A ROTUNDA

Picture yourself sitting on a bench in an elegant rotunda right in the very middle of a wonderful rose garden with spectacular views in every direction! You'll find this perfumed spot in the middle of the NRG at Woolmers near Longford.

I don't imagine you could be there a) to get married or b) to have your wedding photos taken, although groups are frequently to be found gathered there for both those reasons. Maybe you coud be there for a family picnic, to take in the intoxicating aroma of the roses, or simply to admire the roses and the scenery.

Firstly there's the view down the box-lined rill which leads the eye to the rose covered arbour running south to north right accross the garden at one end. This is a modern steel structure covered with the large-flowering 'Westerland' rose, and you'll notice that the colour of the rose complements exactly the colours in the buildings behind - it is, in fact, the perfect frame for that cluster of historic buildings.

Then there's the view to your right, over the wide valley toward the village of Longford in the distance. This view takes in the patchwork of paddocks in the valley on the Brickendon side of the river, and all is green as green at the moment.

And in the distance you can make out the little Convict Village and clearly see Brickendon homestead.

Brickendon, together with Woolmers, forms a part of a World Heritage Listing as one 'precinct'.

The Macquarie River runs in between these to Colonial Estates and its here that a new suspension bridge is to be erected to form a 'Convict Walkway' connecting the two estates.

Our Rotunda in the Rose Garden is a perfect spot to sit comfortably and contemplate a perfect veiw, and, if photography is your thing, there could be no better spot to aim for.

There have been heavy rains and the Macquarie River is in flood almost all the time as a result. That suspension bridge will likely take a while to be completed - the men cannot do the construction work when the water is high. But, meanwhile, the walkway is being constructed and the approaches to the bridge are being formed.

So, if only the rain would stop falling for a week or two .......

ROSES ARE THE REASON AND RIGHT NOW IS THE SEASON -

- to give yourself a treat! Come and smell the roses at the National Rose Garden at Woolmers near Longford.

Just imagine the heady perfume from thousands and thousands of roses of all colours, shapes and sizes, all in full spectacular bloom. The aroma is intoxicating and it's all happening right now. There could hardly be a better season to get out and appreciate this lovely garden -  which has never looked more stunning.

The National Rose Garden at Woolmers displays one fo the finest collections of roses in the nation, with over five thousand different roses representing all the recognised rose 'families'. It's really a walk through the history of the rose.

There's a lovely formal walled garden and a Heritage veggie garden to see too. Everyone should visit this iconic property and seeing the gorgeous roses and experiencing the perfume is one very good reason to visit again and again. And there is so much else to see, you'll really need all day, preferably even longer.

But a visit to Woolmers is much more than a visit to a great estate of the 19th century; it's a look behind the scenes and into a bygone age, a peep into living history.

Woolmers has now been listed by UNESCO as part of the nation's World Heritage Convict Sites - 'as representing the use of penal transportation to expand Britain's geopolitical spheres of influence, and to rehabilitate criminals and integrate them into a distant penal colony.'

We are so lucky in Tasmania to have many beautiful historic properties to visit and most of them boast very lovely gardens - none more stunning and aromatic than the National Rose Garden at Woolmers.

It's open every day except for Christmas Day from 9.30am - 4.30pm and you'll want to visit the 'Servant's Kitchen' to sample a delicious lunch or afternoon tea. There are regular guided tours of the main homestead and group visits are encouraged.

A special guided tour of the Rose Garden can easily be arranged.

Visit the website - http://www.woolmers.com.au/

AN EMPRESS AND HER ROSES

I love the story of Josephine and her connection with roses. The history of the rose without France's Empress Josephine would be like the history of Europe without Napoleon.

There are two lovely roses (blooming right now!) at the National Rose Garden at Woolmers commemorating the Empress Josephine and her garden.

The famous climbing rose 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' was named in honour of Josephine's famous garden at the Chateau de Malmaison, near Paris. But, as it was only bred after her death she never saw its beauty or smelled its delicious perfume.

