Australia

I'm 32 and have been gardening for quite a few years now (especially the past 2-3, where I'd spend hours in the garden most days, while also working from home). Up until a few years ago I didn't really care for roses at all and thought they were overrated (maybe the ones I mostly came across then weren't the ones that appeal to me now), but then after a few years at our new place, which had a very nice Samantha rose bush, I really grew to like them. I think once you see and smell a rose you really like it gets into your system and you can become hooked. The Samantha has good form a great rich red colour and smelled really good, so I became more interested in roses and now I've become really hooked.
I started out by buying some that looked good on the tags, but soon realised they weren't always as good as they looked in the pics, or suitable for our place, or disease resistant, etc, so I started doing a lot of research and going to rose gardens, or to the display gardens of the places that grow and distribute them, etc, to find the ones that I really liked the most and that were healthy and a suitable size, etc.
So I've seen a heap of the best hybrid tea, floribunda and David Austin's on the market and have now bought a few dozen as well. Unfortunately our property is only a regular sized suburban one, though and there are some very large trees blocking the sun for hours a day in spring, winter and autumn, so I don't have much room for more. Not that that has stopped me in the past!

Experienced (19 years)

Photographer

Last visit: Tuesday, April 23rd