Late autumn splendour - roses

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Today was an absolute joy: after heavy rainfall during the night, the sun broke through the clouds just as I was getting ready for work.

I had a morning appointment with Mrs U-turn which mainly involved deadheading roses, tying in climbing roses and some weeding. I also lifted her last potatoes and carrots.

I really want to sing the praise of roses here because we have had and continue to have the best rose season for quite some time.
They came into flower as early as May and have not stopped putting on the most dazzling display since. Although I don't garden at Mrs U-turn every week, I work on a few gardens in the neighbourhood, so I often call round for a spot of watering and cut her some flowers for the house.

Today was no exception: the roses chosen were 'Royal William', a hybrid tea rose which was planted in a group of three some two years back.

I suspect the settings on my camera are "off" because in reality this rose is a very dark red rather than the blood red pictured. It pairs beautifully with gladioli 'Espresso' which is pretty much the same shade of red. I try to vary what I cut for Mrs U-turn to give her as much variety as possible and this combination was a first for this year. Actually I like it so much that I have marked it as a possible combination should another very sunny garden require a late summer combo in dark red.

Gladioli 'Espresso' (photo credit: Sarah Raven)

Along the front garden path I found some particularly charming flowers of Rosa 'Queen of Sweden'. I adore how this rose unfolds:

Despite the heavy rain last night, this rose is picture perfect with a delicious scent.

After the sublime I am finishing with the ubiquitous: yes, pampas grass, that stalwart of 70s gardens. After much strenous renovation work, this grass is now in pretty good condition. The base is a healthy green and there is an abundance of plumes.

I will come back to the postman episode, I promise.