|
| There are roses in my garden that are defintely the most fragrant. Then there are the brightest/boldest. And the "prettiest". And many other categories. But some roses, they just grab me a little different - special, either because of some combination of features, or because I planted them at some special time in memory.
Honey Dijon - she was planted as a memorial to one of my kitties. I think she'd be one of my favorites despite that fact - she is an awesome bloomer, and extremely unusual and pretty. But because of the "why" she was planted, makes her one of my most special. Then - Gemini. Nothing surrounding her planting that makes her special. And she isn't fragrant. But she is putting out her first flush right now, and I'm not sure I've ever seen anything this beautiful. Something about her combination of colors, and perfectly shaped blooms. And Pink Peace. She was eaten down to a few threads of feeder roots. I barely decided to put her back in the ground - cut her down to a few inches of cane, and covered her up with cloth to shield her from our summer heat (this happened in around 100 degree heat). I kept watering, never really looking under the cloth. To my amazement she just put out her first bloom. Survive she has, and she will always represent to me the amazing hardiness of the rose, and a lesson to me about ability to survive through the most severe circumstances. What are your most heartfelt roses, and why?
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Abraham Darby - In the late 1980s I bought two roses at the local nursery, planted both Abe and Wife of Bath in hard clay, no amendments, nothing. The flowers on Abe led to checking out antique roses and what they need! Wife of Bath languished for 20 years with not enough light; I moved her and she's never looked back. |
|
- Posted by wirosarian z4b WI (My Page) on Sun, Oct 14, 12 at 13:03
| Years ago at another house I owned, I had an OGR which was a Centifolia & ID'ed as possibly 'Shailor's Provence'. This was a rose that I collected as a start from the farm that my grandparents lived at & planted by my grandmother. Unfortunately when I moved I was not able to move the rose with me. I am a Vietnam vet & there were 6 men KIA in my immediate unit during my tour, 2 of which I knew quite well. I've planted 2 'Veterans' Honor' as my personal remembrance of them & eventually I'd like to get 4 more 'VH's to remember all 6. |
|
| I like to plant Roses on family birthdays and special occasions. |
|
| I've always found that roses I have grown from cuttings tend to be the most sentimental to me. I have always got my cuttings from bouquets of roses that I had purchased at supermarkets and costco. I always find this kind of fun because these cut roses would otherwise just wilt and die in a vase but I get to intervene and start a new rosebush.. Watching them grow from tiny little cuttings to beautiful shrubs is very gratifying:) Maude |
|
- Posted by HerdingCats none (My Page) on Sun, Oct 14, 12 at 16:40
| It's a new bed, and they're only bands, but Papa's Garden is a special place already. It's right off my patio in the back. Dad was a HUGE Laker's fan - huge. Like, almost scary kind of fan. He'd hang up the phone, even if you had an emergency, if you called in the middle of the Laker's game. (And yes, this happened. LOL). Dad also loved bright, "smelly" roses. And he'd sit in that patio, reading the paper or doing the crossword puzzles (Sunday NYT in ink...and he'd finish...). The bed has two Julia Childs and then, in front of that, Ebb Tides. Both are "smelly", and they're the colors (or close) to the Lakers. I will underplant with purple sweet alyssum, and will hopefully find two or so bright yellow mini's for that area, come spring. It's Papa's Garden. In honor and remembrance of my Dad. I will leave them here when I move, because this was Dad's most favorite place in the world...his home, his fairytale castle...and there should be something of him left here when this house passes out of the family...hopefully to a new family that will love it like we did. But that's in the future. Right now, it's also a place I like to go sit, and remember Dad, and play with my dogs...it's a good spot. I'm excited to see these roses grow, too. Best- |
|
| Most of you have heard the story before but it fits this theme so I'll repeat myself. My special rose is Pinocchio. The one my Mom bought and planted her first summer in her brand new suburban dream home in 1954. It's been moved about the yard a couple of times but it's still here blooming each season. Every bloom reminds me of her. As a precaution, this summer I finally got a cutting of it rooted, yippee! I feel better now knowing that I have a back up if the original ever dies. There are a handful of other roses still here that Mom planted over the years as well and they will always remain (even the dogs) because they were hers. The first Double Delight (I bought a new one a few years ago thinking it had died and I couldn't stand to be without it. Turns out the original fooled me and came back better than ever!), Angel Face (spots and all because it was her favorite purple rose), Tuscan Sun, Wild Plum, and the last one she ever purchased, Golden Celebration. I've replaced a few of others that I know she'd had but were no longer here, Peace, Garden Party and English Sonnet. A lot of my roses are a tribute to her. She was my teacher and we used to spend many happy hours pouring over rose catalogs together oohing and aahing over them. I remember the first David Austin catalog we got a hold of...we thought we'd died and gone to heaven! |
|
- Posted by kittymoonbeam 10 (My Page) on Sun, Oct 14, 12 at 20:00
| Dad bought mom a few roses for their first house in 1963. Our area of O.C. in CA was farmland with a grocery store and a Thrifty drug near the far off ramp of the nearest freeway. There was a small roadside fruit stand if you wanted to walk a little and get a soda or ice cream. The best rose was a Tiffany which mom was sure to tell me in later days cost more because it was patented. That was the best most beloved plant our yard had. We had a lawn, three pine trees, a few teeny italian cypress and a small jacaranda. The cypress, jacaranda and two pines are still there and are very large. I've been filling up mom's yard with roses. She has a different taste than mine so I get to try things that I wouldn't usually get for myself. The first rose we planted was Tiffany. The old roses declined away in shade due to the trees. I always remembered the smell of our old 1963 Tiffany from childhood. The house cost so much and my parents bought a few small trees so the lot wouldn't look bare. The expensive Tiffany was kind of a splurge on a tight budget as mom recalls. Anyway, we just love Tiffany and I would want to have one anywhere I am. I've got a sweet spot for Medallion. It was the first rose that I managed to root successfully and I didn't know it's name at the time. I saw a planting of it at my university after a rain in fall. The massive apricot flowers were bending down on long canes toward the grass. I called them "drooping beauty" roses. I just love this rose. One of my plants sported a pink blossom and I finally got a piece to root. So these two roses are special to me. I want to try rooting it again because I'd be so sad if I lost my only copy of my pink medallion. There are other roses I adore and wouldn't want to be without, but these are the ones with a story.
|
|
| Chrysler Imperial because it was the very first rose I ever planted at my first house and transplanted it to the house I live in now |
|
| Mutabilis is very special to me because it was my first introduction to the world of old roses. At the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden I spotted a huge rose that was covered with flowers of different colors from top to bottom. It looked magical and not like any rose I'd seen. I will always have one in my garden and have had one in every garden I've had, large or small, since I first met this rose. It was the beginning of one of the great passions of my life. Ingrid |
|
| Mutabilis is also one of my specials. It was one of my first OGRs, is always in bloom, and its magical flowers make me happy. Alister Stella Grey is another. I bought my first one at the ARS garden in Shreveport years ago. They told me it wouldn't be winter hardy in my own garden in Santa Fe, so I wintered it in my living room and then took it to CA and planted at my parents' , where it took off like a greyhound. It was one of first I plated here in VA. I also plant roses for my cats, family and friends, ie Napoleon, for my mother, who adored him (she, too, was short and bossy), and Smoky and Ophelia for cats of those names. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Roses Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.