Isn’t it funny how our tastes can change over time? I used not to like the ‘old English roses’ as much as the simpler kind. I found the structure of ‘old roses’, with their mass of tiny petals, too fussy and complicated. I preferred the classic rose of the kind that serenaders clasp in their teeth as they strum guitars beneath the balcony.

However, we bought an old English rose for the garden as an experiment, and when it bloomed this year I suddenly fell in love with it. Its complex structure suddenly seemed fascinating to me, its heavy, intricate bloom a thing of beauty on its slender stem. As Einstein said, ‘Things should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.’