I have four varieties of rose.
Sylvia was planted for my mother after she died, and blooms every year on the anniversary of her death.
“Best Friends”, pictured here, was a gift from a friend when I married, in the hope that this would sum up my married life.
“Cecile Brunner” is a teeny tiny, perfectly-formed miniature rose that clambers over an arch at the front of the garden. I used to walk past my next-door neighbour’s bush each morning on the way to school, and was captivated by the smallness and delicateness of it. The bush itself is hardy as an elephant’s foot.
A climbing white iceberg is on a second arch, next to Cecile Brunner. A good, solid type of rose bush for traditionalists.
Rose petals can be candied. You paint individual petals in a syrup of sugar and water, or even an eggwhite meringue mix. They can be very, very slowly dried in a very low oven, or left overnight.