Dr. E.M. Mills from Burlington (thanks to the efforts of Kim Rupert) is decidedly pink this year.

Dr. E.M. Mills. He's in the ground in my wild pot ghetto area filled with native grasses (that is creeping wild rye in the background) and under a huge ash tree.

Reine de Violettes is about to explode into flower. I've never her seen her with so many buds. From Greenmantle Nursery.

Rose de Resht, another healthy plant from Greenmantle Nursery. Very fragrant!

Grandmother's Hat from Vintage Gardens. FINALLY after having her for around 4 or 5 years she is about to produce lots of flowers. I took to heart what Ingrid had to say about GH not doing well for her and put GH in partial shade. Now with the tremendous rains we have had she is growing like crazy, climbing up the cedar tree she is under, producing dozens and dozens of buds and lots of foliage.

Abbe Bramerel from Eurodesert. Normally this is a winter blooming hybrid perpetual but this is the first flower of the year. Had some set backs after I had to move AB from a spot with far too much shade and some nasty invasive roots. Has taken time to recover especially as the move was during the height of our drought.

Stanwell Perpetual from Heirloom. Was in a fully sunny spot but now only half the plant sees the sun since the next door neighbor is a rose from Forest Farm that wasn't supposed to be a tree eater but is. What should have been R. webbiana (a moderate to large bush with pink flowers) is in reality a RAMPANT single, once blooming, white climber which I suspect is R. brunonii and has taken over the whole area, nearly smothering the lovely Directeur Alphand one of my hybrid perpetuals from Eurodesert and a moss rose. Stanwell Perpetual doesn't mind shade.

Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseux from Pickering. Another shade victim of the rampant white climber.

This little strangeoid is R. borissovae, the weirdest rose I've ever grown. It is also one of my favorites. Supposedly once blooming, it is far from it. With food and water it can bloom year round, although this winter is the first time since I've had it (2011 I bought the mother plant from Eurodesert and dug it up myself) that it has gone completely dormant with zero flowers in winter. But that isn't the really unusual part. It is the flowers, or rather the variety of them on the same plant. Two DIFFERENT kinds of flowers that show up erratically. It normally has big single pink flowers, but at odd times of the year it also produces in the the middle of a cane, with the big pink flowers above and below it, a tiny white flower that doesn't even look related. It is not at the ends of a cane, like a sport, but in the middle. It is strange. I thought I was seeing things at Eurodesert on repeated visits or figured that it must be the root stock. But once I got it home and grew it....rootstock way up the plant in between areas with the normal sized and expected pink flowers? What kind of rose is this????

R. borissovae, the changeling.

Tessie, you have some fascinating and rare roses. I hope they all continue to do well for you. I'm still amazed that Grandmother's Hat did not bloom well for you for so many years when mine bloomed practically the same month that I planted it. It's unfortunate that I planted it in exactly the wrong spot, but I don't think it's really suited to my garden. Stanwell Perpetual is a rose I've had in another garden and would like to have again. Dr. E. M. Mills is a very interesting rose, very delicate in color and substance. Does it bloom only in the spring or does it repeat?

That seedling #3 of R. primula has really attractive creamy yellow blooms. They contrast nicely with tiny leaves of its foliage.

I've never heard of half of those, but it's great to see someone with such a passion for the unusual.... wonderful photos, and close ups...

Ingrid, Dr. E.M. Mills has some repeat, but so far not very much. There is a big spring flush and scattered flowers after that. Kim Rupert has had this rose longer and he might be able to say more about rebloom than I can. Also, the flowers although very pretty are delicate and will fry in the sun. That spot gets morning sun and high afternoon shade/filtered sun. Leaves do fine in sun, just not the flowers. Stanwell Perpetual I got from Heirloom and it is a very vigorous clone of this rose. I had bought one first from Rogue Valley but it was tiny and not at all vigorous. It died while the Heirloom one took off. My Grandmother's Hat came from Vintage and was, I think, the smallest rose I ever got from Vintage. Think about knee high to a gopher. So I think that is why the delay in profuse blooming (and the drought did not help!).

