There comes a moment when you have to act, even though it seems like a travesty at the time. The three standard rosa ‘Iceberg’ roses gracing the border adjacent to the house have been fabulous this year – with yet another flush well into November. This week, however, strong winds were forecast and the last thing I needed to see was a plant destroyed by wind rock, or as in 2012, the graft union being unable to withstand the weight of the top coupled with a blustery battering. So, with regret (!) they were pruned. 

Elsewhere in the garden, a general tidy up was needed – whilst preserving any upright stems with seed heads, all other rotting or flopping debris was cut back and added to the compost heap (my lack of success with the compost heap will be subject to scrutiny in a future blog!). The garden looks much tidier, and for me at least, remains pleasing to the eye. 

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There’s still plenty of colour too, with this acid yellow mahonia being a ‘stand out’ attraction at the back of the pond.

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