Gardens of the Rose Houses

The new Gardens of the Rose in St Albans, run by the Royal National Rose Society are currently being redeveloped and the first phase will open to the general public in the summer of 2007.

The Royal National Rose Society have appointed leading garden designer and landscape architect Michael Balston to draw up a scheme for the main display area of the garden, this is profressing well.

Garden highlights include:

A rose collection, showing the history of the rose

Roses in a garden setting showing different styles of planting

A series of small model gardens to give inspiration for growing roses in small spaces

The newly replanted Queen Mother garden

New cultivar trials to provide an educational experience as well as being a pleasure to the eye when in full flower

A much longer season of interest making extensive use of other plants which associate well with roses.

The Royal National Rose Society aim to have a garden which members can enjoy and feel proud of, one that attracts visitors and promotes the rose.The intention is to re-build the Society's garden so that it becomes the premier rose garden in Britain.

The site has already been cleared and sterilized to reduce the impact of soil sickness and deal with the problem of perennial weeds, and pathways are well under way - yet much work remains to be done. The garden will be completely replanted with young plants rather than move the older ones.Memorial trees have been lifted to replant later and memorial benches will be repositioned in the new garden.