One of the best days of my life was when I visited David Austen Rose Garden in Shropshire, England.
My husband and I were staying with friends in a little village called Sandhurst, about 3km from Manchester.
It was in July of 2013 and the summer had been wonderfully warm, with meals outside, and our friends knew how much I loved gardens, especially fragrant ones.
I was told that they were going to give us a surprise so a picnic lunch was duly packed and off we went.
After we had been on the very busy motorway for a little while, our driver noticed a sign saying there would be delays.
He was in his element, as he could drive off the motorway on to the roads that were so familiar to him and take us through all the beautiful little villages in this part of England.
He knew it would be a much longer day but felt we would see extra places, but no picnic areas.
We ended up sitting under a tree in a plant nursery, but of course I couldn't purchase any plants!
On and on we went and finally reached our destination, Albrighton, on the Shropshire border.
When we drove in, I couldn't believe my eyes: all these roses as far as I could see.
It was truly wonderful.
I spent the rest of the time walking around the garden, admiring all the different colours, shapes, forms, and, of course, the alluring scent which drifted around me.
There was even a small group of musicians playing.
One of the climbing roses that really took my fancy was called Shropshire Lad, with its beautiful apricot-peach coloured flowers, and its scent was so delicious.
I took a note of it and when I came back home to Dunedin I looked in the catalogues but to my dismay there was only Shropshire Lass.
Surely I didn't get this wrong!
I waited a while and then contacted a local nursery here and found to my delight that they were just getting them in.
Now it is in my garden and when it grows up the newly built trellis, it will always remind me of one of the best days of my life.
• Liz Petrie is president of the Otago Herb Society and, apart from gardening, enjoys creative cooking, walking, dancing, listening to music and singing in a small choir.
