At the time, we remember everyone planting drought-tolerant plants like yuccas and other succulents. “For those that don’t have a green thumb it’s the perfect garden, but it wasn’t a garden that you wanted to hang out in. There was no wow factor”. Once the water restrictions were scaled back in 2012, we decided it was the perfect time to make changes to our garden and it all started with ten 3ft s
tandard roses. Not knowing much about roses at the time, there were a couple of mishaps, including losing a rose to the playful jaws of our new puppy. I had a general idea about pruning, but I wasn’t sure if what I was doing was correct. That’s when I attend a pruning demonstrations advertised by The Rose Society of Victoria Inc. and learned a lot including Neutrog products. As my collection grew it was becoming very time consuming, so when my wife started complaining that I was spending too much time with the roses and not enough time with her, I knew I had to change how I did things. You know how the saying goes Happy wife, Happy life. I joined The Rose Society of Victoria Inc. and also became a volunteer at the Victorian State Rose Garden. I have since learned so much about roses through both of these organisations, from the wealth of knowledge of its members. We currently have 120 roses planted in our little suburban garden, most of them are French-bred Delbard roses locally grown by Rankin’s Roses in Garfield, Victoria. I became obsessed with Delbard roses, so I had to visit Rankin’s Roses. When we arrived there it felt like I was in heaven, walking through the roses in the field was so peaceful and colourful. We meet two lovely people. As years went pass our relationship grow, I have learned so much and supported me to full fill my passion for roses. I will be forever grateful for their friendship.
