Gertrude Jekyll is doing well this year

I love the rose, Gertrude Jekyll. I planted one a few years ago in the side garden, so that I could catch it's wonderful scent when sitting on my terrace. The problem was that the deer would eat the new shoots and Gertrude never reached her full potential.

Last year I moved the rose to the front garden. It's not ideal rose ground, being pretty stony, shallow soil, prone to drying out, but this year's odd weather seems to have suited the roses, and I have some gorgeous pink blooms.The rose was named after the gardener who did so much to promote and revive the English love of roses. You can buy a copy of her 1923 book that I think would make a wonderful gift for a gardener. I would love to receive this.

Click to see this on Amazon.co.uk.

Here's a picture of the Gertrude Jekyll rose so that you'll know what I'm talking about- "ah , yes, that's the one !" You knew you'd seen Gertrude Jekyll roses, but just couldn't quite remember exactly which rose the Gertrude Jekyll rose was!

This lovely photo of the Gertrude Jekyyl rose is thanks to T.Kiya on flickr