The Sweet Scent of Roses .sx Clay Jones on the rose-breeders' quest for perfection .sx THIS MONTH , in practically every garden in Britain , the air is heavy with the sweet scent of roses and as their buds unfurl , great sweeps of colour fill the landscape and we know that summer is really here .sx Without question , the rose is beloved above all other plants for its flowers and fragrance .sx So cherished and admired is this doyen of the garden and so numerous are its species and varieties , that we tend to forget that the modern rose sprang from humble beginnings .sx Its present day excellence and prominence is due almost entirely to the work and dedication of a comparatively small band of rose breeders and growers who , over many years , have striven to produce bigger blooms , better colours and stronger scents .sx They have succeeded and still they continue their quest for perfection , all of which is to our advantage .sx In any breeding programme the initial requirements are attractive and different blooms and vigour coupled with good , disease-resistant foliage .sx Finding these desirable assets is a protracted exercise , demanding great patience and an even greater degree of skill .sx The breeders produced thousands of seedlings and consider themselves lucky if they find two or three of a sufficiently high standard to merit a place in our rose beds .sx Very occasionally a real winner appears by a combination of good luck and even better planning .sx So it was in 1939 , when Francis Meilland in France set eyes on a seedling that appeared to be of exceptionally high quality .sx With the intervention of the war years , it was 1945 before his great discovery , we now know as the rose 'Peace' , crossed over the channel and became our best loved rose .sx Since then 'Peace' , with its delicately perfumed , full blooms of pink-edged , creamy yellow and deep green , glossy foliage , has sold at least 100 million plants world-wide and all because Meilland was an accomplished rose breeder and had an eye for a promising youngster .sx CONTAINER GROWN ROSES .sx It is our good fortune these days , that we can drive to a garden centre and view a range of container grown roses in full bloom .sx We can make our choice of colour and form , take the plant home , ease it out of its container and plant it to give us instant colour .sx With its root system intact , the plant will hardly notice its move from pot to hole and it will grow , providing it has a plentiful supply of water .sx After planting , give the soil a thorough soaking with 2 to 4 gallons of water and top dress with a good thick mulch of any organic material , that will serve to keep the roots cool and conserve soil moisture .sx In prolonged dry spells your new rose will probably need watering several times a week for at least a month , until it has made new roots into the surrounding soil , and the lighter the soil , the more often it will need watering .sx The next few weeks should be the hottest , driest time of the year and where plants are concerned , water is a greater necessity than food .sx In any case , they absorb their food in solution and therefore in a dry soil they can neither slake their thirst nor satisfy their appetites .sx This fact of plant life applies just as much to roses as to anything else , and particularly to climbing roses , even though they may be well established .sx The foot of a wall is the driest part of any garden and any plant growing there may need watering even after rain .sx NEW ROSES .sx Returning to the rose breeders , they have transformed our conception of the rose in recent years .sx Until fairly recently our rose beds were occupied by either hybrid teas or floribundas and in our borders you sometimes found a few of the old shrub roses .sx The HTs and the floribundas still predominate and very lovely and showy they are , but there are a whole lot of exciting newcomers .sx Of paramount importance is the new range of dwarf floribundas , that have become popularly called 'Patio' roses .sx These little beauties grow to an average height of 18 inches , although some will go to 2 feet .sx All this means that they are just the thing for small gardens and for growing in containers .sx I have also seen them in massed beds in large gardens and they look superb .sx They flower throughout the summer and are compact with dense , healthy foliage .sx The best varieties to look for are Angela Rippon - salmon pink , Rugul - yellow , Snowdrop - pure white , Sweet Magic - orange and Red Domino - crimson .sx For me , the old fashioned roses have great charm and beauty and I have been content to enjoy their splendid but comparatively short-lived , floral display .sx Things are changing , indeed , have changed .sx In Albrighton , near Wolverhampton , David Austin has been busy breeding a new race of shrub roses , which he has called English Roses .sx These spring from crosses between the old roses and the modern hybrid teas and floribundas .sx They retain the unique charm of the 'Olds' with the ability of the 'moderns' to keep on flowering over a long period and they have fragrance as well .sx They are blessed with a bushy appearance , good colourful blooms and they vary in size from medium-size shrubs to small bushes .sx Two particularly good varieties of the shrub-type English Rose are the clear yellow Graham Thomas and the rose-pink Mary Rose .sx Climbing roses are truly beautiful , but they can be an embarrassment in small gardens .sx How does one cope with a climber with a natural desire to climb to 20 feet up a 6 feet high wall ?sx With difficulty , but not if it is one of the new Miniature Climbers such as the deep yellow Laura Ford , which is content to climb to 6 feet or so and no higher .sx Honey for Tea .sx John Douglas got the buzz and now has his own private reserve .sx " HOW MANY have you got , then ?sx " That's often the first