Rejuvenating the Rosarium

The third week of July was an intense time of activity in the Towerwater garden. We could approach the pruning of the roses in a much more relaxed way than last year. Mother Nature gave us a dry and balmy week in which to prune and that made a world of difference to our physical comfort.

The Monday to Friday pruning and preparation of the garden for spring took five people contributing a total equivalent of 21 working days. These are the logistics it requires to prepare the garden. The required ingredients involved collecting 2,5 tons of horse manure from near the town of McGregor 42 kilometres from Towerwater.  To feed the garden, 600dm³ of compost from the local hardware store in addition to tons of mulch from Swellendam, a town about 50 kilometres from Towerwater, Bonnievale, in the opposite direction.

We removed nine one-ton bakkie loads of garden refuse that could not fit into the compost bins. We replaced seven rose bushes that were not performing well. That part of the exercise meant removing about four bags (or 200kg) of soil per rose, sterilising the open hole and replacing the soil with the same quantity of freshly prepared soil. This step ensures that the new roses survive their transition into the rosarium. Soil from the vegetable garden was fed and enhanced to replace the soil removed from the rosarium. We decided to replace the seven roses with open root roses from the Ashton Nursery in Ashton, a town about 16 kilometres from Bonnievale.

Some of the compost and horse manure

By the end of the week, the rosarium had been pruned and sprayed with lime sulphur. The old mulch was raked aside, the soil loosened and after the horse manure was spread and lightly worked, the old mulch was raked back into place and refreshed with an overlay of new mulch.

The logistics of maintaining the rosarium seem overwhelming. But, a passionate hobby requires dedication and commitment. We have learnt that what we put into life we also get back. This is equally true of the rosarium. The roses will give us months of pleasure with their beauty and fragrance dominating an entire boundary of the garden.

In retrospect, the rosarium is a celebration of the best ingredients of the Breede River Valley and Overberg. In the 23 years of the existance of the rosarium we have learnt so much. We find that we are still learning.

Our hope is that passers-by will enjoy the visual spectacle as much as we do. The raised terrace of the rosarium means that we effectively spend our days below the roses. Rejuvenating the rosarium also means that we are rejuvenating ourselves with new experiences and possibilities for the future.