VAL BOURNE says roses and biennial foxglove just work so well together

We are coming up to rose time which is my favourite time of the gardening year. But the roses I admire most are not the repeat-flowering floribundas, hybrid teas or musks.

They are those that drip with flower in June, the ones that garland the garden before fading to leafy splendour.

Many tend to be simply bred with a strong, vigorous nature, so often don't succumb to fungal disease. They have good foliage and there's no need to deadhead. Some also produce hips which glow in autumn and winter to satisfy the birds.

Among the healthiest are the Gallicas, with their pointed dark-green leaves, hair-like thorns, and vibrant flowers in pink, purple and deep-red. Rosa Mundi' is named after Fair Rosamund, the mistress of Henry II (1133-1189).

Legend says that Rosamund lived in Woodstock, but was poisoned by the jealous Queen Eleanor. The rose (Rosa gallica Versicolor') is a pink striped in purple. Sadly, it can only be traced back to 1583.

Gallica roses often sucker, and this is used to great advantage at Kiftsgate Court, in Gloucestershire. There they are used as a low hedge in front of other old-fashioned roses. They also tolerate poor soil, but must always have sun, and they integrate well with early herbaceous plants due to their upright habit and short stature. Most only reach a metre high.

Pruning all old-fashioned roses consists of lightly tidying the foliage in late winter by removing the three Ds - the dead, the diseased, and the dying. But common sense must prevail. If the rose is lax and the stems are long, shorten them by a third. Also remove any stems that cross and rub together. Gallicas can also be pruned after flowering by shortening the flowering stems by a third. They are never cut back hard.

Healthy repeat-flowering roses with an old-fashioned look include the accommodating rugosa roses from Japan. These prefer light soil which is not too alkaline. Rugosas will tolerate some shade, although it makes them taller, and I had an excellent Roseraie de L'Hay' under an apple tree.

It sent out a succession of very fragrant, crimson-purple flowers, and these looked wonderful against the bright-green matt foliage. Round, red hips followed. Rugosas make brilliant hedges, and David Austin has a deep-pink rose called Wild Edric', with rugosa blood. It doesn't produce hips, but it is very fragrant.

The ultimate accessory to once and only roses is the biennial foxglove Digitalis purpurea.

It comes in shades of pink and white, and the flowers are generally spotted in maroon. This trio picks up various old rose' pinks, maroons and purple-pinks.

The vertical foxglove spires provide weeks of flower, carrying on after the roses, and the upright foxgloves lead skywards.

There's still plenty of time to sow seeds for next year.