Thank you! The first rose on the right is Pretty Jessica. That she is. The one on the left is Princess Alexandra of Kent.

Pretty Jessica

Princess Alexandra of Kent

Both are own root and only a year old.

I second the comment that your walkway looks fabulous. It's a garden all by itself. At first my heart sank when I saw the first "after" picture, but I think it's going to fill in pretty quickly. It's hard to believe that all of your roses reverted to rootstock. Talk about tough luck. However, you have really good taste and I like your color scheme very much. Even this year it will already look fuller and by next year it will be wonderful. I hope you'll keep us up to date with pictures.

They're lovely! I have a tiny Pretty Jessica that struggled along this year. She only gave me one bloom, but it was a beauty and smelled awesome.

...it all looks quite delightful, even your newly re-planted area.... but what puzzles me most is the colour on your Munstead Wood... all the photos I've seen show a much darker rose - too dark for me I think, but if I could get one that colour I'd have it....

I am curious - which rootstock was it? Or was there more than one on different roses that took over? I ask because I have a theory that Dr. Huey is NOT an appropriate rootstock for roses in California, as it takes over frequently, and even when it does not, it is a pain to keep up with its never ending attempts to do so.

Dealing with it in my garden was the reason that I stopped planting roses on other than their own roots 20 years ago, and I have been happy with that ever since.

Jackie

Marlorena, we had a couple discussions last year about a couple posters having lighter colors on Munstead Wood, whereas the rest of us had quite dark colors (which I love). We never arrived at a conclusion, but I remember thinking that those with lighter colors lived in the warmer areas, perhaps California (but I won't swear to that now--just can't remember for sure) and some people wondered if the soil type in those areas was responsible for the light shades.

You might check out Darcy Bussell--much clearer bright red than Munstead Wood.

Kate

Beautiful.

Your walkway of pink roses and bearded iris is dreamy. Do both pink roses rebloom at the same times? Do you have a preference? TIA

Thank you all for the nice compliments. Jacq, yes, they were on Dr. Huey rootstock and yes, I am in CA. Two of my plants reverted, Ambridge Rose and Evelyn. I didn't replant those as I never cared for the smell of Ambridge and although I LOVED Evelyn, she didn't rebloom often enough for me. Neither did Ambridge.

Ingrid, I pulled out two of the other plants in the bed that didn't revert and placed those on the side of my house. Emily (DA rose you can't get anymore), is a poor bloomer and doesn't like our heat. She will be partially shaded in her new home. I keep her to honor my great grandmother whose name was Emilia.

The other rose I moved was a knockout rose that my parents bought for me. Again a sentimental rose for me. I think they are going to look great on the side yard. I have a Brother Cadfael that I started there on my own root and my new flowering pom. tree.

I had a tree growing in one of my climbers, a gift from Mr. Blue Jay. I couldn't get it out, so everything had to go. The other climber didn't rebloom. I have too small a yard to not have rebloom. So, I really don't like what I see back there now but know that they will all grow and fill in. Sigh.

Marl, Munstead Wood is a rose that changes colors. In cooler weather, the rose is darker. The older roses on the same plant also tend to be darker. I LOVE the colors. They are very hard to capture on film. It is one of my favorites. I love this rose. It is a great rebloomer and takes our heat very well.

Iris, I love both my Pretty Jessica and adore my Princess Alexandra of Kent. Yes, they are very good on rebloom. PAK gets to be a bit of a monster rose in our heat. The flowers are the size of my hand. Pretty Jessica stays upright and is smaller than PAK. I love the scents on both of them.

Thank you all again. I will be taking more pictures as the seasons unfold. I hope I get my other two roses from Roses Unlimited soon before the real heat starts. They were supposed to be here in March. No clue when they will actually arrive.

I'd like to add on to dublinbay's comment. I was one of those Californians with pink Munsteads last year. I also have Darcey Bussell and I have to say, Darcey strikes me as a much better rose. Better as in: size and shape of bloons, repeat bloom, overall health. Only Munstead has that fragrance, though.

Your garden is one of the ones I will always remember Mustbnuts. That pic of your walkway is nothing but perfection. I must have missed something here, why did it revert to rootstock?

The front never reverted to rootstock as I have all of those roses on their own root. The back reverted to rootstock as the folks that planted the roses did so while I was at work and planted them too deeply. They did not know what they were doing. The roses that reverted were also "old". I had them probably 15 years or longer. I sure do miss the lushness and fullness back there. It was hard to get rid of the roses that were just about to burst into bloom. Sigh.

Sylvia, DA folks tried to sell me Darcy B. I resisted. If I had gotten her, at least she could be planted in the back and make it a bit fuller. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about this rose. Stays small for a DA and reblooms like crazy. Also is a pinky red as opposed to an orangey red. I am sorry I couldn't find a place for her.

..thanks everyone for the info on Munstead Wood and the colour changes... always interesting these little snippets.... I would think it would be more true to type over here... I shall have a look out for it this summer and Darcey Bussell....

Add me to your fan club, mustbnuts. That walkway garden is as pretty as can be!

jannike

That walkway. I never get tired of seeing it!!!

That's okay because they will bounce back in no time. You live in a warm zone so it will be sooner than you think. If that were to happen to someone like me in zone 5/6 then the whole year would be ruined.

I can really relate to what you're experiencing because there are whole sections of my garden I don't even photograph because the roses are tiny. Between the canker and the drought I pulled out so many roses and replaced them that the garden in many areas looks naked. After my large Mutabilis, which was really the lynchpin that held everything together, was cut down because it was all dead wood on the inside, it was shocking how barren it all looked. I planted Aloha and Blush Noisette in its place and it will take years for them to get as tall as I'd like. There are things we just can't control, but on the other hand there's the excitement of seeing new roses bloom that you haven't had before, and to see everything grow and come together, and the satisfaction that brings.

Your garden looks great!

The color of 'Munstead Wood' varies here according to the light conditions. Overcast the past couple of days and the flowers are 4x as dark.