Let's see your "unsung hero" roses!

8 years ago

Hi folks

There are a lot of "old reliable" roses that we talk about often, and justifiably - Julia Child, Munstead Wood, Grandmother's Hat, Bonica, Earth Song, Souvenir de la Malmaison, any Easy Elegance roses. I'd love to hear more about roses that you don't hear other folks mention but that are reliable and impressive in your yard. I won't even mention my three Musketeers of constant bloomers (Smiling Jean, Bad Worishofen, and Lady Elsie May, though I just did - smile) since I've already promoted them elsewhere. Photos are welcome - let's do some enabling toward the next rose season (hopefully roses that are obtainable somewhere as well)!

My first candidate would be Garden Delight. Every single time I'm in that bed, I can't believe how prolific and eye catching these blooms are. This bush is only two years old, but even last year it was lushly branched at maybe 4X3' and covered with intriguing coral-yellow-peach "sunset" colored blooms. Every one is distinct and interesting, and looking at hmf a lot of other folks are getting this prolific kind of bloom. It's a Kordes rose and Palatine sells it. The photo doesn't do it justice, but you can see how clean and sturdy the foliage is too. Not cane hardy, but this photo is from June this year after dying to the ground and regrowing in April.

Another one that is impressive at only 2 years old is Anne Henderson. It's hard to find an apricot rose that stays apricot all through the bloom cycle without fading to a washed-out pink. This one is a thick bloomer with consistently colored blooms that don't fade in the hot sun, also hardy and healthy in zone 5 (also from Palatine).

Champagne Moment/Lion's Fairy Tale is another older Kordes rose I don't hear much about, compared to other Fairy Tale roses. It is usually a creamy white rather than the luscious pink tones seen here, but it always falls over my short fence in a waterfall of heartbreaking blooms. Of course healthy and hardy, this one even has surviving cane most years.

Cri Cri is a Meilland miniature that I picked up as a filler plant from a local nursery, so it's kinda cheating in the enabling department, but Pickering and Hortico sell it too. It is big for a mini- as much as waist high - and filled all summer with this kind of carpet of bloom. In my best rose year of 2013, a gardening neighbor stopped by my yard and of all the profusion of roses to pick from, she was oohing and aahing over this one.

I've mentioned my Elizabeth of Goshen once before (from Chamblees, also Angel Gardens sells it), but it doesn't get the press other mauve roses get. It's a lighter mauve toward the pink side but it survives handily in part sun and has thickly beautiful and healthy Austin-like blooms (the breeder is a US one - Ray Ponton).

Felix LeClerc only made this list for me this year, since most years he's the first rose to bloom but doesn't do much after that. Now, after about 5 years of settling in, he's still blooming this heavily in July after starting out in early May. He also is looking like he finally wants to climb the neighboring fence (now that I realized this and stopped pruning him back), and being cane hardy in zone 5 he has a good chance of being a killer climber. It's a Canadian Svejda rose but not officially an explorer, and High Country Gardens sells it. Oh, and in this photo Gilbert Becaud wins an honorable mention for visual punch - now if he'd only bloom more often.

Golden Zest, a Zary shrub from Roses Unlimited, has knocked my socks off even in its second year. The blooms aren't as golden as Good as Gold, but they stay a nice lemon yellow throughout the cycle without fading to that indistinct cream that many yellows do. Even own-root, this rose has simply exploded in bloom pretty nonstop, clean and hardy at about 4-5' tall. Here's a partial bush shot -

And I can't resist a closeup - something about this bloom form makes my toes curl in delight. All the petals of an Austin on lovely clean foliage and a nicely branched bush -

Just to show I can get excited about something other than thick double blooms, Guirlande d'Amour was quite impressive this May and is settling into some nice rebloom this year. It's a Lens hybrid musk and it's probably hardier than most of my HMs, with totally clean foliage and good shade tolerance. Angel Gardens sells this one - here mine is anchoring the shade for Darlow's Enigma in the background.

Mandarin Ice is a Kordes rose from Chamblees that is rock solid hardy and blooms like a trooper staying below 3' for me. For some reason I was thinking it was a softer coral, but the picture is not enhanced in anyway. It is an eye-blowing orange-coral that draws the eye. I have mixed feelings about its place in my apricot-white bed, but since it matches the "coral" impatiens that line that bed it works OK there, and I'm way too lazy to move it, particularly since it blooms up a storm.

Last half of the alphabet coming shortly...

