My wife and I started gardening in Fukuoka (Japan) in 2003. There was nothing but muddy clayey sloping land. At the beginning we made several structure such as steps and paths, and planted turf, fruit trees, roses, herbs etc.
In 2010, we visited several famous English gardens, including Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Mottisfont Abbey Garden and Hidcote Manor Garden. We were shocked by the glory of those gardens. Since then, we have been trying to make small but glorious gardens by ourselves.
In the main garden, roses are gradually coming into bloom here and there, but ‘Angela’ is producing a profusion of flowers at the tips of its long shoots. It is a beautiful pink rose. In the blue border on the east side, the chaste tree has been bearing blue flowers for some time now.
In the potager, the Ruellia and Gaura are, as ever, in constant bloom, and by the shed, the ‘Cocktail’ rose is bearing bright red flowers. This is a rose that blooms repeatedly several times a year.
‘Angela’ is a climbing rose that produces clusters of tiny flowers in May. In summer, it sends out new shoots, which also bear flowers at their tips. The shorter shoots should be pruned, whilst the longer ones should be left in place to serve as flowering branches the following May; at the same time, older branches should be cut back to make way for the new growth. This rejuvenates the plant and improves its flowering. The new shoots should be trained to lie flat for the time being, with final training carried out in the depths of winter.
The shrub roses beside the central steps in the main garden are thriving even in this sweltering summer heat. They are putting out new shoots, forming buds and blooming. Although the flowers are smaller than those in May, they are blooming beautifully.
The rainy season is in full swing and it’s raining frequently. The climbing roses in the main garden are putting out new shoots and blooming again. The two potted olive trees we added this year are bearing small fruits. I do hope they grow properly. The potted dahlia I’ve placed in the terrace has also started to bloom. It’s a lovely reddish-purple colour. Because of the rain, I’m taking a break from gardening.
The potager garden is looking increasingly vibrant as the foxgloves come into full bloom. The ‘Cocktail’ red roses have also begun to bloom in abundance. The season when the garden is at its most beautiful has arrived.
Every year at this time of year, when new rose shoots are growing and beginning to form buds, a pest Syrista similis appears. On fine mornings, they fly in from who knows where and land on the new shoots bearing rose buds to lay their eggs; in doing so, they cut into the pith inside the shoot’s bark, causing the shoot to wilt and die almost immediately. Every year, around 100 to 200 new shoots died, which was a real shock.
So, last year I switched to covering the rose branches with fine-mesh netting. Although I couldn’t cover them completely and there was still some damage, it proved highly effective, so I’ve done the same this year. As the damage virtually disappears once May arrives, I expect I’ll be able to remove the netting in about three weeks.
Today we had to prune roses in the rain at short notice.
A very strong typhoon is approaching from the south and is forecast to pass close by early next week. We have not pruned the roses at all since the rose season in May, and have let them grow as long as they can, so there are many branches up to two metres long, which could be badly damaged by the strong typhoon winds if they are left as they are.
The few roses that were still in bloom were cut and placed in a vase.
After the typhoon has passed, I would like to prune the roses again on a sunny day to make the autumn roses bloom nicely.
