And I look forward to seeing your new gardens! I agree...dead of winter was the time to leave - I could never do it in spring. I have to tell you........your photos were the ones that always stuck in my mind. A combination that I especially love and am going to try to recreate was one that had the beautiful spring pastels I love - pale yellow, mauve, apricot, pink and a coral that just set everything off - simply gorgeous! I just cant wit to get these roses Friday and get them in the ground - so glad I added CPM and its going on a double arched arbor with swing in my backyard and I will have a direct view from where we sit on the deck. It is so cold wet and dreary now.....seems like spring will never come, but a perfect time to plant roses!! Thanks so much for your comment! Judith

Hi le Jardin, we moved here for several reasons.. my partner is English and had a career opportunity, I wanted the chance to go back to school, and we have family here. I've always loved England anyway, so I was actually more excited than my partner! I love it here. Hi Diane, thanks for looking at the photos, I'm really glad you enjoyed them. Hi albertine, Yay! Another corgi fan. I've had two as well and they really spoil you for other dogs (although, there are many others that I love as well). We see a lot of Jack Russells, Greyhounds, Westies, occasionally an English Bulldog or a Bull Terrier. There are also some type of herders that I'm not familiar with that remind me of skinny versions of Australian Shepherds. If I ever see Lilac Rose looking lonely at a garden centre, I'll probably go ahead a pick her up anyway, but she's not something that I'm going to seek out, there are far to many recommended roses to get first! Andrea! We really have to meet up, I think you might be my soul sister! :) I picked up Mr. Fairchild and Alan Titchmarsh together last autumn, the first to roses that I purchased here. I have mixed feelings about A.T., like your', mine tends to have such heavy flowers that they go right to the ground. On the other hand, there are so many of them! For a first year rose mine must have produced 30 or so roses so far this year. I noticed that if I let the branches hang, like pegging I'm getting new shoots popping up and already there are buds on them too, so I'm just going to let him do his thing and see how it goes. Mr. Fairchild, by comparison, has been less vigourous; but I much prefer the flowers, scent, and bush shape. I really like this rose. Wow... going through your wonderful list: I grew Gertrude in California and didn't really like her. I smell some scent, but my nose doesn't register the scent that everyone else raves about. I had the same problem with Comte de Chambord, so I guess I'm just not wired for that group. Shirifa is in a nice pot, I am hopeful. Jude I adore, I'll have him again soon. Lady Emma Hamilton really surprised me at Austin's, not my colour, but I loved the scent. Summer Song is totally out of my colour range, I wish I had smelled it though.. bananas!?! I really liked Young Lycidas, it is one that needs to be seen in person to really get the subtlety of the colours, and yes.. WOW, what a scent! Love WM2k, so so about Golden, but love the Prince. This is one of my favourite photos of him from my California garden: I saw Dark Lady and Prospero for the first time this trip, both nice but undewhelming. I really liked Munstead Wood. Also saw Radio Times for the first time, it was nice but didn't bowl me over. Now, I had the Alnwick Rose high on my list, but was disappointed in the scent! I chose Sceptre'd Isle over it this year during my small bareroot purchase, and had been wondering if I had made the wrong choice. The way you describe it though, I really out to love it, so maybe it was just the wrong time of day, or I had been overwhelmed by other scents. I grew Evelyn in California and I liked her delicacy very much. I've yet to meet Ab Darby, isn't that strange!? Princess Alexandra and Jubilee are the two top on my list right now, I'll keep my eye out for Rosemoor. Gentle Hermione is the other bareroot I ordered this spring, and she just had her first flowers this week. I like her, and true to Austin's word, she held up beautifully in the rain this morning, and even held water in her cup through the whole day without falling over or apart. I used to grow Tamora as well, but in California it was a rust magnet, I swear it was nearly copper coloured by the end of the season. Thanks for sharing your list, it's helped reassure me about several choices that I'm interested in. Here's a shot of Tamora and Evelyn: Carla, it's so kind of you, thanks for the good wishes. Here's a hug for you... (((Carla))). Hi Joanne, it's nice to see you! Apparently they have redone the "Lion garden" and will grow roses with perennials, thank goodness, as much as I like roses I much prefer them mixed with other roses. Mottesfont is still the gold standard for me. Megan thanks you, and sends best wishes to Maggie. Hi Aliska 12000, thanks for looking, and good luck with your Wisley, ultimately, it really comes down to each of our gardens, what does poorly for David Austin might be a gem for someone else. That's a lovely photo! Hi Sue, thanks for your good thoughts, they are much appreciated. Thanks Beth! Cheers everyone! I'm delighted that you have enjoyed these photos.

Masha, as usual superb and gorgeous pictures. For me Abraham Darby and Bishop's Castle are my favorites, and fortunately I have both of them. This year for the first time I detected fragrance in Carding Mill but in the cool weather the blooms at first almost looked too strong in color, but I'm sure the heat will take care of that in a very short while. You really have a variety of rose classes which is what I like best. It does make for a more interesting garden, doesn't it? Ingrid

Sorry for not responding. I happened to revisit this thread and saw your question. I've done this with lots of Austins and OGR roses. I plant the rooted cuttings about a foot to a foot and a half away from the mother. As they grow up the whole thing forms what looks like one really big bush. Odd numbers of plants seem to look better so either 3 or 5 together. David Austin actually recommends doing this on his website to achieve a more filled out cottage style effect. Although that look isn't really achieved until all of the plants have about 3 years or more to grow to a more mature size. Actually you can see the mother plant of the CPM growing behind the one blooming in the photo. Now, a year later since I'm responding so late, all three plants are about the same size. About 5.5 to 6 feet tall. The three together are about an area that is 5.5 to 6 feet wide. Right next to this CPM is a red moss, a Salet, and Issac Pereire that I've done the same thing with. In the winter you can easily distinguish the separate bushes, but during the growing season, when everything is growing full blast, it really looks like one big and very full bush. They really don't have any problems growing closely together. In the spring I might prune out a dead cane or two, or ones that might be crossing badly, but I tend to prune as little as I have to anyway.