Curdle, R. primula seedling #3 now has a name and its own listing page on HMF. I named it after my dog Tessie....yes my user name here is actually my dog's name (too many Melissas when I started using email and setting up user names on sites, so I use her name). You can read about the story behind Tessie's Rose here.

Abbe Bramerel

President Dutailly

Snowden

Limelight

Reine des Violettes

Cantabrigensis

Zephyr's Rose

R. canina 'Laxa'

Salvia spathacea 'Avis Keedy' grows in the shade under Grandmother's Hat on one side and Ceanothus cyaneus on the other side. Ceanothus cyaneus is about to start blooming, but below is a picture from last year in April. I love blue in the garden!

Salvia iodantha grows in partial shade near President Dutailly and Abbe Bramerel

First time I see a 'Laxa' in bloom despite the fact that it's lurking underground allover my place..

What a great selection of roses...all beautiful:)

Tessiess I really like your choices in roses. Gorgeous photos too. Thank you so much for sharing such unique roses! I'm bookmarking this post just so I can come back to it, research your wonderful choices and admire the roses and the beautiful foliage.

Seedling #3 of R. primula now has a name, Tessie's Rose (and Tessie does not refer to me!). You can read about it here on HMF, Tessie's Rose. Gizi's Rose also has info up now on HMF.

I have apparently turned into a species rose nut.;) Enabled immensely by the learning experience of wandering the fields at Eurodesert and being introduced to perhaps hundreds of species roses I had never heard of much less seen. I was intrigued and brought a bunch home!

Comtesse O'Gorman, a hybrid perpetual I got from Eurodesert. This is a very fine rose and deserves to be in commerce in the US.

I just love this thread and admiring your rose collection. You have such wonderful taste tessiess. Your garden is amazing and so unique.

Those pictures of Grandmother's Hat are so beautiful. President Dutailly is unknown to me but very lovely. You've put together such an interesting listing of roses that I'm sure all of us appreciate. So refreshing after what seem like endless discussions about the Austins.

I have one seedling of President Dutailly. Recently planted, and it now has a bud. I have no idea what it will look like, whether double or single, or even the color. PD is very fragrant but will junior be? Is it a self seedling or if not, who is dad? I will post photos once the bud opens. Hopefully, it will be pretty.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful and unique roses. It's a wonderful treat to see so many roses that I'm totally unfamiliar with. Just gorgeous. Lisa

R. californica 'First Dawn' first flower of the year. Purchased at a Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden plant sale, grown by Suncrest Nurseries and their own selection of the species. This is an extremely fragrant rose--a super wafter actually. It blooms in great trusses and when the plant is covered in flowers the whole garden is perfumed. Bees are mighty happy! Nearly every flower results in a hip. This is the most floriferous and rapid reblooming of any selection of R. californica I have ever encountered. Gets tall, around 12 to 15 feet with support, it does want to climb. Has some thorns but not to the extent of many of its brethren. Moderately suckers (which I count as a positive as I like this rose so much). Has the second tastiest rose hips in my garden (to R. canina 'Laxa'). These are small and chewy. Birds like them.

Reine des Violettes showing her true color growing amongst many neighbors in my wild pot ghetto (she's in the ground though). Last month when she started to bloom her flowers were more pinkish, but as the weather warmed and the sun hit her flowers, voila violettes!

Reine des Violettes, own root from Greenmantle Nursery. Planted in the root zone of an 80+ foot ash tree in very sandy loam soil that is somewhat depleted in nutrients. Fed this year with E. B. Stone organic fertilizer (5-5-5). Watered with very alkaline city water. Zero soil amendments.

RDV with Cantabrigensis.

