ANNE BOLEYN'S GARDEN

One June 22, 2019 the Fordham and District Garden Club had an outing to the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, who was the 2nd wife of Henry the Eighth, Hever Castle.

Little did I know when stepping off the coach when we arrived that I would be making my way back to Cambridgeshire with two more roses for my collection.

Anne Boleyn - has soft warm pink flowers and is an English Rose that was bred by David Austin. Diseased resistant and almost thornless, it was introduced in 1999.

Hever Castle - is a floribunda rose that was bred by Colin Horner, who was an amateur rose breeder from Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex and produces masses of velvety deep red flowers that fade to cerise. Introduced in Norfolk by Bill Le Grice Roses in 2011, it was bred by crossing Golden Future with Baby Love,

I managed on the day to photograph many roses and these included:

American Pillar - a hybrid wichurana rose that was bred in the USA by Dr Walter Van Fleet, being introduced first in the USA by Conard and Jones in 1908. With carmine-pink flowers with white eyes and golden stamens, it was introduced into the UK by Henry Connell of Sons in 1909.

Iceberg - is a pure white floribunda rose that Kordes introduced in Germany in 1958. It grows to about 120cm by 60cm.

Nostalgia - is a hybrid tea rose with double cream coloured flowers that are edged with cherry red and are only slightly fragrant.

Rhapsody in Blue - was bred by Frank Cowlishaw and is a floribunda rose that was the 2003 Best of the Best rose. It has dark purplish-blue flowers that are paler on the reverse.

There are loads more roses that failed to identify.

The Castle, which has wonderful gardens including three rose gardens, is situated in the Eden Valley and the oldest part dates from the reign of King Henry the Third and was built by William de Hever. By 1462 it had become the home of Sir Thomas Boleyn, who was the father of King Henry the Eighth second wife. Over the course of time the castle turned from a medieval fortress into a graceful family residence. Though by the late 1800s, it had fallen into decay and ruins, before the 1st Viscount Aster, William Waldorf Aster, came to its rescue. Today the graceful property house and gardens are owned by Broadland Property and open to the general public.

So I can certainly recommend lovers of roses to visit Hever Castle.

All the roses shown in this piece were photographed by me at Hever Castle.