question I am asked when someone hears that I keep bees .sx " Oh , 40,000 , give or take a few hundred , " I reply .sx There's a smile of disbelief .sx It's a joke , isn't it ?sx But when they realize that I'm serious , questions come thick and fast .sx What is so interesting about these dark , six-legged insects ?sx After all , you hardly notice them .sx They just get on with their work .sx Unless you disturb them , they are unlikely to sting you .sx Is it their ability to produce that delicate and delicious golden substance we call honey ?sx Could it be their amazing community life ?sx Some 30,000 to 40,000 in one hive , with the queen laying up to 1,500 eggs a day and each bee with its own job to do .sx Workers who act as royal attendants , guards , nurses , cleaners , undertakers and foragers - not to mention the drones , whose sole function is to fertilize the queen , then die .sx A dear price for a life of leisure .sx Or is there an idea that you'll have something for nothing ?sx Persuade the little beggars to live in a special box and store honey , then when it's ready you steal it !sx Well , we can knock the free honey idea straight on the head .sx I fed my bees over 30 pounds of sugar in September .sx That's hardly free !sx .sx You need a veil , a hat and a pair of gauntlets as minimum protection .sx With a smoker and a hive tool - indispensable items for calming them down and opening the hive - and some wax foundation for the frames , you can spend well over pounds50 before you even risk a bee-sting .sx But , as a novice , I knew little about all this until two years ago .sx For some time I had been interested , but then I just kept on spreading my toast with honey from the local supermarket - marked " produce of more than one country " .sx It was during the spring that my friend Bill , a beekeeper for more than 30 years , said , " If you're interested , come and look at mine .sx " .sx It was warm and still - a perfect May afternoon .sx His bees were flying and content .sx The air hummed with activity .sx Hatted and veiled , with hands firmly in my pockets , I peered gingerly for the first time into an open hive .sx Gently , Bill eased out one frame after another full of honeycomb .sx Hundreds of bees were working on them .sx I smelt the warm sweet scent of honey and wax .sx I had thoughts of breakfast toast spread with honey from our own bees in our own garden .sx I was hooked .sx The intelligence network of the local beekeepers' association resembles a benevolent MI5 .sx Within days I possessed a second-hand hive , awaiting an obliging swarm .sx I learnt my first lesson in bee-lore .sx 'A swarm in May is worth a load of hay .sx ' That is , a May swarm should settle into a hive and produce honey for harvesting later in the summer .sx BILL is an official swarm gatherer .sx The police call him when concerned householders report bees in their thousands settling in the garden .sx But that year no swarm appeared in May .sx 'A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon .sx ' Still no swarm .sx 'A swarm in July isn't worth a fly !sx ' So the intelligence network took over again .sx Old Jack was not well .sx He was cutting down and selling some of his hives as going concerns .sx I bought one which was considered by my friendly agents to be in good shape and well - stocked .sx About 14 pounds of honey already stored , they guessed .sx Late one evening we moved the bees .sx Sealed and clamped a hive fits easily into a hatchback car .sx We set it up at the far end of the garden , agreed as a suitable site so as to cause no trouble to neighbours .sx In fact , ours had been interested and encouraging when we had spoken with them .sx The intelligence agents were right .sx We were delighted to take off 16 pounds of honey at the end of that first summer .sx Now I didn't actually go to listen , but tradition has it that at midnight on Christmas Eve the bees , clustered in their hives , hum praises in honour of Christ's birth .sx It is also said that bought bees don't do well .sx But last year our hive yielded a surprising harvest of 82 pounds .sx And if in early summer I am seen walking round the garden noisily banging pans and baking trays together , I shall be 'tanging' - an old and tried custom to encourage a swarm to settle quickly , not too far from its original hive .sx That's the theory anyhow .sx My first swarm is my big practical test .sx A DOG'S BEST FRIEND .sx Jenny Jones tells the heart-tugging tale of a rescued dog's first love .sx THE FIRST thing I gave Bozo was a blanket .sx It was a big , fluffy , pale blue affair , which somebody had donated for just such an occasion and needy cause .sx He adored his blanket on sight , helping to place it carefully in his bed , nudging it with his broad nose , patting it with enormous feet .sx Then he sat on it firmly , with an air of take-it-away-if-you-dare !sx .sx I have no way of knowing if the blanket was the first thing Bozo had ever owned , but he acted as if it was , and woe betide anyone who thought to straighten it , move it , or worse still , wash it .sx Bozo was an Old English sheepdog - but don't imagine something like the famous paint dog , pampered and combed ; rather , a rangy , moth-eaten , greyhound-thin bundle of neuroses covered in sparsely-tufted grey and white fur .sx Nine years of dog rescue had inured me , I thought , to the sad sights and sorry stories of the animals I cared for , but the tales of beatings , starvation and abandonment I lived with paled in the light of Bozo's circumstances .sx A windowless bathroom , with barely space to move between the bath and loo , is no place to keep a dog , yet this had been Bozo's lot for two whole years .sx During all that time he'd never seen daylight , never been released from his cell , been fed only intermittently , not known one kind word , and the small room had never been cleaned out .sx