In about 1920, the story goes, Lorraine Lee, who had been born in Melbourne but had worked in the Women's Land Army in England and for the Ministry of Munitions in World War I, earning an MBE for her services, visited Clark's rose nursery. She was a friend of his niece and he asked her to choose one of many seedlings to be "her" rose. 'Lorraine Lee' would become perhaps Clark's most famous rose.

I walked in a courtyard covered with Lorraine Lee blooms this week. You could smell their fragrance through the entire house: spicy, sweet and not at all subtly rose. Nor are the flowers subtle – each one was enormous, almost dinner plate size, and the bush had grown large enough to cover a wall and spread itself out by at least two metres above us, in long thorny arms characteristic of the climbing form of this unstoppable Aussie battler.

If you give Lorraine a warm sunny spot she'll bloom through winter, the best winter bloomer I know. If the winter is a bit too harsh you'll only get the odd bloom – though they will be very welcome – and then in spring the most extraordinary and early exhibition, followed by less flagrant repeat flowerings through the year.

Lorraine loves heat though not humidity – you can grow her in coastal and humid climates but expect a touch of black spot, unless you spray for it. Or just grow the climbing form, so you're not bothered by a few spotty leaves and just have the glory of her flowers.

She'll survive drought, once established, and neglect but, like all roses, does best if she is well fed and watered, and is pruned after each major flowering. The more generous you are with her, the more generously she'll give to you. The bush I saw belongs to an experienced and loving gardener, so her Lorraine Lee is reasonably cosseted, which means I don't think I have ever been in their courtyard when Lorraine was not in bloom.

She's a thorny old girl, though. Treat her with respect. Don't grow her next to paths, or the climbing version in an arch over the front gate (not unless you have the dedicated obsessiveness to pinch off her thorns while they are sill green and tender). The bush form will grow to about two metres high and wide – that means two metres at least away from that path. The climbing form will grow at least three metres high and its arching branches spread out at least two metres from there, and possibly far more … all the Lorraines I know have been kept reasonably well in check, but who knows how large an uninhibited Lorraine might spread.

The unopened buds and semi-opened flowers are surprisingly pointed and elegant, the fading blooms a trifle blousy, floppy and petal dropping, like an old girl who refuses to stop partying even if her best days are behind her.

Love her, respect her thorns and grow her. The world needs more Lorraines.

The Growing Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens are having their sale of magnificent native plants, propagated and tended by the Growing Friends from material sourced from the gardens. All proceeds go to support the gardens. Buy them, both to support the gardens and to increase the beauty of your suburb, not to mention pleasing birds, hoverflies, blue native bees, lizards, possums and other native species.

The sale is on Saturday, November 14, 2015 from 8.30-11am (or earlier if sold out – and they often sell out!) in the small carpark behind the Crosbie Morrison Centre. Each plant costs between $3 and $5. Get in early! Bring a bag or box for your purchases.

Inquiries via the Visitor Information Centre on 6250 9540 or the Friends' Office on 6250 9548. The plant list is available a week before the sale at: http://anbg.gov.au/friends

Just to tempt you, the Friends sent me the details of some of the plants on offer. These are their extremely well-informed descriptions, not mine.

Acacia cognata is an attractive wattle with pendulous branches and a beautiful weeping habit. It grows to the size of a large shrub or small tree, four metres to six metres. The flowers are fluffy yellow and ball-shaped and appear in spring. It prefers dappled shade but will tolerate full sun. It prefers moist, light to heavy soils and needs good drainage. An excellent screen when used as a hedge or a magnificent feature specimen.

Grevillea 'Red Wings' is a low growing, spreading shrub growing to 1.5 metres by two metres. Bright red, spidery flowers appear in spring, attracting birds and bees. It requires full sun and grows in moist, well-drained soil. It is frost hardy and drought tolerant. Plant it for show or for a low hedge or border plant.

Dichelachne crinita, commonly known as longhair plume grass, is a tufted perennial plant which can reach 1.5 metres high. The upright seed heads often have a purple tinge and flowers are roughly oblong-shaped or cylindrical panicles and appear in spring. It likes full sun to half shade and sand or soil derived from sandstone. Very useful for narrow gardens, in borders and rockeries.

