Ludwig's Rose Nursery is so full of flowers, they even put it in the food at their garden restaurant - from the curry to the cake. By Andrew Unsworth If your idea of heaven is lunch and a glass of wine in a rose garden heavy with scent, head to Ludwig's Rose Nursery north of Pretoria. You could get more than you bargained for: this is not so much a rose garden as a farm and nursery, with thousands of rose bushes in every direction. It can be almost overwhelming, especially in early summer when all burst into bloom.Ludwig Taschner has probably done more to make roses popular in this country than anyone else. And he has been doing it for 45 years, after immigrating from East Germany in 1962 and starting Ludwig's Roses in 1971.story_article_left1You don't go there just for a meal, you go to buy a few roses and leave with more than you needed. Restraint goes to the wind. Modern roses get saddled with some strange names, and wandering around the retail section can be amusing on that level alone: does anyone really want a rose called "Fifty Shades of Grey"?Roses creep onto the menu. There's rose hip rösti, chicken rose hip curry, rose hip and feta cheese, a citrus rose salad, a rose and berry cheesecake and a host of rosy drinks. Otherwise the menu covers breakfasts, burgers, light lunches and desserts, as well as kids' meals.The chunky chicken bagel was filled generously with chicken mayonnaise, bacon, basil pickles and red onion, served with chips. But the bagel itself was not the freshest rose in the bouquet. The smoked and grilled pork cutlet was one of the German dishes, dressed with cranberry-rose hip sauce and served with rösti and satisfyingly fresh salad. The rösti could have been a little crunchier, and could have done without the traces of carrot, but otherwise an enjoyable lunch.We also indulged in carrot cake with (not enough) whipped cream-cheese topping and a slice of lemon-meringue tart, which had a proper pastry crust and not a biscuit base.All in all, the Rose Kitchen may not inspire a love letter but it is more than adequate to put you in the mood to indulge in a boot-load of rose shrubs.Visit: Ludwig's Rose Farm, Plot 62, Haakdoornlaagte, Pretoria. Call 012-544-0144, events@ludwigsroses.co.zasub_head_start THE LOWDOWN sub_head_endPrice: Around R400 for two, a bottle of wine, starters, mains and desserts.Vibe: Tranquil and unrushed.story_article_right2What to wear: Anything.If it had a soundtrack: ’Bed of Roses’ by Bon Jovi, ’The Rose’ by Bette Midler, ‘La Vie en Rose’ by Edith Piaf, or even ’Yellow Rose of Texas’ by Roy Rogers, if you take your great-granny.Who will like it? Rose collectors, gardeners, families.Who won’t like it: Hipsters.Hot tips:1. Buy roses after you eat!2. Buy rose products from soap to rose hip preserve in the adjoining shop.SCORECARD (out of 5)Food: 3Ambience: 4Service: 3Value for Money: 4Total: 14/20..