St. Cecilia gets a second chance

After three or four years in the front garden, my St. Cecelia (David Austin) rose has done little better than limp along. Today she got the heave ho, but with some last minute magnamity I've potted her up. 

The rootstock has been trying to take over from the day this rose was originally planted, so it's had a rather severe bit of surgery from a pruning saw to try to get rid of the problem. Too much? Will she survive? We shall see. 

Fingers crossed. She's bedded in half general purpose mix, half premium mix (because I ran out of GP mix), and a handful of Seamungous pellets to help the roots along. Hopefully some pot culture and a quieter and cooler position in the garden will do her a world of good, and she'll blossom for me. 

I had my usual assistant today too, though not so sure the beloved, white Moomin appreciated being used as a gardening tool. 

(Off topic: how sad is my lawn in the background?! Come back, warmth and sunshine; we need you!)