The glow of ambient light in Autumn is so atmospheric as the cooler temperatures and changeable weather create a season of dewy mornings, and the dramatic light stays golden all day around the late-flowering rose blooms.
For some time now, I’ve wanted to replace the overgrown French lavender and the two Princess De Monaco roses that were growing in troughs along the verandah edge; both had grown too large and overpowering. I decided to transplant them into more suitable places in the garden and instead I have filled the troughs with five Golden Beauty roses (three from last year and two new ones) plus a few essential herbs for the kitchen ; they are magnificent already.
The colour is rich and vibrant with an outstanding clarity of shape and colour that is very eye-catching. This is the best position where the first rays of the morning sun touch the blooms, and they are sheltered from the hot western sun and wind. Because we walk past so often being at the entrance they can be appreciated more often and are also visible from indoors. It was surprising to see roses bloom so beautifully after being transplanted and they have flourished without skipping a beat.
Golden Beauty is an extraordinary rose chosen because out of all the roses in the garden, this one has been the most prolific, easy-care, stable and outstanding rose. The quality is incredible with no disease and shiny thick green foliage; it simply blooms and blooms. Considering I’ve only just planted them, the roses have done extremely well, and will improve even more as time goes on.
There is a continuity about the garden and an order of succession in the garden year which is deeply pleasing, and in one sense there are no breaks or divisions-seed time flows on to flowering time and harvest time; no sooner is one thing dying than another is coming to life.
Susan Hill and Rory Stuart
“Color is the only experience in life that does not require a conscious struggle of the intellect to be appreciated”.
Faber Birren
As I’ve mentioned, Golden Beauty was bred by Kordes & Sons in Germany in 1994 and introduced to Australia by Treloar Roses in 2020. It is a Floribunda, Grandiflora rose from the Sunbelt® Collection. It is undoubtedly gold with clusters of large, double, high-centred blooms in soft orange-yellow that are luminous and prolific. Apart from the beautiful contrast with green leaves, the gold blooms are versatile and contrast very well with blue and purple flowers and plants.
Golden Beauty roses do not fade in the sun, and the healthy dark green foliage is a perfect contrast with the glowing roses this plant produces. Colour in the landscape is so important and illuminating, but it can be a challenge to get right. I’ve steered clear of roses that are gaudy in nature or garish but it can be difficult to know what colour a bloom will turn out in various climates as some roses fade in the heat, and others become too intense and lurid: not so with this one.
Colour affects us mentally and emotionally in the ways we perceive the world. Yellow is the most visible colour and the first the human eye will notice. Our vision is also the first sense we use when perceiving any space, so using the right colours is vital in designing a garden. Yellow, especially in gold tones, permeates a garden with a sense of friendliness, warmth and cheerfulness. It is a happy colour that attracts attention and gladdens the heart. One of the best colours to plant near gold blooms is white, and a favourite tried and true colour scheme in garden design is yellow, white, and green; optimistic and uplifting.
Blue and green will evoke a sense of coolness, peace and relaxation, harmonising and creating unity. Whereas red, orange, and yellow are warming and tend to draw our attention to an area to provide character. White is perfect in the shade, illuminating darker spaces and opening the garden. White flowering plants are helpful when planted in the distance to create an illusion of expanded space, making the garden appear larger. Using colour in the composition of a landscape will help determine our gardens’ character and identity.
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There is a harmony, in autumn and a lustre in its sky. Which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could be, as if it had never been!
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Jamaica Kincaid
“In a way, a garden is the most useless of creations, the most slippery of creations: it is not like a painting or a piece of sculpture—it won’t accrue value as time goes on. Time is its enemy’ time passing is merely the countdown for the parting between garden and gardener.”
Gold and buttery yellow roses are a must in the garden. Although, too much yellow can alter the balance of a garden and disrupt harmony, especially in Summer’s hot sun that will cast an overall yellow light in the garden anyway. I’ve been known to pull garish bright perennials out when the gaudy yellow flowers appeared at the end of summer.
A touch of yellow here and there is a welcome hue that can add a sense of drama. Consider a bright Canna Lily or Red Hot Poker and the more subtle soft buttery yellows that will bring pollinators to the garden like; Begonias, Gerbera daisies, Marigolds, Dahlias, Pansies, Hyacinths, Snapdragons, Freesias, Tulips, Daffodils and Jonquils. A splash of yellow, perhaps in a lemon-coloured watering can, a doorway or a brightly coloured chair, will also bring a whimsical, light-hearted, cheerful feel to the garden.
Happy Easter.
All content and images Di Baker 2023
