I've always drempt of having a cutting garden.. and now I have one! Somewhere along the way to realizing this dream, I began collecting rose bushes. I started last year with one Gertrude Jeykell bush – an old fashioned double pink rose with a truly divine scent – and when it went crazy this Spring, all covered with blooms, I too went crazy and bought myself several more David Austin old rose varietals.

I couldn't find more Gertrude Jeykells – I would fill my entire garden with that rose if I could – but I did find "Hot Cocoa" – a gorgeous rich red-brown rose that I first saw in Sally Robertson's glorious bread and breakfast garden (even if you don't have a patch of ground, Sally can paint a garden for your walls), and Sparrieshoop (the generous climber you see in this photo – it's also a cutting rose!), Benjamin Britten, and Scarborough Fair. All of them smell wonderful and fill a vase beautifully! These roses are magic – they're casting a spell that makes me want to just hang out in the garden all the time!