'Empress Josephine' was named for the beautiful Empress. The Grand Duke Michael of Russia was invited to name this almost thornless rose. He chose to honour Josephine because as a young man he had been in love with her. But she refused him because she thought she could never live in Russia - it would be much too cold for her.

Josephine was born on the Island of Martinique and she was a widow at 33 years old when she first met the much younger Napoleon. Despite the difference in their ages, they fell in love and were married in 1796.

When he became the Emperor of France, Napoleon bought Chateau de Malmaison for her and it was there Josephine gathered together the largest collection of roses ever up to her time.

Roses were her passion and special arrangements were even made by both British and French Navies for the safe transit of new China roses detined to improve Josephine's collection. And this was in spite of the fierce naval battles that were raging between England and France during the Napoleonic wars.

France dominated rose breeding until just before the First World War and many roses are, therefore, French in origin and bear French names.

Josephine had 250 different named roses in her garden. This relatively small number illustrates how the breeding of roses has multiplied world-wide since - into many hundreds of thousands.

ROSES & ROYALTY

November and December are the perfect months to visit the National Rose Garden at Woolmers and I was there with some friends this week. I think the garden has never looked better and those who work there - many of whom are volunteers - are to be congratulated. It looks simply stunning!

The garden contains thousands of beautiful roses and many of them were named for a member of a royal family - somewhere. I've mentioned our Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in previous blogs but the best known royal is our very own Queen Elizabeth.

The rose, named for Her Majesty many years ago now, forms large candy-pink single blooms on a tall vigorous bush. It has only a slight perfume but is a perfect rose for picking and always looks lovely in a vase.

This is one of the world's all time favourite roses and pretty well everyone has a Queen Elizabeth rose in their garden - almost certainly not realising anything about its aristocratic name.

Her Majesty is herself a keen and knowledgeable rosarian and, I'm reliably informed, she loves this particular rose.

I have more stories about the roses in the National Rose Garden at Woolmers and the connections they have to royalty, so you'll need to watch this space....

Right now there are literally zillions of buds on thousands of plants in the Rose Garden just bursting into bloom - so, don't delay, visit today!!

Check out the website at http://www.woolmers.com.au/

ROSES, ROSES all the way!

Right now you can see - and smell - roses in their thousands (perhaps even millions!) at the National Rose Garden at Woolmers Estate near Longford. Just imagine the perfume from all those roses as it wafts its way around you as you wander through this beautiful garden. At this time of year a visit truly is a must.

The National Rose Garden sets out to take visitors on a journey through the history of the rose. There are examples of all the major known families of roses, and all five thousand plants have reached their fullest, glorious maturity. Anyone who saw the garden when it was first planted more than ten years ago would be truly amazed at the difference.

The setting is stunning, overlooking as it does the Norfolk Plains toward Longford, where the countryside is criss-crossed with hawthorn hedges and these too are in spectacular bloom right now. This makes even the drive out to Woolmers a lovely experience because the countryside has simply never looked better.

The formal walled garden too is looking a picture at this time of year, as is the Heritage veggie garden. A visit to Woolmers should be on the agenda for everyone in Tassie and it's an ideal place to take visitors to this state.

The tour of the main house is a special treat - it's a look behind the scenes into a bygone era and we are so lucky to have such living history right on our doorstep. The gardens add to the uniqueness of the site with formal grounds and some magnificent trees.

Woolmers welcomes groups of visitors every day for tours of the house and grounds. During the rose flowering season they are happy to arrange special guided tours of the rose garden. In fact it is often one of my personal pleasures to take visitors on these tours of the gardens.

Come along and prepare to be gobsmacked!!

