Nymans Rose Garden Restoration
- Published:
- 04 March 2025
If you're a regular visitor you will have noticed a big change in the Rose Garden recently. Over the last few years there's been a marked decline in the health of the rose bushes. We carried out extensive research with specialists, concluding that the decline was due to an aging rose collection, poor soil health, and the sheer size of the rose collection within an enclosed space. We removed the rose bushes during the winter and are now getting reading to plant a meadow seed mix which will help to improve the condition of the soil.
Research
Like any garden design project, we started back at basics and ran a series of soil tests. They revealed that the soil contained excessive phosphorous, which has a detrimental effect on the health of the roses. Phosphorous inhibits the uptake of other nutrients which are fundamental to the overall health of the plants.
Work Plan
The garden team at Nymans have already begun removing all the roses, underplanting and pernicious weeds. They are now preparing the soil for a pictorial meadow mix for this year which will allow the soil to rest. The species within the meadow mix will help absorb excessive elements, such as phosphorous, which have contributed negatively to the rose health.
Results
Our ambition is to reinvigorate the Rose Garden. We want to make it a more diverse and immersive space, with an emphasis on resilient planting that can cope with less intervention, and that’s capable of withstanding a changing climate. It will echo the original planting schemes that Maud Messel and Head Gardener James Comber implemented when creating the original Rose Garden in the 1920s.
Spring 2025
Over spring and into summer we’ll prepare the soil for direct sowing. A fine tilth will be put on all the beds to give the meadow mix the best possible growing medium. Contractors will rejuvenate pathways too. And behind the scenes Gardener Havey Dickens will continue his research into old fashioned varieties of roses which Maud Messel loved, as well as choosing June flowering shrubs and perennials to plant in the garden.
A planting plan is being drawn up which will help with spacing the plants. Overcrowding has been an issue in the past, so we need to get this right to avoid the resultant pests and diseases that can be a result of overcrowding.
The project will take us a few years so please do visit the garden when you’re at Nymans so you can see how it develops.