Cynthia

Featured Answer

nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
Original Author

8 years ago

Ok, more "unsung" roses to attempt to enable you into this time around. I have to return the favor, since someone else enabled me into Mother of Pearl, and she's an absolutely reliable bloomer for me in full hot sun. She does fade a bit to cream, but she's almost never without blooms, even own root. It's a Meilland rose and mine is from Roses Unlimited, but Regans and Northland carry it too. She started in May and still looked like this a few days ago (just partial bush shot):

Petal Pushers is a medium pink climber that I grow over a low fence. It is also a nonstop bloomer once it gets started and it actually lives up to the Jackson & Perkins hype (I got mine there, also available from Heirloom). It will bloom along its length but its only downside is a tendency to droop its heavy flowers downward, and since mine is on such a low fence you don't get the full effect it deserved. Here is a spray I caught sticking up this June:

Regensberg is another low growing plant (a McGredy floribunda) that packs a lot of visual impact into a small plant. I love the darker centers with lighter outer petals, and the contrast is striking particularly on a compact plant. Not cane hardy but this is a photo from yesterday after dying to the ground over the winter. Mine was from Vintage, but Burlington, Rogue Valley, and Heirloom all sell this. A great rose for a small garden.

I suppose I should wait to praise Rockwall Sesquicentennial till it has at least overwintered once in my garden, but I've never seen an own-root plant take off to that extent right out of the gate. Sometimes I'll get a great first flush because the blooms formed somewhere else, then nothing else all year. RS (too long a name) has just kept pumping out these nicely formed blooms. It's a Shoup Pioneer shrub from Antique Rose Emporium, and I find it keeps its high centered look well into midway of the bloom cycle.

I haven't listed any striped roses though some are definitely rose heros for me (like Edgar Degas), but I've restrained myself since we stripe lovers tend to comb the woodwork for likely suspects. Among the newer roses though, the Bagnasco floribunda Tangerine Streams has been surprisingly profuse in its second year (mine was from Edmunds). It's not quite striped, but widely variable and eyecatching in blooms, and some of the petals are streaked.

Ok, how about some climbers? The Prince's Trust is a lovely dark red climber from Harkness that simply insisted on growing vigorously straight out of the band box (Rogue Valley, Heirloom also sells it). It was easily 3' tall in the band pot, and hasn't looked back since. It's only in its third year now so the entire bush isn't as prolific as it will be in another year or so, but the blooms stay a nice true red color and the form is soft and velvety. The canes are mostly hardy for me in zone 5 and now stretch about 6-8' wide on my big fence around the yard.

Lunar Mist is another one that should be more widely grown, as it starts blooming in late May for me and doesn't look back the rest of the season. It's mixed in with Puerta del Sol and Chinatown, and initially I thought the yellow blooms I was seeing was a mix of these three, but it's all Lunar Mist. It's a Meilland Romantica, which means - OK, yes- lots of densely packed petal blooms. I'm a sucker for these forms... I'm pretty sure mine was from Roses Unlimited, but it's also available at Northland and Angel Gardens. Here's a portion of mine from a few weeks ago.

Ok, I need to get away from those big fat blooms for a bit. Here's Nur Mahal, a Pemberton hybrid musk that I put on my list years ago from reports here on GW that it had truly bright and prolific blooms for a hybrid musk. OK, prolific I can understand but bright? I tuck HMs into my shade beds and they all seem to turn a vaguely cream tone very quickly whatever color they might be supposed to bloom, except for Wilhelm. I had my doubts about Nur Mahal, but it has lived up to the expectations and is actually a pretty genuine red a bit on the crimson side. I think it's in its third year, which explains why it's starting to grab my attention. Notice how it is blooming while little else behind it in the June garden has really started up yet. It looks basically like this today.

I couldn't find a closeup of Wilhelm but here he is in my favorite go-to picture to convince people that hybrid musks are darned impressive roses, if not exactly cutting flowers. Wilhelm is (what else) a Kordes, and usually quite healthy and cane hardy except in very cold winters. He's the dark red to the right of the photo.

And I have room for one more photo before Houzz shuts this response off. I have to go with Acropolis, since it doesn't get the press it deserves. On another thread, I sing its praises for being "good to the last drop" as it looks terrific even totally faded to an antique parchment color. The initial blooms are haunting to me with that silky reverse over a vivid coral pink, and it's a tall plant for me in full sun - maybe 5-6' - and that's regrowing from being cut to the ground most years. Healthy for me without BS, and it's a Meilland shrub. I got mine from Vintage but Angel Gardens also sells it.

