The gardeners don't tend to dead-head the Rugosa roses, which is a surprise to some visitors. These old-fashioned roses only flower once a year, afterwards producing ornamental fruits or ‘hips', which, as well as brightening the garden in autumn, provide local birds with an important source of winter food.
As well as a good pruning regime, looking after the soil is the main ingredient for good quality, healthy roses. In early spring the roses all receive a top dressing which gets worked into the soil to provide a good balance of nutrients to the roots throughout summer. In mid spring, once the soil starts warming up, but before it dries out, a 10cm layer of mulch is spread around the roses to help retain moisture during the summer months and to suppress weeds.
All this hard works pays off when you see the variety of colours and forms and smell the heady fragrance of these beautiful roses in bloom.