April in Instagram

I have not managed to write a single post last month - it's been busy at work and busy at home, but it's also been a month of events and celebrations: my birthday, the birth of a friend's child .... the final arrival of spring.
Here is a review of the month through Instagram

Sunday Morning on the Balcony

A perfect Sunday morning

My Susie

Or, as her father, David Austin baptised her : Susan Williams-Ellis.

It's the first rose to bloom in my garden and I bought her in November 2010 via bareroot order from David Austin UK. As I did not have a garden at the time, I planted it in a container and protected her with some old warm clothes from the winter frost and fed her with nice organic rose food during the blooming season. It is a free flowering rose and it has a delicate, feminine nature, not pretentious at all.

According to her creator, this is the story of her birth: The Mayflower was introduced in 2001 and has become a firm favourite with its charming rosette shaped flowers of pure rose pink, strong fragrance and of course its extremely good health. It remained stable until 5 or 6 years ago but then suddenly a stem with pure white flowers appeared: this is the result.

The fragrance is strong and perfectly Old Rose in character. Ideal for the border, for hedging or for a container. A delightful, unassuming little rose of typical Old Rose beauty.

And the lady who gave her name to the rose seems to have been similar in character to her plant counterpart (if I may say so): Susan Williams Ellis was a designer who, together with her husband Euan Cooper-Willis, founded Portmeirion Pottery. Susan was a great enthusiast of the English Roses and painted some beautiful water colours of them. What I can say, is that I am more than pleased with my choice as far as this rose is concerned. Here are some more pictures of its cute blooms. Her heart is cream colourd while not fully open

She has some nasty predators, too

But all in all she's charming in her discreet beauty