Alright, that's enough from me - your turn! Enable me and the rest of your GW friends with your unsung hero roses!

Cynthia

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Comments (27)

s
8 years ago
Cynthia, this is a very informative post. The pics are lovely and the comments are great. You have certainly succeeded in enabling me! Regensberg and Mandarin Ice are now on my wish list and are available here in Europe. Thanks for sharing.

Sharlene
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Sara-Ann Z6B OK
8 years ago
Love this post, Cynthia. Love learning more about roses that aren't as well known! And your descriptions are so colorful and informative. The pictures are amazing and beautiful! Your yard must look amazing during rose season!
altorama Ray
8 years ago
I used to grow Regensberg, you just reminded me! A great rose, I'll have to replace it. Your roses are beautiful.
Ninkasi
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
My unsung hero is a patio/miniature rose with the silly name, Orange Baby/ Orange Babyflor. It is a Tantau rose, and it never is without a bloom. I even had gorgeous blooms from it on Christmas day, in my zone! I don't share it often because the color is so vibrant my camera, and computer rarely can capture it, and I don't think it is not in commerce in the US. It is a bright reddish orange, similar to a zonal geranium and lives happily in a very modest size pot. She doesn't ask for much. It is a huge contrast from everything else I have, which are mostly whites, creams and soft apricot pinks. But I wouldn't be without it.
fragrancenutter
8 years ago
Wow Cynthia how many roses do you have? I have not even heard of most of those on your list! They look gorgeous though.
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
When I started rose-shopping almost three years ago, Vintage Gardens had announced that they would be offering their final releases. I was shopping with my nose first, so whenever a new release came up, I searched through those listed as being the most fragrant. Then I looked at any that didn't seem to be common, or available elsewhere at all. I didn't snatch up every rare thing, though -- I was building a garden, not an ark. But if I had in mind a particular rose which was common, and another rose with a similar habit but which was rare became available in a Vintage Gardens release, I went with the "rose less traveled" (pun intended).

After the first round of ordering, I continued adding some things here and there from other nurseries. For example, I had a potted band of 'Mme Isaac Pereire' that was beaten up too hard over Winter in its unprotected pot, and it died. When I tried replacing it, I couldn't find one available at the time. Linda Loe at Long Ago Roses recommended 'Mme de Sevigne' as an alternative long-caned, reblooming, fragrant Bourbon. And I'm glad she did. In habit it's probably more "stretched out" than MIP. I've seen one description of MdS that read "can be grown as a free-standing climber" and that's about right. Mine is two years old now, and has three stout canes coming from the base, and they go in opposite directions, spreading VERY wide. Its bare legs are an asset where I planted it, because leafing out higher up means that it isn't shading its neighbors. But where it does leaf out, MdS keeps its foliage looking very clean in my no-spray NJ garden.

Here are two pics from the late May first flush of the season. MdS has blooms that resemble MIP, and it's the only one in this area of my garden that looks like that. There is a more purplish-pink rose against the fence, behind and to the right. That's 'Purple Skyliner'. And behind and to the left is Clematis 'Red Star'. Those are the only other things that are close to MdS in color. But once you make out MdS's blooms, note how far apart they are, especially in the third pic.

Now, in July, MdS is blooming again. I took these pics a week ago. Just a few feet from the base of MdS is a nearly naked 'Monsieur Boncenne', so I know blackspot is "in the air" right now. But without spraying, MdS has all this lovely foliage. And that says a lot for a Bourbon in NJ. It's a bit tough to make out in the "jungle", but MdS is in there. The last pic shows it at the base, where those three stout canes (and a few sunflowers) emerge from the ground. The last piece of its baby cane has blackspotted foliage, but it's been slowly dying back, and is only about a foot long now. I'll snip it off eventually.

:-)

~Christopher
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Another rudely healthy Bourbon for me came from Vintage Gardens, and sadly seems now unavailable elsewhere. 'Souvenir de Victor Landeau' came as a band in 2012, just before I moved here, and lived in a 2-gal container for a year before being planted. It's a long-caned Bourbon, but not of the same habit as the previously mentioned 'Mme de Sevigne'. SdVL sends stout canes generally upright at first, but they gradually lean from their own weight toward horizontal, then sending stout laterals along their lengths. The first pics show it still in its pot, back in late Summer 2012, just four months after coming as a band. Note the spotless foliage and general habit, and remember that this is a no-spray NJ garden.

