Visit to Royal National Rose Society Gardens – St Albans

31 Members and friends went on the trip to the Rose Gardens. The weather stayed dry and fine and everyone enjoyed the afternoon out. Linda Robinson has written the following report:

Tuesday 7th dawned fair and bright although the weatherman warned of showers later in the day. But we were lucky and not one drop of rain spoiled our visit.
Leaving promptly at 12.30pm we negotiated the diversions in Kempston, and the road works on the M1 to arrive at Chiswell Green about 1.45.
Armed with our free guide we went our separate ways to explore. Some to the flowerbeds, some to the tearoom and some to the toilets! I like to have a quick look all round and then prioritise which bits to look at more closely. In fact the two and a quarter hours we had in the gardens allowed us time to look at, study, discuss and photograph all the rose beds and have something to eat and enjoy a cup of tea.
The roses were lovely of course, especially the scented ones; my favourite was Gertrude Jekyll. But what made the afternoon special for me was the tranquillity – being able to sit quietly near one of the ponds, watching the fountain playing gently and appreciating, admiring and revelling in the beauty that is a garden.

Linda

PS.
I’ve read that banana skins dug in around the roots of roses (with the inside of the peel facing down) will improve the quality of them.

Ikuyo Morrison has sent in some photo’s of the Rose Garden Visit which she is happy to share. Please click on the thumbnails to see the pictures in full size.