I’LL hold my hand up and admit that there was a time when I genuinely couldn’t get that excited about shrub roses, writes TOM ATTWOOD. A blasphemous confession I know but today things have thankfully come full circle and I’ve seen the light. The catalyst for my appreciation was seeing healthy, well-trained roses flowering in abundance in northern gardens where the mantra I’d so often heard from gardeners that "roses just don’t do that well in this part of the world" seemed to be out of touch with reality. It’s true to say that there are some roses I would steer clear of due to the act that yes, they wouldn’t appreciate our typically wetter conditions. That filter by no means leaves a small number of options; there are many, indeed, the hardest part is choosing and deciding.

I like the old-fashioned classic garden rose, heavily laden with scent but with the modern breeding behind it that delivers the added vigour and disease resistance some of the older varieties lack (plus a healthy dose of scent is essential in my book). David Austin roses carry something akin to a legendary reputation and for good reason, they are extremely good quality, but so too are Peter Beales. Cheaper roses normally cost less for a reason but that’s not to say you won’t come across fantastic quality. My new love is Rosa Roald Dahl. Introduced in 2016 by David Austin, it has great scent and it’s repeat flowering apricot blooms last all summer. R. Charlotte is a good soft yellow, light fragrance but once again motors on through the year. R.Mary Rose produces rose pink, loose-petalled flowers of medium size. The fragrance has a hint of honey and almond blossom and forms a well-shaped shrub.

Whether the roses you grow are in the ground or a good sized pot the important thing is to keep them well-watered and fed during the growing season. So choose a good sized pot filled with John Innes No 3. For those you plant in the ground mulch every spring with well-rotted manure or pre-bagged soil conditioner. If they look hungry, a specific rose food is worth using.

Next week: growing tender climbers