Yes folks, it is winter, and we all know what that means… it’s Rose Mutilation Time! (Hurrah.) Not that we ought to be feeling too sorry for said roses, though, since they do have very nasty thorns and they do know how to use them to great effect (yes, I own gardening gloves; what’s your point?). Anyway, my roses are but faded shadows of their former selves, which ought to see them go nuts in about three months’ time, with any luck. Worked like that last year, at any rate, although I guess Mum was here for it then, and she’s probably a bit more ruthless than I am when it comes to snipping. I have tried my hardest this time, and I think there are few places where Mum would tsk me.

Now all I have to do is remember to fertilise them.