Roses

Taught by Michael Marriott

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Course Description

The rose is exceptional in the plant world. Not only is it an extremely valuable garden plant that can be grown in most climates around the world. There is no other plant that has such a symbolic and close cultural association with us. Michael Marriott is the world leading expert on roses and Chief Rosarian at David Austin Roses.

Roses vary in size from tiny little plants a few centimetres tall to huge ramblers growing tens of metres into trees. Their flowers can be just a few millimetres across or 20cm or more and the number of petals range from five (occasionally four) to 200. There is no other plant with such a wide range of completely different fragrances and few with such a geographical range.

Wherever you are in the world, Michael will help you plan and nurture a beautiful rose garden. He will help you choose the right rose for your situation, and advise on everything from pruning roses, to fragrance and colour combinations. Whether you live in the cold climates of Hokkaido or Canada, the heat of Florida or India or simply in Hampshire – Michael will help you find the perfect rose to suit your climate.

Course outline

  • The Wonderful World of Roses

    Michael delves into the world of roses, giving us a tour of his garden while discussing the different groups, their cultural history and main characteristics. He will discuss how each species differs, and how you can find suitable varieties that will thrive in your environment for as long as possible. He will also discuss the disease resistance of each, groups that he avoids, which perennials to plant alongside, which you should prune and which you should spray.

  • The Many Ways to Use Roses in the Garden

    Michael will demonstrate the versatility of roses, drawing attention to the many ways that roses can be planted in the garden. You will learn how you can grow roses in different spaces, including informal borders, mixed borders, formal rose gardens, wild areas, pots, walls, arches, trees and hedges

  • How to Look After Roses

    You will learn how to care for your roses, from which variety to choose right through to how you should prune them. This includes soil preparation, planting technique, aftercare, deadheading and disease prevention.

  • Rose fragrances, rose breeding and commercial rose production

    Lastly, you will be given an insight into the inner workings of David Austin Roses, learning which commercial production methods have proved successful. You will also learn how to breed new varieties of rose, and discover the vast number of fragrant roses available to you.

Choose how you want to learn

  • The Expert option

    Recommended

    Develop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition from Michael Marriott

    • Start course whenever you like
    • 4 weeks tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
    • 4 assignments marked by Michael Marriott
    • Certificate of completion from Michael Marriott
    • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
    • 4 lessons with expert videos & notes
    • Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
    • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom
    Learn more
    $299

  • The Peer option

    Discover the benefits of group learning in an online interactive classroom of no more than 20 people. Get the most from shared knowledge and community study

    • Start course whenever you like
    • Practise what you learn with your peers
    • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
    • 4 lessons with expert videos & notes
    • 4 course assignments
    • Group chat & direct message classmates
    • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom
    Learn more
    $99
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Learn better together

  • Online classroom

    Start anytime and join a class of no more than 20 students

    Start anytime and join a class of no more than 20 students

  • Test yourself

    Practice what you learn with assignments after each lesson

    Practice what you learn with assignments after each lesson

  • Personal tuition

    Exclusive assignment feedback from Expert Tutors

    Exclusive assignment feedback from Expert Tutors

  • Share

    Share ideas with classmates from around the world

    Share ideas with classmates from around the world

Meet Michael Marriott

My first port of call for a Roses expert, is always Michael Marriott, the chief rosarian at David Austin Roses. He’s worked at the David Austin headquarters for 32 years.

Val Bourne, The Telegraph
I have worked with David Austin Roses for over 25 years. During this time I've become one of the world's leading authorities on roses and designed many private and public rose gardens around the world. I continue to grow many roses in my own garden, which I run on organic principles and have never sprayed. I select only those varieties that combine both health and beauty and I grow them alongside other plants to help prevent the spread of pests and diseases. I'm a great believer in common sense gardening and when it comes to pruning, I'm keen to go back to basic principles so that students can easily apply their knowledge to any rose they encounter. I'm a passionate believer that the rose is an exceptionally valuable garden plant. What other plant can potentially have a beautiful individual flower, a wonderful fragrance, flower for several months of the year and be easy to look after? There is nothing that approaches them for sheer garden worthiness.

I wanted to teach and share my knowledge through Learning with Experts to help share my passion for roses globally. I'm also keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world, and I do continue to learn from my students here about different experiences you have with your own roses. I look forward to seeing you in class.

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