Hi Jen,
The roses you have found are really wonderful! And they are very different from the ones I am finding here.
I especially like the dark purplish rose (in your hand, picture #13). That one intrigues me....wonder if it would grow here? Did you root any cuttings of it? If you can root extras of any of your cemetery roses, I can root some for you too and maybe we can do an exchange....?
I also like the rose in #12 photo....gorgeous!

I look forward to seeing more of your finds in the future!

Celeste

WAY COOL!!!

Jen, those are lovely. Do you know yet what is remontant, and what is once-blooming?
Is the lovely White a Cemetery rose?
The single with the white eye looks like it might could be 'La Marne'
(though I wouldn't say fer sure without seeing more.

Where in TN are you located???
I'm wondering in Ann Peck might be anywhere near to you.

Depending upon where you are located, the Memphis Botanical Garden USED TO have
a nice collection of old roses.
If they're still there (I never count on anything, these days) those
might help you with identification.

Jeri

Celeste, that sounds like a wonderful idea (an exchange). I didn't do a good job keeping mine organized so I'm waiting to see some of them bloom to know for sure which rooted. I went hog wild and propagated myself silly (just set up a simple mist system)last summer. I'm SURE i'll have extra everything to share with you. I know they'd be in the good hands of a fellow rose lover. The rose in pic 12 and 13 are the same rose. It turned more purple as it aged. The scent was very strong and it was definitely a cemetery rose. I went back later in the fall and no blooms so I'm assuming it's a one timer. I'll definitely post more as I get set to rustle in 2009. We'll make plans to swap in the fall if you'd like.
Jeri, the white one is growing at a house that is a rental...the prior owners apparently loved flowers so I asked the renters for cuttings. The vase of white flowers came off one stem about 6' long. It didn't have a scent and as I recall it didn't rebloom. I have gone back to check on all but the Chattanooga cemetery rose and I'm pretty sure I know which ones are remontant. I have met up with Ann Peck online and she's pretty far out in East TN and I am near the AL border in Middle Tn. I plan to document better, take pictures of headstones the roses are growing near, etc. I was just so excited to be finding these last year that I lost my head! Thanks for the interest y'all and the good information.
Jen

Jen, you're off to such a good start, I'd like to suggest a very useful tool:
The FIELD REPORT OF ROSE CHARACTERISTICS

At the link below, you'll find a good rundown of the information involved, in a review done by Paul Barden.

One of the things the Report has done for me is clue me in to the language of botany.
Having NO training of any sort, I found myself frustrated, when people asked me to describe the prickles on a found rose, or characterise the leaf shape and suface.
Getting to things like "Ovate, Fimbriated Sepals" ... it was hopeless.

But using the multiple-choice format of the Field Report, I found it easy to describe a mystery rose so a more experienced person could understand what I was saying.
Moreover, it has taught me what to LOOK at. And what to photograph!

Anyone who plans to collect roses at all needs the Field Report.
You can even use it at home, on the roses you've propagated and have growing in your own garden. (Which is a ton easier than doing it in the rain in a weed-grown cemetery.)

Jeri

Here is a link that might be useful: A Report On The Field Report -- Barden

I'm happy you are off on a new adventure---

The cemeteries around here are mostly manicured with Perpetual Care so not much chance of finding a treasure--

I've been enjoying Celestes' stories and headstones and roses for a couple of years now and hope to soon see your roses

Of course I do love the rose called Florence for obvious reasons plus the color----LOL

the pink climber is very pretty

Looking forward to the results of your new adventures.

Florence

Florence, it isn't Perpetual Care that is the problem. It's just a totally different culture. The Germans, the Quakers and all those people certainly weren't going to put something as superfluous as a rose in a cemetery.

Around here, there are a lot of iris, peonies, flowering bulbs, and of course evergreens in cemeteries. No roses.

Jen,
We keep our sailboat on in Decatur AL on Wheeler Lake, possibly just south of you.
I know Duchesse is maybe near you in Huntsville and I know someone in Florence who has a lovely old rose collection.
Maybe we can do something in a month or two.

Ann