It didn't bloom for me its first year. I saw its "face" for the first time the following year. But before that, here's how it looked just leafing out in Spring 2013.

And its first blooms for me, a little later that year.

Here it is during its first flush in 2014.

And three pics from its first flush this year, with 'Golden Celebration' on its right. Note all the unopened buds on the new growth coming from the center. These opened over the course of three weeks or so.

Now here's SdVL as of last week, spreading from the left edge of the pic to just beyond the Stokesia at the log edge. Note that there are some blooms already open, as well as lots of unopened buds. Also note how clean the foliage is. I swear, the only thing I spray is water from the hose.

There are other "unsung heroes" I'd like to mention, and will get to that in other posts.

:-)

~Christopher
roseseek
8 years ago
Beautiful! Oh, how I WISH it would rain!
seil zone 6b MI
8 years ago
My unsung heros are my polyanthas. These little devils bloom their heads off all summer. They're not huge plants or blooms either but they pack a big punch in quantity!

Blanche Neige (AKA White Koster)

Verdun

Zenaitta
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
8 years ago
I have Tangerine Streams and Petal Pushers, they are nice but lack fragrance. Lunar Mist is very good as it reblooms rapidly without deadheading. I wonder if it is sterile because I never get any hips--the spent blooms dry up and fall off. Golden Zest I have always wanted; it is an offspring of Golden Celebration, isn't it?
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
Original Author
8 years ago
Wonderful, everyone! I'm enjoying all your photos immensely, and I appreciate the kind comments on the pictures I started us off with. Sara-Ann, that's one reason I did this - to share some real winners of roses that other folks might not have heard of.

- Sharlene and Altorama - Regensberg is definitely a great rose to add back in your gardens, and I'm glad it's available in Europe as well as Mandarin Ice. You may want to double check that folks aren't selling Regensburg, as I frequently mistype this rose - that's a different rose that's just white. I forgot to mention that it's a very small rose that could easily do a pot (eh, Seil?), being at most 2' tall.

- Ninkasi - holy moly, that is one brightly colored rose, and I'm sure that Orange Baby is indeed a terrific spot of color in the midst of more muted pinks and creams. The only listing on hmf in the US is Hortico, but they don't have Orange Baby on their plant lists anymore. I suspect Hortico is finally pulling roses from their listings that don't grow well or won't be offered, rather than letting folks order them and then not being able to supply them. I have a vision though of combining Orange Baby with Mandarin Ice and Seil's Zenaitta for good measure, then planting them next to the screaming neon coral of Lady Elsie May and watch the postman run madly clawing at his eyeballs from the visual overload (hmm, maybe he already does). Come to think of it, Mandarin Ice and LEM are already close to each other - throw in Liverpool Remembers, Voodoo, and Rodeo and we might be able to plug the lights into them for electric power.

- Fragrancenutter - yep, I have a lot of roses, I sheepishly admit. I had always hovered around 700 until I finally wised up in the last year or so, and now I only plant "fussy pants" roses in my protected areas, and I stop planting roses that simply won't survive for me (goodbye French Lace, after 6 tries). I'm over 900 roses in the ground now, and I have a lot more that are nice and uncommon, but not generally available any more.

- Christopher - your garden has grown so much over only 3 years, and now it's simply lush and gorgeous. Who new you could accomplish so much, starting with only those modest potted roses (and of course your expertise and good judgment). I did the same thing with Vintage roses when they went out of business - buying the uncommon ones unavailable elsewhere - which is how I ended up with some of my less common roses. I also ended up with a lot that really didn't like Nebraska at all, but that wasn't the rose's fault. I'm also in the business of building a garden not an ark (love the phrase), but I'm very glad that Friends of Vintage Roses and others have the ark out there, so these roses can resurface at some point. SdVL does indeed look gorgeous, and I'm intrigued with MdSevigne. I wonder if she would be happier than MMP at reblooming after being cut to the ground each winter. My MMP is gorgeous when it has surviving cane, but only this week has deigned to put out one solitary bloom in protest at the brutal pruning to the ground after winter (usually nothing, so I should be glad).

- Speaking of arks, Kim I would be ever so happy if I could send you some of this rain. We have just been swimming throughout May and June, with record rainfall, and we really don't need it - and I know how desperately you and Ingrid and all the other Californians do!

