In this episode, Dan & Julia celebrate the rose, Britain's most popular flowering plant. With so many species and varieties available to buy, there's a rose for every garden, but the choice can be bewildering - your hosts share their favourites for containers, walls, banks, wild areas and coastal gardens. Dan highlights his favourite tools and gloves for maintaining roses, and Julia explains how and why you should condition cut roses and other flowers before displaying them indoors. As always, your hosts supply a list of jobs you can do in your garden over the next fortnight.

Dan & Julia's Rose Picks

Climbers and Ramblers - 'Albertine', 'Masquerade', 'Bobby James', 'New Dawn', 'Buff Beauty', 'American Pillar Rose', 'Paul's Himalayan Musk', banksia 'Lutea', laevigata 'Cooperii'

Hybrid Teas - 'Peace', 'Fragrant Cloud', 'Just Joey'.

For Wild Areas - 'Canary Bird', x odorata 'Mutabilis', x odorata 'Bengal Crimson'.

For Coastal Gardens - rugosa 'Hansa', pimpinellifolia 'Dunwich Rose'.

For Ground Cover - 'The Fairy', 'Grouse 2000', 'Partridge', 'Magic Carpet'.

For Pots - 'Boscobel', 'Blue for You', 'Pearl Drift', 'Gabriel Oak'.

For Borders - 'Queen of Sweden'.

Dan's Product Picks:

1. Mainichi Snips - perfect for picking and pruning roses
2. Opinel No.12 Pruning Saw - ideal for tackling rampant ramblers
3. Gold Leaf Tough Touch Gloves - to protect your hands and wrists from thorns and prickles

Gardening Jobs for the Fortnight Ahead:

1. Mist houseplants with rainwater to keep the humidity up and ward off red spider mites.
2. If you're going on holiday, arrange for a friend or neighbour to take care of the watering.
3. Water and feed tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines regularly. Irregular watering can cause the fruits to split.
4. Watch out for vine weevils in potted plants. The telltale signs are little notches in the leaf edges.
5. Keep deadheading all flowering plants and feed with a high potash fertiliser to keep the blooms coming.
6. Divide bearded irises and replant so the rhizome is exposed on the soil surface.
7. Trim vigorous climbers such as vines, jasmine, honeysuckle and wisteria if they get unruly. Prune rambling roses after flowering, removing about a third of the flowered stems.
8. Harvest courgettes and beans regularly - daily if possible so they aren't watery or tough.
9. Harvest garlic as soon as the leaves turn yellow and start to wither.
10. Keep birdbaths and ponds topped up with water - rainwater if you can, but small amounts of tap water are better than no water.
11. Thin out parsnips and carrots. You can't replant the thinnings, so eat them lightly steamed. They are delicious.

Website links:

• Dan Cooper Garden
• Parker's Patch
• Produced by Scott Kennet at Red Lighthouse Local

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