A Stick Insect

Look who I spotted today! This big fellow obviously didn't like being disturbed in amongst my climbing rose. I was de-heading some of the rose blooms that had suffered during the recent heat, and when I looked up I spotted this huge fellow climbing the wall. Don't worry, he is still safe, and was still climbing the brick wall when last seen.

Buds A Plenty

Back in March we had quite a bit of rain, consequences of which my climbing rose is just covered in buds just like this one. Maybe in about a week it will be covered in pink blooms. Here's hoping.

Pink Roses

I've lost count how many roses there have been this spring on the climbing rose on the back fence. It has had one flush of flowers already so far this spring, and now there are new shoots coming which I am sure will bring still more blooms.

The First of the Roses

The first rosebud of the new season comes from my climbing rose on the side fence. So far the only one, but I am sure there will be others soon to follow judging by all the new pink growth that is happening.

Pruning Day

Yesterday was such a warm day, with temperatures reaching 23 degrees, & it was just too nice to be inside. So I made a decision to prune my climbing rose on my side fence. The males of the household who mow the lawn had been complaining about getting attacked by wayward rose tendrills. It has been flowering, & I wanted to wait until the flowers were finished before I did anything. So my climbing rose has gone from this:-

to this:-

As I was pruning away I noticed quite a lot of new little shoots like this,

which I know will produce buds like this:-
Lots of them went in the green waste bin which is unfortunate. They would have made a beautiful show in a few weeks. Still, the lawn mowers will be much happier about not getting attacked by thorns, and there are still quite a few left that will pruduce some flowers for me.