麻豆约拍

Growing roses against a shady wall or fence is not without its challenges. Most roses need lots of sun to flower well, but it鈥檚 perfectly possible to have a good show of blooms where light is more limited. Madame Alfred Carri猫re (pictured here) is a firm favourite of Monty鈥檚, not least because of its sweet fruity fragrance and distinct lack of thorns. But there are plenty of other shade-tolerant varieties. Here are a few contenders.

Climbing Iceberg (white)
Crown Princess Margareta (apricot-orange)
Danse de Feu (brick red)
Gertrude Jekyll (bright pink)
Maigold (coppery-yellow)
Mermaid (lemon yellow)
Souvenir du Docteur Jamain (maroon)
Teasing Georgia (yellow)
The Generous Gardener (pale pink)

(www.rhs.org.uk)

What Derek Ferguson has achieved with his small garden in Cheshire is truly remarkable. At only 10.5m (35ft) x 6m (20ft), it鈥檚 not like he has a great deal of space to play with, yet his clever use of bold colours and large-leaved plants makes it feel so much bigger than it really is. If you鈥檇 like to create something similar in your garden, here are Derek鈥檚 top 10 recommendations to get you started.

Butia capitata (Jelly palm)
Colocasia esculenta (Taro)
Dicksonia antarctica (Soft tree fern)
Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' (Ethiopian black banana)
Musa basjoo (Japanese banana)
Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax)
Phyllostachys nigra (Black bamboo)
Rheum palmatum (Chinese rhubarb)
Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex' (Chinese rice-paper plant)
Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan palm)

(www.rhs.org.uk)