Grow your own roses for this Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Do you have any plans? Have you thought about a gift for your beloved? Some of the top choices include chocolates, cards, jewellery, gift cards, house plants, perfume and of course… flowers! It probably won’t surprise you that roses are one of the top 10 Most Popular Valentine’s Day Gifts:

1. Chocolates
2. Roses
3. Cards
4. Jewellery
5. Dinner for two
6. Clothing
7. Gift cards
8. House plants
9. Perfume
10. Personalised or handmade gifts

This year everyone is trying their best to save money, and you’ll be glad to hear that buying your beloved some stunning valentine roses doesn’t have to cost you the earth (pun intended!). In fact, rather than splurging on cut roses from a florist why not consider starting your very own rose garden which can provide you with years and years of glorious blooms for a fraction of the price?

There are many amazing varieties of roses which are popular for Valentine’s Day, from classic to more modern hybrid varieties, which you can include in your rose garden. One of my favourites are David Austin Roses –  all have beautiful blooms and in most cases wonderful fragrance held on graceful attractive shrubs. A garden of these outstanding roses is hard to beat for sheer exuberance of flower and fragrance.

Did you know that the colour and number of roses you offer someone have different meanings? Think carefully before making your choice!

• Red roses represent love and romance and are the perfect Valentine’s Day rose.
• Pink roses represent gratitude, grace, admiration, and joy.
• Orange roses represent enthusiasm and passion.
• Yellow roses represent friendship.
• White roses represent innocence and purity.

Though in most cases, roses are tied to love, you can send a specific romantic message by the number of roses you send.

• One rose represents love at first sight.
• Two roses represent shared and deep love.
• Three roses say “I love you”.
• Six roses say “I want to be yours”.
• Seven roses say “I’m infatuated with you”.
• Nine roses represent eternal love.
• Ten roses say “You’re perfect”.

There are a few considerations when growing your own roses, these include: planting them somewhere that will get around 6 hours of sunlight, dig down to around 3 feet in depth to give the roots enough space, water the plants from below so you don’t get the leaves damp (which promotes mould) and fertilising 3 times a year, in spring, midsummer and just before autumn to get the best blooms.

You should see flowers grown in around 4 weeks from planting! Just be sure to prune any sad looking branches and keep an eye out for insects on your roses. If you’re worried, there are lots of great rose growing tutorials online which offer solid advice.

Don’t forget you can make lots of lovely gifts with your roses once they have grown if you have a surplus!

1. Roses are known for their beautiful scent, and making potpourri can keep their beautiful essence lasting longer.
2. Dried roses look great as an addition to a wreath, whether it’s a celebration of summer or a festive Christmas wreath. They will give a lovely aroma to your wreath and add a flowery touch.
3. Making a DIY skin scrub can be a lovely gift, or a homemade treat for yourself. It’s a great way to use rose petals and easy to make with just a few basic ingredients.

So, instead of spending your hard earned cash on cut flowers that will last a week or so why not consider starting your own rose garden and enjoy the beauty and fragrance of fresh roses all year round?