Philotheca 'Poorinda' (Philotheca sp. used to be known as Eriostemon sp. and are the very popular wax flowers) grows to 1.5 metres tall and about 0.8 metre across. The buds are bright pink opening to white with a pale pink tinge where the colour shows through and flowering occurs from spring to summer. This cultivar is both frost and drought hardy. Likes good drainage, mulch, dappled shade and tolerates semi-shade to full sun.

* Hoping to mulch the asparagus plants, and feed the dear things too, as they have been so wonderfully feeding us.

* Planting cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, basil, silver beet and parsley.

* Remembering why I love weigela – it may only bloom once a year, but like an azalea, when it does you forgive it for its rest-of-the-year drabness.

* Thanking the possums for not eating the Souvenir de la Malmaison roses that are blooming and blooming and unnibbled.

* Watching the hop vine invade my study window – we'll need to act soon or the window will be unshuttable in the next southerly gale.

* Forgetting, yet again, to order the melon seeds … my first order got lost (note to self: do this tomorrow). Melons love a hot summer, even if it's dry, and the new short season rockmelons and red-fleshed watermelons are gorgeous – like all home-ripened fruit they have a flavour that you can never find in fruit that has been refrigerated for more than the hour needed to serve them almost ice cold. Or, better still, serve them totally unchilled, with ice-cream to do the cooling afterwards.

I was asked to a "ladies bring a plate" lately, the cake or salad kind where the blokes will be doing the barbecuing. This offers something for those who don't necessarily want a snag or a hunk of steak, even adorned with lots of fried onions and sauce. This will be it. It's good hot, cold or tepid; can be varied according to the vegie in season or growing too prolifically in the garden and also freezes well. You can make a vegan version, with no cheese, a heart healthy one with olive oil, not butter, or a let's all calm down and have a happy buttery version.

Vegetable slice is also moist enough to be made with gluten-free flour – too many gluten-free flour recipes are either dry or heavy. The last time I made Vegetable slice I made too much (I usually make too much of almost everything) and froze both with and without gluten versions. When we defrosted them and reheated them, we couldn't tell the difference between the two – and luckily none of us has coeliac disease so it didn't matter. But it was a good test of the recipe's ability to survive being made with gluten-free flour.

This slice is made to be eaten under a fragrantly blooming Lorraine Lee rose, with a pot of strong tea (NOT teabags) and a pot of hot water to dilute the tea leaves for your second and third cups, with possibly scones and plum jam afterwards, followed by a nap.

PS. The classic Vegetable slice, beloved in country women's cookbooks, has diced ham or bacon in it, as well as grated cheese. I leave out the ham or bacon, as I don't eat either, but if you are of a savoury and carnivorous nature, add a cup of either, finely chopped and sauteed with the onion, in the recipe below.

Ingredients

3 cups self-raising flour
6 large eggs
1 cup olive oil or 250g melted butter
6 large onions, finely chopped
12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 red capsicum, finely chopped
1 cup diced cooked potato, sweet potato, parsnip or pumpkin
2 cups grated cheddar cheese – or 1 cup grated parmesan and 1 cup grated gouda; or 1 cup grated parmesan and 2 cups goats cheese, in small lumps

Saute the onion, garlic and diced vegie in the oil or butter till the onion is soft. Mix well with everything else, except the goat's cheese: really slosh it together so the eggs are well mixed around, as the eggs, in particular, need to be well beaten in. If using goat's cheese, add it at the end so the lumps stay discrete.

Place in a greased baking dish – this amount fills an average sized one – or one lined with baking paper. Bake at 200C for about 40 minutes or till brown on top and firm to touch. Store in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to a week, or freeze for up to three months. Thaw before reheating: don't try to eat them unheated from the freezer as they turn a bit gluggy until well warmed again and their texture once cold again is not good, so eat thawed once hot, the same day.

I am varying this by adding two cups of well-drained and chopped silverbeet instead of the grated zucchini, and semi-dried tomatoes instead of the capsicum. Those who love chilli can add it to taste: one chopped red chilli for those who just like a small tang and up to 20 large red chillies for those who love dragon's breath. And the cheese of the moment is Red Leicester, because that's what we have left. A crumbly blue vein will dramatically change both the taste and texture – and be superb.