Summer begins

With the start of the summer season I guess we should expect to be surrounded by elegant ladies gracing  gardens and sitting rooms. Who could ignore their ruffled silk, their delicate blushes and intoxicating perfume?

 Princess Victoria Louise.

 Zephirine Drouhin

(New) Dawn

Felicity and Perpetua - (inseparable!)

 And from the theatre, Sarah Bernhardt

and Sweet Juliet

And you may have met Mrs Anthony Waterer and Cecile Brunner on other occasions recently.
Such elegance would not be out of place in the best establishments.

Perhaps the Savoy Hotel?

It is not hard to see why flowers like these have feminine names. Looking around the garden at the moment I realise I must still be going through that phase of loving pink that I thought I had out grown.  I hardly ever wear it any more. But seeing that, of all the flowers mentioned in this post, only New Dawn was here when we moved in, I obviously have a passion for pink when it comes to planting flowers. After all,  there are more that haven't been mentioned in this post,  like the Grootendorst rose which is  currently adorning the blog title.

They are all sumptuously gorgeous, especially this year. I know Savoy Hotel looks like a visit from the hotel inspector is overdue in this instance  -  it is a little wind damaged around the edges. The plant was a very thoughtful present last year but I had no chance to enjoy the flowers for the whole of the summer as the deer took every single bud just as it was about to  open.  I am just so thrilled to see it flower that I simply had to share it.  Meanwhile  'Felicity and Perpetua' is covered in masses of little buds to the extent that the pergola tasked with supporting it is groaning with the weight. It is one of those 'moment of glory' roses - it will be magnificent, absolutely magnificent but not for very long.

 Yes - it looks like being a good year for the roses - not to mention the poppies and the peonies.