Here is my story - 7 years ago I bought an old house. I was trying to figure out how I was going to re-do the un-kept yard. Roses never crossed my mind. I went to HD looking for hydrangeas, and out in the parking lot was a bunch of blooming roses. An 'orange' colored one caught my eye and thought all the different varieties were kind of cool looking. So I picked up Cl. America and Chrysler Imperial. On the way home it didn't feel like I just bought another crappy plant that was probably going to die, it felt like these plants were something special. The obsession began, and so did the research, learning, and planting of more roses. No other plant has come anywhere close to sparking my interest. I am thankful box stores carry roses, as many of us had our love at first sight moment there.
Chrysler Imperial did not do well in my garden for some reason, so it only lasted a few years. America is still going strong.

What about you?

We were on the right track with Old Roses -- but the wrong track with the families of roses ... having read the books from England, which are not useful here.

Between Bob Edberg, at Limberlost Roses, and Mike Shoup's first book: "Landscaping With Antique Roses," we finally got on the right track, and started adding Teas, Chinas, and Noisettes.

Thomas Christopher's "In Search Of Lost Roses" introduced us to the concept of Found Roses, and our first sight of the Sacramento City Cemetery sealed the deal.

Jeri

My first rose that really spawned my interest in roses, was an old found rose that was growing in an empty lot behind my house when I moved in. It was beautiful and I tried like heck to get it to root, but it never happened. Prob some type of centerfolia I would guess. Two years ago the water company dug in that area and nearly killed it. Its trying to regrow, and I really hope it makes it :)

Tammy

Thank you for starting this thread. It's fun to relive that start. And starting into roses was really a life changer for me. It gives me a constant in my life, of sharing with mother nature some of her grandest beauty, insane fragrances, a love for mucking around in the dirt, and the fascinating little creatures you come in contact with in the garden. Almost makes me start into tears thinking about how happy these roses make me.

Fast forward about 25 years (late 1960s or early 70s). I was living in Nebraska and one spring suddenly thought, I want to grow roses. Went to the garden center a few blocks away and said, I know nothing about roses but want to grow them. They said, here's an easy one--guaranteed to grow and not cause problems for a beginner. What was it? Eutin (floribunda with hybrid musk in its ancestry). In case you don't know that one, here is a picture--the red one in the center:

I was so thrilled that I bought 13 of them. Ever since that, wherever I moved to, I always bought at least one Eutin for my garden. The last 20-25 years in my present home, I've had (and still have) three Eutins--faithful to my first rose to the end.

I've always had at least several roses in my current garden, but was much more heavily into planting trees, bushes, perennials, and bulbs for about 20 years or so. Then one day, I thought, I want lots of roses. That was 10 years ago. I now have 65 roses and would have more if I could take care of them. I almost cannot keep up with 65 roses, unfortunately, and may need to cut back in the near future--but I've been saying that for several years now. Best I can do is not to buy a rose unless it is replacing a roses that died or was given away.

Interesting, now that I think of it, how the stages in my rose addiction came upon me kind of like a revelation--like "I need roses" coming to me suddenly out of no where. Guess it was destiny!

Kate

Also 'Iceberg', which also started out as a sad dried up end of season body bag. I remember getting that Bayer 2-in-1 and putting it on and watching the aphids just fall off the buds. Never used 2-in-1 again. Still have that 'Iceberg' though it has morphed into a climber, a great climber as a matter of fact. 'Paradise' and 'Double Delight', long gone.

'English Garden', the other Austin from '92, still have that one. A truly pathetic little 2' plant with no vigor, but once a month it gives me one or two absolutely perfect blooms. Never more, never less. It's like going to See's Candy once a month and getting one perfect chocolate truffle and savoring it. I wish I could get some growth out of it, have never figured out how. 2' tall for 20 years!

I can't remember what was the first one I bought. I bought some to plant for my future father in law at his house. Might have been Mr. Lincoln, or Allspice, or Lavender Lassie. He had an old Sutter's Gold and Mlle. Cecile Brunner. I planted the Lavender Lassie to train onto the front porch. I think it's still there but that's in another state, 5 gardens and two husbands ago. This was all back in the 80s so you'll forgive me for not remembering the details.

Of what's in my collection right now, the oldest roses I've only had for about 10 years: Buff Beauty and The Prince.

To our surprise, the blooms kept on going non-stop from August when we moved in, to January. I didn't know what to do with it, therefore I went to Armstrong asking for advice. From there I learned about pruning and deadheading roses. We never replaced the roses and admired so much for their ability to bloom from April to Jan. Unbelievable! I was in love with roses from there on.

To this new house, I've been struggled with changing the garden to the way I wanted for the last few years. Last year in August I bought climbing America at HD. It was my first purchased rose. I like its perfect form. Then came spring this year, while my hope was high, it gave me all powdery mildew. From spring to summer it has been defoliated.

Also in August this year I bought my second rose: Trumpeter.

Currently America is giving out a fall flush, I guess, less than in the spring but more than any other time in between.

Trumpeter is drop-dead gorgeous now in full blooms. I don't know what next year will bring.

My story starts in childhood. My mother and grandmother both loved roses. My mom had this hedge of about 150 luscious pink rose bushes along the front of our property. That hedge even won prizes from the local gardening clubs and was featured in the newspaper! My grandmother had a smaller yard, but had these gorgeous deep red roses. I've always loved them, and always knew I wanted roses of my own when I owned a home.

When my husband and I bought a home about six years ago, I planted mostly begonias, but said I wanted at least a few rose bushes to honor my mother (who had passed away about a year before). But I wanted deep red ones like my grandmother had.

One day, my husband came home with these two bare root rose bushes. The description on the tag said "white with deep red edges." He had bought them to match the begonias I had. It was so sweet of him!

The roses were "Double Delights." When they first bloomed, we were both a little disappointed, because they did not have deep red edges, but rather pink. But as time went on that summer, we really fell in love with their fragrance and large, vigorous blooms.

Since then we've planted new bushes every year. We now have thirty bushes! And we're still not done. We have an ever-progressing "master plan" for our garden. The original Double Delights are still going strong, though we've since moved them around a couple times to suit our master plan.

We're both officially addicted to collecting roses!

That first day, I came home with ten plants. There were two that stole my heart and are now growing in my mountain garden in northern California, 'Yantai' and 'Grace Sewars'. my first larger rose was Kim Rupert's 'Lynnie' ... another rose that made the move. In San Diego, I thought 'Lynnie' was the perfect rose because it was gorgeous in bloom with healthy foliage, but in the mild winter down there, when it dropped its foliage, it was like viewing a garden sculpture.

There were other favorites down in my Socal garden that I no longer grow, but I have planted a rose garden in glacier slurry where I was told nothing would grow and have over 100 roses proving them wrong.

I am just wondering when the rose lust will end because I am certainly running out of room and am tired of digging rose holes in rock.

Smiles,
Lyn