This prolonged early spring is causing some roses to open early (by 6 weeks!), but others seem to be staying pretty much on their regular schedule, regardless of the weather. That means that I'm still having first blooms on a number of my roses--a sampling of which you may enjoy below. : )

Love & Peace - lovely bud. I should have a fully opened pic in a couple days.

Queen of Sweden -- This Austin rose was slow about putting in her first appearance, but I guess if you are a queen, you get to do that! Isn't she a lovely!

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Queen of Sweden (close-up) - can you see the bluish clematis hiding in the middle of this profusely blooming shrub?

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Valencia -- this HT is slow to rebloom, but when she blooms, oh wow! I can't seem to quite capture her beauty with my camera. Will keep on trying.

Braveheart shrub - one of my favorites. Heavy bloomer and the blooms look like dark red velvet (only imperfectly captured in the photo).

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Elina - taller and fuller HT, blooms like crazy. This is her first bud of the year.

Cherry Parfait - pleasant floribunda, heavy bloomer, but it is another one I have trouble getting adequate pictures of.

Elle -- couldn't decide which picture I liked best of this beauty, so here are two of her. (She's such a show off!)

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Well Being -- love her! I mistakenly posted several pics of her, from bud to full bloom, over in the regular Rose Forum. You might check her out there!

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Anne Boleyn - smaller Austin. She always comes out more deeply colored than in real life where she appears in more pastel shades--but lovely either way.

Buff Beauty -- wonderful hybrid musk, but got severely smashed a few years ago by a giant oak tree branch in my neighbor's yard falling directly on her! Didn't know if she would live after I got done drastically pruning off the damage. As the pic shows, she blooms just as beautifully as usual, but she has never grown back into that overgrown sprawling monster she once was--unfortunately.

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Jubilee Celebration--another lovely Austin shrub, first bloom.

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Gypsy Carnival- my favorite red and yellow HT, but she has never grown very vigorously. She is gorgeous in bloom, however.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of more first blooms for the early spring of 2012. : )

Kate