Nature table: The Dog Rose

Dog roses flower in June, July, and August, brightening up our hedgerows with their blossom, which is normally pale pink but sometimes white or deep pink and has a subtle fragrance.

Unfortunately in an Irish summer the flowers are often stripped off by heavy rain and high winds.

Dog rose is the commonest English name for the wild hedgerow rose but the scientific classification is a complex matter, debated by experts, with many named micro-species and hybrids.