Where: Woolmers Estate, Woolmers Lane, Longford 7301
Phone: 03 6391 2230

Website: http://www.woolmers.com.au/

An Important Reminder

The very first roses to burst into bloom at the National Rose Garden at Woolmers are the Species or Botanical roses. These are the wild ancestors of all modern roses and they only bloom once, so a visit to the garden in early November to catch this richly perfumed show is a must.

Species roses, true children of the wild, need very little attention and can be left to care for themselves. They are tough and disease resistant, forming elegant mounds and climbers often ramble their way into nearby trees. The blooms are often dainty and produce richly coloured hips.

All cultivated garden roses are descendents of wild or briar roses and this is really the beginning of the rose story.

There are about 150 known Species roses in existence, though only a small selection has been inlcuded in the garden at Woolmers - just sufficient to give us a lovely spring show and maybe stimulate us to grow some of this interesting group of roses in our own gardens!

More about Crown Princess Margareta's Rose

The rose i spoke about in my last blog was called 'Crown Princess Margareta' and I've been asked to write a description of it. It's a Modern rose bred by David Austin (UK) in 2000 and is one of the most popular David Austin roses ever. It has large apricot and peachy coloured blooms with many petals. (I just love those roses with hundreds of petals all crammed together!)

It grows on a tall shrub, flowers for a long season, and has a beautifully stong tea-rose perfume. There is also a shortish climbing version of the same rose.

You'll be able to admire this evocative, sweet-smelling rose for yourself at the National Rose Garden at Woolmers near Longford from the end of October right through summer until the first frosts.

An anonymous writer tells me she hopes Crown Princess Mary will one day visit the Rose Garden and smell the lovely perfume of the rose to which she has family ties. I do thoroughly endorse that sentiment - it would indeed be lovely if the Princess were to visit Woolmers.

Crown Princess Mary - who, as I've mentioned, has married into the royal family of that other Crown Princess Margareta, has another rose named specially for her. A hybrid Tea rose bred by Australian rose breeder George Thomas was dedicated to the bride upon her wedding to Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark in 2004. This is a rose with large pale pink and ivory blooms and it has a light frangrance.

Sadly, no, we don't have this lovely rose in the Rose Garden at Woolmners, but we're working on planting new roses all the time.

We do have other roses growning there with connections to royal personages and I'll be happy to reveal some of those connections soon!

(P.S. Princess Mary has now left these shores after her, all to short, stay).

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark connects with the National Rose Garden at Woolmers

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark connects with the National Rose Garden at Woolmers - (reads the headline in my head). And the story goes something like this - Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, now visiting family in Hobart, has a connection with one of the roses in our Rose Garden at Woolmers near Longford in the state's north.

Ha! (Do I hear you say?) That's a pretty tenuous connection. I admit it does smack of the old saying "I danced with the man who danced with the girl who danced with the Prince of Wales!"

But wait! It gets even more slender!

Our rose is called 'Crown Princess Margareta' and it's a popular David Austin Rose with a strong tea-rose fragrance and it was named for a much loved lady who was called 'the Flower Princess'. She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and as a young woman met and fell in love with Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden. The couple (in between producing five children) designed and created one of the most beautiful gardens in Scandanavia around their castle at Helsingborg, which belongs to the people of Sweden to this day.

And - here's the connection!

The present royal families of Sweden and Denmark are the grandchildren and great grandchildren of that Crown Princess Margareta. Our very own Mary Donaldson has married into the royal family descended from the Crown Princess Margareta. And now she's expecting twins - in case you live on Mars and don't know this important fact yet!

This rose is just one of the reasons why you should visit the National Rose Garden at Woolmers, when it's in bloom and there are millions of others (roses that is - all providing you with millions of reasons to visit). All these roses will be in glorious bloom in a matter of weeks - from the end of October in fact.

P.S. I can come up with even more tenuous links between roses and royalty - just watch this space!

National Rose Garden

The National Rose Garden is located at World Heritage Listed site of Woolmers Estate in Longford, Tasmania, Australia. Stay tuned for lots of stories about the National Rose Garden.