Chris Palmer
I used to hate ABBA. When they first emerged in the mid-seventies, they seemed to me everything that pop music should not be about. Plastic pop was how I thought of them – well-scrubbed, predictable and bland. I was into progressive music – Supertramp, Jethro Tull and Genesis. And ABBA were Scandinavian, invading our musical scene, uninvited, like some latter-day Vikings.
I’ve changed my mind. I love their music now. Intelligent, uplifting and full of smart variations. They’re cool, have aged well, and seem like decent folk, despite their huge success. I even enjoyed the film Mamma Mia!
My feelings about roses have moved in a similar way. When I first started to garden, with a few containers on a concrete terrace, I tried to grow them in pots. I found them hard work. The flowering time seemed to be short, the petals fell off far too easily, and they were prone to all sorts of diseases – black spot, blight and powdery mildew for example. As soon as they developed new growth in the spring, green fly would take up permanent residence. They were so frustrating that I gave up on them.
I’ve changed my mind. Two plants in particular have persuaded me that my initial feelings were hasty and ill-conceived. Several years ago, we bought a shrub rose, Peace. It did not initially thrive in a conventional border. Two years ago, I dug it up, cut it right back, and planted it in a new large container. I made sure that the drainage holes were protected by old pieces of broken terracotta pots, filled it with good quality compost, and once the shrub was firmly planted in, added a top dressing of horticultural grit to reduce water loss and inhibit weed growth. I gave the plant a generous feed of fertiliser. I keep the compost moist and deadhead carefully and regularly by cutting faded petals right back to the next leaf or bud.
Years ago, when I first tried to cultivate roses, I probably carried out none of the above processes. Roses are not especially fussy, but they need the basics to be carried out properly, and now I have more time to do them.
Peace has large globular sweetly scented flowers, yellow edged with pink. When we bought it we were unaware of its history. Secretly bred in France in the early days of World War II, it was smuggled to America. When Berlin fell to The Allies in 1945, it became a worldwide symbol of peace. It’s a beauty!
Annapurna is a recent purchase. It has large white flowers and a subtle citrus fragrance. It is a bush-type, growing to three or four foot tall. It has thrived in a large container under the same regime as the Peace rose. It’s another really lovely rose that I don’t hesitate in recommending.
One of the factors I recognise about investing in roses is their cost. In early spring, large garden centres sell new plants at around £30. They would be a similar price if purchased online, but some large discount stores have garden product sections where good quality plants can be purchased at significantly lower prices. They also sell garden canes, compost, spring bulbs and containers, all at reasonable prices. Look out also for garden centre sales at the end of the season when stock has to be cleared so that Christmas items can fill the shelves.
A few weeks ago, late afternoon on a Sunday, I was startled by a loud thud outside our house. My initial thought was that there had been an accident on the road outside. I briefly looked out and saw nothing to warrant further investigation. Sometime later I observed a sparrow hawk aggressively pulling a carcass of a bird across the grass outside our house towards the shelter of a hedge where it started its Sunday dinner. Its meal was a dead pigeon.
At first it all seemed to be rather mysterious. I realised later that day what had in fact happened. The raptor had been chasing the pigeon. The frightened bird was desperately avoiding being captured and had flown straight into our bedroom window, no doubt being instantly killed. The image of the bird was clear on the outside of our window. The noise the collision made reflected the speed the bird must have been flying to avoid capture.
Pigeons happen to be my least favourite bird. Like most gardeners I view them as the enemy. They can be very destructive. This spring I planted a new lilac shrub. Within a few weeks the new growth had been nibbled away. All the cherries of a new tree were also stripped away. I’ve hung up an old CD on the lilac shrub. The reflective surface can spook some pigeons, although, they no doubt become accustomed to it. There are probably other strategies. I wonder now in light of the recent murder mystery on our front garden if a plastic sparrow hawk might be worth considering. Yes, in case you are wondering, pigeons are getting to me!
Don’t forget, this is a good time to plant a bulb lasagne. As with roses, it pays to shop around for spring bulbs. There should still be some in shops or online. As I have said before, I prefer to see and feel bulbs when buying them rather than risking purchases from catalogues. For a bulb lasagne you will need tulip and daffodil bulbs together with a small bulb such as a crocus or grape hyacinth. The procedure is explained in numerous online resources. I promise you that the effort will be worthwhile come next spring.
Bulbs get more expensive each year. Something that has held its price, however, and is the perfect stocking filler for a keen gardener is The National Trust Gardener’s Almanack 2026. At £9.99 and over two hundred pages it is packed with useful information.
For many gardeners this is a time for reflection. Whatever the size of your garden, don’t assume there is no room for improvement. There is always scope for experimentation. What worked particularly well in the last twelve months, and were there fundamental errors? Did something work out well entirely by accident? Try something new. If a relative asks what you want as a present, whether it is Christmas or birthday, ask for a garden token. It’s the best way to avoid yet another pair of gardening gloves and gives you a chance to try something new.
I hope you enjoyed your gardening year. Best wishes for 2026.
