Some have accused this writer of being an Anglophile for featuring so many English roses. Well, here’s one for the French. The story of the rose, ‘Peace’, is well known to rose lovers, but always puts a lump in my throat and hope in my heart. The Meilland Family of France have been growing roses […]
Every year the All America Rose Selections (AARS) tests new rose bushes in gardens across the U.S. After two years of testing, they select the best varieties for disease resistance, growth qualities and overall appeal. The only AARS winner for 2010 was ‘Easy Does It’. It is distinctively delightful, and as its name implies, super
You’ve been pouring over catalogs, making lists, seeing how many new roses you can squeeze into your garden. Now it’s time to decide about actually buying the roses. There are a few things to decide before you go any further – What should I be looking for when choosing a bare root rose? Does the
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‘Memphis Music’ is a sport of ‘Memphis Magic’. It has a very striking deep red color with yellow stripes. Because it is a sport, it varies considerably in the variegation and may revert to all red as found in its parent, ‘Memphis Magic’. It is successful in exhibition, winning many prizes. Many people think that
You love roses. Visions of bountiful blooms carpeting your garden with color and fragrance dance in your head as you swoon over the catalogs brimming with all too many choices. You want lots and lots of flowers, but you’re limited in space. You’ve already taken over a good part of the lawn, and still, you
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Lavaglut, a German word for lava glow, comes from a well-known German family, Kordes. ‘Lavaglut’ was bred in 1978 and introduced to the market in 1979. This eye-catching floribunda is a cross of ‘Gruss an Bayern’ x Seedling. The glowing clusters of deep velvety red seem to continually erupt from a blanket of clean, glossy
My favorite colors are green and yellow, so what could be a more perfect combination than our Rose of the Month, ‘St. Patrick’? Although this presentation is a bit late for its namesakes’ holiday, still a lovely addition to any garden. I’ve grown this rose for several years and it presents lovely long-stemmed blooms, opening
One of the most beautiful romantic roses ever created is the Meilland rose, ‘Pierre de Ronsard’. France’s “prince of poets” was an avid gardener, and it was appropriate to commemorate him with a rose by his name. He was best known for his romantic sonnets. The city of Paris decided they would pay a tribute
It is often difficult for rosarians with limited space to plant a rose that blooms only once, especially if it gets rather large. In the case of ‘Complicata’ it is worth it! In The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book, Thomas says of ‘Complicata’, “In the light sandy soil in my garden, in close competition with
This rose is special to me because it bears the name of one of my family ancestors on my father’s side, the French part. The rose was given to me by Gail Trimble, and that makes it even more special. It is a hybrid perpetual and retains the old rose form. It has large, globular