Climbing roses are easy to grow and, if pruned properly, can put on a big show of flowers in spring and summer, says gardening writer JACKIE WARBURTON. 

THERE are thornless climbing roses to choose from and one of my favourites is Crepuscule. It can be a sprawling shrub and repeats its flowering and has good fragrance in spring and summer. 

The flowers, which attract bees, are apricot to yellow. They can be grown over a fence or small shed and pruned with a hedge trimmer in winter.

It’s the perfect time to plant roses now. Dig a good size hole, about double the size of the pot, mix a bit of blood and bone at the bottom of the hole.

Place the roots of the rose over a mound at the bottom of the hole and ensure the roots are facing downwards. This helps keep the rose from suckering and gives the main stem stability.

Rose cuttings can also be taken now. Take about 10-15 pencil-thick  stems. Try to use stems that haven’t flowered. Dip them in hormone gel, honey or even Vegemite. Bunch the cuttings up, leave on a window sill and keep moist. It will take about 8-10 weeks to see growth and for the stems to take root. 

Once the roots are hanging from the bottom of the pot, they can be potted up individually. Taking cuttings is a slow, but rewarding process – and a cheap way of building a garden, plus also having enough cuttings to share with friends. 

GROWING African violets can be addictive. They come in many different colours and sizes and can be grown on a sunny window with filtered sunlight and are an easy-to-grow, indoor plant to propagate. 

African violets only like to be watered with tepid water on their soil and not their leaves. Wick watering is a terrific way of watering and special pots are available at the nursery. 

SOME of the winter bulbs will be flowering and early spring bulbs such as hooped petticoat daffodils, crocus and galanthus will be starting to appear in the garden – a sign that spring is around the corner. 

Bulbs are great as a cut flower for the house and many are fragrant. Daffodils and Erlicheer would have to be one of the most fragrant of all the bulbs and only one flower is needed to fill the room with scent.  

EUPHORBIA myrsinites is putting on a show at the moment. The spirally leaves are symmetrically formed and a feature in themselves. The contrasting tiny yellow flowers are really striking and not bothered by the frost. 

They like full sun position and good drainage. Deadheading the flowers will prevent spreading of any unwanted plants. Use gloves when handling these plants as the white sap can be irritating if you get it on your skin. 

SEPTEMBER 1 is National Wattle Day and now the time to plant a wattle. 

Wattle trees are a terrific, growing native. They are a legume tree and help provide nitrogen to the ground. 

From the 1000 or so Australian wattles, a third flower in winter. Keep the water up to them in the summer and a light prune after flowering will be all they need. 

Our national floral emblem is the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) and native to south-east Australia and grows to about eight metres tall, so it’s only really suitable for a large garden. 

There is a planting of 40 golden wattles in a grove in the Acacia Garden at the National Botanic Gardens to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Australian Botanic Gardens.

jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au