT] | 178

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is peony ‘Bowl of cream’

https://youtu.be/5K5ulEZmnek?si=8FPWw...

An early to mid-season variety producing flowers in late May and early June this is the cousin of the incredibly popular bowl of love and bowl of beauty ,

The flowers are absolutely enormous and can measure up to 8 to 9 1/2 inches in diameter pure ivory white cream the outer guard petals roll back towards the strong and sturdy stems which are more than capable of holding the bloom of this size. The inner petaloides add plenty of texture and hide the golden stamens in the centre of the flower

Fast establish it can be grown in full sun or partial shade receiving around 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight per day where it will reward you very quickly with plenty of eyes and produce plenty of flowers sometimes multiple blooms per stem

Reaching around 90 to 100 cm tall and eventually forming a clump of the same size it is capable of holding its flowers but I personally would give this some support

Perfect for cutting and bringing into the house the foliage emerges in spring flushed orange and red and fades out to a pale lush soft green colour

Fragrance is sweet powdery

#gardenerben #peony #peonybowlofcream #bowlofcream #hugeblooms

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7 hours ago | [YT] | 81

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is Clematis ‘Nubia’ a particularly useful short stocky and well mannered climbing plant, part of the Boulevard series of Clematis, so you know this one is going to perform

Ideal for planting in a full sun location in a large patio container pot or urn where you could even allow it to cascade down the side rather than train it upwards as you would do traditionally

Reaching just 1.2 to 1.5 m tall it flowers almost continuously from late May through to the end of September producing wave upon wave of beautiful dark Rich red Claret coloured flowers

Each bloom measuring between 7 and 10 cm in diameter at the centre they have the most unusual dark Brown or Chocolate coloured stamens this is classified as a group 2 clematis so needs very little pruning simply remove any unwanted or dead growth in late February or early March or alternatively prune it hard to around 12 inches from the floor to be rewarded with a massive flush of flowers in June and July

It’s a short stocky nature makes it perfect for cladding the sides of a rose arch try planting it alongside’RNLI or Ivors rose’ from ‪@PeterBealesRoses‬

keep it well watered and fed remove spent flowers to encourage further flowering and protect its roots from direct sun

During the autumn months. It will also produce lovely fluffy seed heads into the back end of the season.

Currently available from ‪@HillierGardenCentres‬

#gardenerben #clematisnunia #climbingplants #helpingyougrow

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8 hours ago | [YT] | 42

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is Rose ‘Baby faurax’ introduced in 1924 by Lille

https://youtu.be/m5U3y803m5Y?si=IBlGq...

This is just as cute as cute can be and available here in the UK through ‪@PeterBealesRoses‬

almost continuously flowering from the beginning of June through to the end of October producing large sprays of delicate clusters of flowers each bloom measuring around an inch to an inch and a half in diameter they’re deeply rosetted and highly textured

reaching just 2 1/2 feet tall and around one and a half feet wide it’s perfect for growing in a large patio container on a balcony terrace or in a courtyard and will take a little bit of shade flowering well when it receives just 4 to 5 hours of direct sunlight per day

It has great disease resistance and is one of the roses which makes up the parentage lines of our newer Florabunda roses

Blooms range in colour from dark magenta with tones of pink and red to a lighter spectrum in warmer temperatures bringing out tones of soft lavender, lilac and mauve

This really is very pretty and perfect for adding an informal edge to any garden or floral arrangement. The Thorn count is varied and I classify this more as a very heavy Mossing which runs all the way up to the back of the flowers

The foliage is dark Emerald green with a high gloss Sheen

it lacks in the fragrance department, but don’t let that put you off of growing this trouble free and high-performance sweet little rose

At a glance ⬇️
Hardy and zones 6-11
Fragrance rating 1⭐️s
Disease resistance rating 7⭐️s
Thorn count mossing
Pollinator rating 7🐝s

#gardenerben #itsbensfault #rosegarden
#babyfauraxrose
#peterbealesroses

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16 hours ago | [YT] | 273

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is peony ‘Alertie’

https://youtu.be/71o2PN-w4EI?si=JRrzG...

This is a high yielding fast to establish herbaceous variety early to mid-season flowering producing its blooms in late May and early June capable of producing many heads from a relatively small crown is going to work hard in the garden from the moment you plant it

Reaching between 60 and 75 cm in height and around 75 cm across it’s perfect for growing in a large container or growing at the very front of a border where you can enjoy it incredibly large puffball shaped blooms which can measure between five and 6 inches in diameter

The foliage is tough leathery to the touch and deeply serrated tinged with a small amount of ruby red around the edges which is mirrored in its strong, sturdy and upright stems which need a little or no support and are perfect for cutting and bringing into the house

Suitable for growing in full sun or partial shade it’s hardy in horticultural growing zones 6 to 8

The fragrance is slightly sweet packed with pollen with that distinctive chalky peony edge