- Hmm, Seil - you're right up my alley in your zone with those intriguing polys, and I agree they don't get the press or reputation they deserve. Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to overwinter the Koster family - tried Margot 3 times and White at least once - so they may be zone 6 plants. Verdun is definitely on my wish list though, particularly as you'd mentioned on hmf that it grows to 3 feet. Woo hoo - so it doesn't stay at the 12-16" reported on hmf? I could do a lot with those bright colors - how do you think it would handle part sun? Did you get yours from Rogue Vallley or Burlington? Zenaitta is also a definite possibility, and Roses Unlimited seems to carry it. How big does that one grow? Unlike you, I'm perfectly hopeless at pots, so it'd have to hold its own in the ground. Did both of these survive the polar vortex 2 years ago? It looks like your photos predate that.

Keep it up folks - I'm only on the first page of my orders for next year and I have a lot of room left. Feel free to suggest roses that are available in Europe or Australia or other regions as well - people post here from everywhere, and they need enabling too (smile).

Cynthia
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
Original Author
8 years ago
Whoops, sorry to overlap your post, Hoovb. I have dubious "fortune" of having a very poor rose nose, so the lack of fragrance in Tangerine Streams and Petal Pushers isn't as big a down side as it would be for folks like, say, FragranceNutter. I'll take the visual punch as enough input to the one sense anyway. That's good to hear that Lunar Mist doesn't have to be deadheaded, since it blooms so often I frequently miss some of them. Your right that this sounds like a sterile rose quality. I appreciate the heads-up about the link between Golden Celebration and Golden Zest - it's a good link of course, but since Golden Celebration can get waaaay bigger than the 4-5' it is listed in hmf I might need to prepare for the same in Golden Zest. It's at the back of a bed not too far from a fence, and the lovely way it looks I'm happy to let it climb away if it wants to. That heritage also bodes well for your California zone too, since I know Jeri has commented on how well her Golden Celebration grows. Well, as long as it gets plenty of ...um...water. Maybe wait a bit and see if the drought can break.

Cynthia
seil zone 6b MI
8 years ago
Yes, all three have survived both polar winters. Zenaitta is my oldest. She gets a good three feet high and wide each year and I bought her when Great Lakes Roses was still around. I sure miss them! I got Verdun there too a year or two later. But my Blanche Neige came from Cliff when he was downsizing. I'm surprised yours haven't wintered well. Mine are real troupers! They've been potted, planted and some of them re-potted and they take it in stride. I did lose Margot Koster the first winter and La Marne only lasted it's first winter and died the second. They were both potted and very small bands when I got them though. These three were all good sized plants to start with. I really do think that makes a difference for us cold climaters. I've found that almost all my bands, rooted cuttings, etc. have a really hard time making it through that first winter. I rarely buy bands anymore because of that. I need good sized healthy plants to start out with so they have a good full season to grow and root before my winter hits them.
titian1 10b Sydney
8 years ago
I'll add Summer Memories, which I've only had for a year. It blooms most of the time, and the foliage is disease free. The blooms do brown a little in the heat, but not so much that it's apparent from a little way away. I haven't yet pruned this rose - as it's still flowering in the middle of Winter, so I don't know if it has escaped the die-back all my other 50 or so roses have, but it doesn't appear to have it, which would be miraculous!

Cynthia, I was interested to hear that Garden Delight has done well for you. I tossed up between it and Masquerade, and went with the latter, which I rather regret.
SoFL Rose z10
8 years ago
I love these kinds of posts and really enjoy the whole bush shots. I wish I had something to contribute but I have the bad habit of cutting almost all of my roses and making bouquets with them. So my garden rarely has a bloom.
fragrancenutter
8 years ago
I am with you SoFL. In our hot climates rose flowers don't last outdoors.

Cynthia you probably have more roses than all my plants in my garden! I have about 60 of them and they are enough work for me already. I cannot imagine looking after 900 rose bushes! I will have to be a full time gardener.
Prettypetals_GA_7-8
8 years ago
Wow you guys! Love these pictures. I've not heard of many of them. You all have beautiful gardens. Thanks for all the info. Judy
AquaEyes 7a NJ
8 years ago
Cynthia -- the garden is actually only two years old. I brought four roses in pots with me when I moved here three years ago, but they didn't go in the ground until 2013, along with all the others which came that Spring. But thanks so much for the compliments! It's coming along nicely, thanks to all the good stuff I keep throwing on the ground, and all the rain we get here.

