I am in love with Sally Holmes

Last Tuesday was a bank holiday and our local town had a plant fair. At first glance it looked rather small - not enough stalls and all of them selling perlagoniums and bedding begonias. HOWEVER - on closer inspection there were some absolute gems. A fantastic stand by Pepinieres Meynier who are hydrangea specialists from St Sernin de Prats in the Dordogne and some wonderful roses from Mr Philippe Marro who has a nursery at Castets en Dorth which is just where the Canal Lateral/Canal du Midi begins its long journey from the Gironde department to the Mediterranean. From the Meyniers I bought a Hydrangea Arborescence called Annabelle; a shrub I have always loved. And from Mr Marro I bought a sensational rose called Sally Holmes. It was love at first sight. We didn't buy it when I first saw it but went to our local chocolaterie and had hot chocolate with a group of friends.

I found it hard to concentrate on the conversation - I was like a cat on hot bricks. He only had one plant with him, and it was a beautiful specimen. Would it still be there when I went back? It was - and I bought it. Our friend Joycelyn carried it back to the car for me and after tea at another friend's house we eventually got home and I planted Sally in our front border. She replaced a ceanothus which didn't make it through the harsh February we had this year. Sally Holmes should grow to about 2 metres high. It is a shrub rose which doesn't spread out too widely, so she should fit beautifully between a large tree paeony and a contorted hazel (given to me to celebrate my **th birthday). The flowers are a papery white, about the size of small saucers and with a yellow-ish tinge to the centre. They grow in clusters and appear throughout the summer. The simplicity of the blossoms is secret of their beauty - they seem to illuminate their surroundings with an innocence which will work wonderfully with the plain blue green of the paeony leaves and glossy green of the hazel. Not surprisingly, when I checked my RHS reference book Sally Holmes has an award of gardening merit.

This evening we ate our first broad beans - tiny beans, the size of a fingernail - and they were delicious. And there is lots of news on the chick front - not least that the eggs in our incubator are starting to 'pip'. More about this in the next day or two. I love this time of year.