Blooms can be produced individually or with multiple heads per stem and open from dark pink Ruby red buds which flush to a light apple blossom pink getting ever so slightly lighter towards the centre of the flower with age

another interesting characteristic is shown early in the spring when new growth is tinged with red and orange as it emerges

#gardenerben #peony #peonies #growingreview #peonyalertie

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17 hours ago | [YT] | 148

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is breaking my heart as a gardener, quite literally hundreds of blooms from the first flush of flowers are quite literally being fried in this heat

Temperatures have reached 34° in the garden today which would be brutal enough if it was July or August but bear in mind it is still May and this time last week it was almost 20° cooler

I shall be out this evening with my slips removing quite literally hundreds of fried flowers that simply are not equipped to deal with this heat

#gardenerben #hot #fried #roses #gardeingproblems

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20 hours ago | [YT] | 119

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is Clematis ‘Rebecca’ part of the Boulevard series of Clematis so you know this is going to be good and I really great way of highlighting why I do what I do here on the Internet

https://youtu.be/McvC2G8jGMg?si=_JTNi...

Most sources of information tell you to plant clematis Rebecca in full sun however this will bleach out her beautifully dark Rich velvet red flowers which has stunning veins of violet blue running through them if you plant it in fairly decent shade this will protect it its colour and it still does incredibly well

Tough Hardy and hard-working it’s a group 2 Clematis needing just light tidying and pruning in late February or early March to remove any unwanted growth or dead stems

Hardy down to zone six and capable of taking temperatures down to -15 or -20

Flowers are produced in huge quantities in June, July, August September and even into October measuring between 15 and 18 cm across each contains a beautiful creamy white cluster of stains at the very centre

Planted in a Rich moist soil alongside rambling rose ‘Mm Alfred Carrière‘ which is available through ‪@PeterBealesRoses‬ and has big lousy soft apple blossom pink highly fragrant flowers and also enjoys a position in shade

The only thing I don’t particularly like with this Clematis is the fact it’s foliage is very light green but it’s smothered in flowers for such a long period of time you barely see it. Ultimately reaching around 8 to 10 feet in height.

#gardenerben #clematis #climbingplants #helpingyougrow #shade

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1 day ago | [YT] | 170

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is Rose ‘Absolutely fabulous’ (Julia child, soulmate)

https://youtu.be/JV9rpGGe6qs?si=_Sywg...

Living up to its UK name this rose was bred and introduced in 2004 and made its way from America where it went on to win rose of the year 2010

An incredibly hard-working free flowering disease resistance floribunda shrub reaching around 3 feet in height and around 2 1/2 to 3 feet in diameter

To fully reach its flowering potential this shrub demands a position in the garden in full sun receiving at least 5 to 6 hours of direct sunlight per day

producing flowers from the beginning of June all the way through to the first frost in October flowers are produced in large sprays with between 3 and 12 flowers per spray each measuring around 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter

They open a rich golden yellow to a fully double loosely formed flower which fades out to a light sherbet yellow, the flowers are backed by deep Emerald green mat foliage

This can be grown in the ground in a mixed border or in a large container. The fragrance is most interesting and is of sweet licorice and burnt treacle.

And absolutely fabulous all round Florabunda with a bold striking colour and interesting fragrance available from ‪@PeterBealesRoses‬

At a glance ⬇️
Hardy and zones 5-11
Fragrance rating 5⭐️
Disease resistance rating 7⭐️s
Petal count 30-45
Thorn count medium/high
Pollinator rating 7🐝s
Vase life 5 days

#gardenerben #itsbensfault #rosegarden
#absolutelyfabulousrose #juliachildrose

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1 day ago | [YT] | 255

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is Clematis ‘Ooh La la’ currently available from ‪@HillierGardenCentres‬

https://youtu.be/aQg-CHnLvWQ?si=7uYC3...

A very useful Plant For growing in fairly decent shade try planting it on a north or north east facing aspect alongside old rambling rose ’Blush Noisette’ to really brighten up a dull corner

Part of the boulevard series of Clematis bred in Guernsey and launched at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2009 it reaches reliably around 1.2 to 1.3 m in height and falls into category 3 meaning it should be pruned hard to around 12 inches from the floor in late February and early March

Mulch the plant deeply and feed it well to be rewarded with wave upon wave of soft Apple blossom pink striped violet flowers from June through to the end of September planting it in shade also protects its delicate and soft colour

Flowers measure between 7 and 10 cm in diameter and it’s fully hardy down to zone six capable of taking temperatures from -15 to -20

You could also try growing this one allowing it to cascade down the side of a raised bed or large decorative urn

#gardenerben #clematisohlala #ohlala #climbingplants #helpingyougrow

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1 day ago | [YT] | 99

Ben Hamilton Anderson,Rose Expert / Plant Reviewer

This is Iris ‘Carnaby’ each bloom will only last a matter of a day or two but while they flower they are quite fabulous -so enjoy them

#gardenerben #irises #beardediris #bloomingnow #inmygarden

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1 day ago | [YT] | 274