July's meeting was our annual outing which this year was to Peter Beales Rose Garden for a talk and tour of gardens followed by lunch .
We were shown how to T-bud new varieties and help to keep the rose trees available for sale at the nurseries. This is a very interesting procedure you require a rootstock plant select a flowered shoot about 30cm with three or four growth buds. Remove the foliage, cut away a healthy bud with a strip of bark extending about 2.5cm above and below bud. Cut the root stock just deeply enough to pierce the bark and make a T-shaped incision at a height of 15-30cm, ease the flat of the T outwards, insert bud secure using a rubber binding, when shoot develops in the spring cutoff growth above bud. We then walked around garden with our excellent guide discussing the many gorgeous roses and learning that they had won a gold at Chelsea flower Show again this year, bringing the total gold medals won to 20.