POLLINATING INSECTS LOVE NEW DAWN CLIMBING ROSE

Pollinating insects, like the little hoverfly shown here, love the climbing rose called New Dawn, and so do I.  I love it for its delicate fragrance, the shiny leaves, the healthiness of it, the soft pink of its petals and also the golden centre which is displayed as the rose fully opens before it begins to age.  It's at that stage, when the centre is displayed that pollinators get really attracted.  New Dawn rambles a bit like a rambler but it isn't a rambler, it is a repeat flowering climber. 



New Dawn climbing rose in flower and bud

I know I've mentioned this particular rose many times since I began this blog eight years ago, but I want other gardeners to realise what a wonderful addition it is to a garden.  I've grown a New Dawn rose for decades, planted one in just about every garden I ever had (roses don't grow well in the tropics where I lived a while), and where I am now, on the Pennines of West Yorkshire, is no exception.  It was one of the first roses I planted, and it remains one of only two (the other is Wild Eve, a real stunner!) that I have chosen to keep. 

And, New Dawn is a rose that can tolerate some degree of shade.  When I first planted New Dawn in my present garden, against a high north-facing fence, the rose was cut off by direct sunshine until the sun swung around in the early afternoon and bathed it in light.  Having said that, New Dawn has improved since I had that solid fence replaced by a slatted fence (shadow panels) which allows the passage of light and air.  The rose is stronger and seems happier and healthier.  It has been a popular rose since it first came into existence in 1930; 88 years ago. 

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) information on New Dawn (external link)

David Austin information on New Dawn (external link)





Harmless hoverfly reaping the benefits of a New Dawn rose

Welcome hoverflies to your garden.  Hoverflies are the good guys and pollinate flowers your garden.  They look a bit like bees but have stubby little antennae.  I think they are cute and they often hover around me when I am reading in the garden. I must look like a little flower!  :D    They don't sting, they do no harm, except to aphids.



New Dawn rose in full bloom