Cantabrigensis. Flowers open pale yellow and rapidly turn white in the sun. I hadn't checked the foliage before for scent, but since there are multiple other roses, as it as turned out, that I put in this area that happen to have fragrant foliage, I was curious. Yep, fragrant, and very much like the scent of R. primula, just not quite as strong. Own root from Colvos Creek.

R. canina 'Laxa' still just teasing me with a few flowers. It is gearing up for a huge bloom period where the entire plant will be covered. It has a long period of bloom compared to many once-bloomers. Best tasting rose hips in my garden. Supposed to be very high in vitamin c. Own root from Greenmantle.

Stanwell Perpetual. Own root from Heirloom.

R. borissovae, from Eurodesert. Appeared to be grafted but is now suckering, escaping the bonds of graftdom.

Autumn Damask, own root from Greenmantle. Sorry the bloom is a little past its prime. I put this plant in a spot near its relations--R. fedschenkoana and Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseux.

Gizi's Rose is really surprising me with the number of flowers she is producing as a young plant, just put in the ground recently and evidently finding sandy, depleted soil much to her liking. Seems to have a longer bloom period than mom, R. primula. That is making me wonder who the dad is.....maybe the milkman did it? Was finally able to smell the flowers over the foliage scent. Flowers are sweetly scented and of moderate strength, not mild as I thought.

Gizi's Rose, elegant and white, like her namesake.

Grace de Monaco, own root hybrid tea from Vintage. I saw this rose at Eurodesert when it was closing. A magnificent and huge plant, with flowers reminiscent of water lilies, that I much admired. Fragrant too. With all my purchases, I just didn't have room at the time for another, but I made a mental note to get her. So when Vintage got her in stock I ordered immediately. I only had a really shady location available, so that is where I put her. She has been slow to put on size due to her shade handicap, but even so she is persevering. She will be a tank one day. Very lovely and should be more widely grown.

Grace de Monaco. All water-lilyish!

Micrugosa Alba, own root from Vintage, showing both the rugosa heritage (in leaf) and roxburghii heritage (in bud).

Micrugosa Alba, first flower of the year, just starting to unfurl. A little sun, and the white will takeover. Flowers are very big for a single.

Huntington Rose, grafted on multiflora from Pickering. I saw this rose growing in the shade at the Huntington and thriving, so I decided to do the same, pick a shady spot. Arching grower, shown draped over the foliage of R. californica 'Los Berros'. HR can burn in the intense sun when it hits even in this cooler spot, so I don't think I would want to try full sun for this rose in a hot inland area like mine.

Wasagaming, own root rugosa from High Country Roses. I missed out on getting this rose from Pickering. It is often out of stock at High Country. I jumped at the chance as soon as they had any. Very fragrant. Put in a very tough spot which is like a war zone for root competition, it has been a little slow to grow, but appears to have defeated some rivals and is putting on some size.

Wasagaming's rugosa foliage next to the big hybrid tea leaf of Limelight.

Julia Mannering, own root eglantine from Vintage. Foliage is strongly scented (yes, it wafts!) of apples. Flowers are sweetly scented. Repeat blooms, not a lot, but it is nice to see a repeating sweet briar. Plant wants to be big. Sets a fine crop of hips. I haven't tasted any yet. Maybe this year!

Julia Mannering again. Buds are kind of mossy.

Soupert et Notting, moss rose from Pickering on multiflora. In the middle of the bed, so I didn't get a closer shot. Such a pretty rose, it took me years to finally get one. I unwisely planted a Salvia canariensis alba right next to SeN, not realizing how huge (9 feet plus currently) the Salvia would get. It is trying to eat Soupert et Notting alive.

Comtesse O'Gorman peeking through my foliage jungle. Hybrid perpetual from Eurodesert. Grafted, but I'm not sure on what. This rose will tip root if given the chance.

Mrs. Doreen Pike, own root Austin rugosa from Heirloom. A delicate beauty that prefers a bit of shade.

Another bud on Mrs. Doreen Pike.