:-)

~Christopher
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the input Seil - I've got Verdun on my "buy" list for the spring, but I'm the opposite of you in sources of plants. Probably 50% of the potted or bare root roses I grow end up failing within a year if not their first summer from canker. Even well established ones I got from Cliff at his nursery closing had a pretty dismal survival rate. For me, if a band can survive its first winter with me it has a good chance of a happy lifetime with me. Perhaps the adversity makes it tougher?

Titian - it's good that Summer Memories sounds like a winner. I have mine in the front and while it survived in my zone 4 pocket it's too soon to judge its blooms. Just curious - what is it you don't like about Masqurade? I don't have it, but it looks quite nice.

SoFL - glad you like the bush shots. For me, that's one of the criteria for a winner rose, if it has enough blooms to warrant a whole bush shot that's interesting.

FragranceNutter- beyond planting them and pruning in the spring, I'm lazy enough that I don't do any significant maintenance on them which is why I don't need the full-time gardener. I spent maybe 2 hours yesterday deadheading and taking photos (mostly the latter) and that is it for the week. This is one of many reasons I look out for "heroes" - shape up or ship out!

Glad you like the pictures Judy, and hope it makes you want to buy some of these for yourself!

Christopher, now you're making us jealous that you can accomplish all that in only 2 years. I'm perhaps 9 years into this garden, 8 of which involve roses, and I'm nowhere near my goals. Ah well, that's the fun of the challenge!

Cynthia
titian1 10b Sydney
8 years ago
Cynthia, Masquerade is a bit strident. Sometimes I quite like the look of it, and other times I feel a bit hmmmy about it. Also, it's not done well: put out 3 short, stiff canes in a year, one of which has died back. But for that, I can't blame it particularly, as all my roses have die-back. And I look at photos on this site, of roses I have, and for the most part, mine look paltry in comparison. So maybe Masquerade would look much better for you.

Trish.
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
..love all these photos... Christopher...your roses are looking really good... they seem to grow quickly where you are...

..Cynthia has a rose for everyone I think... quite amazing...
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks, Trish. I can do strident in some areas of my yard, so at least it doesn't sound like a dog of a bush. In my yard, die-back is a given, but it's good to know the growth is stiff as suits the modern colors rather than bushy. I do agree that Garden Delight's growth habit is much more appealing since it bushes out even from being pruned to the ground.

Marlorena - glad you like the photos and that these are some ideas to share, but the notion that one of these might be for everyone is probably beyond this list of 10. That's why I encourage you all to chime in - I'm clearly heavily loaded on the multiple petal roses, and that doesn't do well in a climate with lots of balling. However, with 900 roses I probably could find at least one rose in my yard that would be good fit for just about anyone, particularly since I zone push several teas. Just not the same roses... (smile).

Cynthia
Holly Webster(7bNC)
8 years ago
Ok, I realize that I am probably the president of the Cynthia fan club, but wow she is just my best all-around utility player! I don't have a good bush shot, but here is a little bouquet, 4 days in vase and cut when Cynthia's blooms were already pretty open. The light pink is Eiffel Tower (rain spoiled a bit) and some enormous volunteer zinnia that have reverted back from their hybrid colors. The scent is wafting inside the house and I absolutely love this vibrant, vigorous, fragrant bloom factory!
monarda_gw
7 years ago
If I were starting a garden I would grow Mme Sévigné. My mother was always talking about her -- the historical figure, famous because of her letters to her daughter. I'm glad she has a rose named after her. She wrote "When I step into this library, I cannot understand why I ever step out of it" and "The more I see of men the more I admire dogs". Her house is now the Musée Carnavalet, The Museum of the City of Paris.
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
Original Author
7 years ago
Interesting, Monarda - I didn't know anything about Mme. Sevigne as a person, but I looked her up as a rose. HMF only has the briefest of information about the rose as a white/blush tea, and it lists no sellers. Must be good that you're not hankering after the rose at present. I love her quotes and the library one particularly resonates. Sounds like she had a wicked sense of humor that you can see a bit on her face too.

Cynthia
monarda_gw
7 years ago
There must be more than one rose named after her, I think the one Christopher has is a deep pink bourbon, a ringer for Mme Isaac Perriere. She was widowed at the age of 25 and never re-married. The portrait above shows her in "half-mourning". She is esteemed for the witty and conversational style of her letters. Proust in particular adored her.