Violets pride! It smells heavenly!!

Such amazing rose pictures here!!!

Kristine - good idea...I should get a standard one of these days.

Well I did end up getting Violets Pride and Love Song. They are so

different that you really need both.

I would still like a Charles De Gaul . Is that the right name ?

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw how did your Violet's Pride do? I got a tiny band of Love Song last spring and mostly disbudded it but the few blooms I got were lovely just lacking fragrance. Im thinking of getting a band of VP to try this year. Then I can combine the two in bouquets for fragrance and beauty. I'd love to hear updates from folks on VP.

My two Love Song roses just get better and better for me. Lots of blooming those big lavender blooms. Librarian, I'm sorry I no pics of Violet's Pride. Diane

Oh, Diane!!! :) :) WONDERFUL!!!!

Diane, your purples are out of this world.😍

Diane, you truly are the Qween of all things purple

I liked Violets Pride and Love Song so much that I got two of each.

My standard Love Song is so pretty.

I need to move my other Love Song. It is getting too much shade so it didnt bloom as often as the first year.

Both have been very healthy, beautiful roses

Thanks so much, Kristine. I would love to see a Love Song Standard--do you have any photos? Some roses are so photogenic, I think, and I end up with dozens and dozens of pics of these--Love Song, Augusta Luise, and Evelyn. It's ridiculous. And I can't get a good pic of The Prince to save my life. Diane

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw have you noticed which of the two (LS or VP) does better with some shade? Thanks for the update on yours. I think I will try VP. My little LS was a tiny band this year so I mostly didn't let it bloom. I'll have to watch to see if it gets enough sun in it's spot this next year.

Librarian, I will say that VP does better in a bit of shade. It seems to continue blooming where ad I am moving Love Song to a sunnier location this spring.

Here is LS standard

Are there any similar roses that stay lavender? I just can't with the initial fuchsia. Blue Bajou/Bayou?

Nicole Carole Miller has a fabulous fragrance. I love this rose!

Wow!!! @rosecanadian those blooms look so dreamy! I love the deeper color blend on the outer petals! What a gorgeous rose!

Thanks, seaside!! It rests between flushes, but then blooms a lot and the blooms last a long time, and the fragrance is always wonderful!

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw thank you

@rosecanadian the two tone on your NCM is beautiful.

Librarian - thanks!! :) :) The fragrance is a sharp delicious fragrance that I don't know how to describe.

VP is available at Northland

Carol, your NCM is outstanding!! What a glorious tribute rose .

I love everything about your rose, that two tone color is to d for.

Thanks, Kristine!! :) :) I think this rose should be more widely grown...it's a really good bloomer too!! :)

I think so too Carol. It is an under marketed rose.

Wow, reading these posts was a trip down memory lane. i was hunting for lavender roses then (2019), and this thread convinced me to invest in several Love Songs and a Lavender Crush. Love Song thrives in 9a hot dry heat, The blooms are enormous. It’s eye-catching, and makes a great impression.

Lavender Crush just started putting forth blooms this year. The fragrance is intense, first thing in the morning when it’s not too hot.

I’m deeply grateful to this forum for helping me buy and maintain the right roses for my soil and climate. Shout out to Lily and Diane for their breathtaking photos!

Sylvia - what a wonderful color on your Lavender Crush!!

Sylvia, your Lavender Crush was worth the wait. Grape popsicles are what they remind me of

Yummy! No sugar or calories either,😁

And now I add Charles de Gaulle to my lavenders.

Kristine - you'll love CdG!!! I loved mine when I had it that one summer.

I may actually have a space in the ground for it. Iost the Pope last year so I can perhaps get chuck in to that space.

So we can compare one in the ground and one in a pot. :) :)

@Diane Brakefield Your roses are nothing short of spectacular! Is that royal purple plant alongside your Love Song a pentstemon? Those colors together are exquisite. So today I will plant my Love Song as well as a Lavender Crush. If only I could put them on "speed grow" by about 4 or 5 years!

Thanks, Crow, and your trees and roses are glorious. Wish I had your space, but then again, I'd never get my pruning done. Yes, that's a penstemon next to the Love Song bloom. And I'm not sure of its name. I've been griping about ridiculous penstemon names for ages. For example, Red Rocks is a favorite of mine. It is neither red, nor a rock. Pinacolada Red is probably the worst. It's a dark pink. And on it goes. Just buy a variety of penstemon and hope for the best. Red Rocks is not the showiest, but it blooms longest and repeats well if trimmed, which I do. It does some reseeding within bounds, and I love free plants. Diane

Red Rocks penstemon, a very reliable plant and rebloomer.

Thanks, Diane. That dark purple is a show-stopper! I love pentstemons and I love free plants, too. I ordered some Anthriscus Sylvestris 'Ravenswing' after seeing it on a Claus Dalby You Tube video of his garden because it is self-seeding and prolifically so, which is a delight! Commonly referred to as a weed or cow parsley, I love the tall frothy white blooms and the chocolate-purple foliage on this plant. I hope it seeds itself all over the bed I'm putting it in which will also house Lion's Fairytale and Golden Celebration roses. I eagerly await the final result on this planting. Your photos are fab, I love seeing them as well as all those posted in this forum. By the way, my Augusta Luise is looking great, lots of strong new growth but my Colette not so much. I'm worried about her. The plant I was sent did not look so good when she arrived, small, frail and weak. She's doing nothing, has put on one little tiny leaflet that looks pitiful. Hmmm, fingers crossed she will be able to gain strength and flourish.

Yes, stay patient with Colette. Mine was from Edward's, and was a five gallon plant, so no patience required. She bloomed the first year. I'm glad your Augusta is doing so well. She is one vigorous girl, and I'll bet you have some tremendous blooms. I think cow parsley does well in England, and in your PNW garden, too. Here's some more penstemon. Diane

Crow, the first photo shows Penstemon strictus, and the second is Pinacolada Red. You should grow Campanula rotundifolia, or Scottish Harebell, in your climate. And talk about free plants. You have to watch that one. Diane

Scottish harebell. Mine started from seed.

I love your pestemons Dianne, I don’t think i can grow them here.

i have both VP and Love Song, Love Song did really well the first year, then i moved it around to provide shade for other roses, maybe this year it will recover, it‘s in fullsun and is a standard. VP is in a bit of shade and one of my best lavender roses.

I have other lavender roses too like Charles de Gaulle, i have 3, I like them all. I'm also going to add Poseidon and Carol Nicole Miller, I really can‘t choose, lol.

Congratulation on the new roses, Crow, and gorgeous penstemon, Diane! While we’re comparing lavender roses, does anyone want to weigh in on Arctic Blue vs. Violet’s Pride vs. Love Song? When I see Arctic Blue with colors like in this photo, I’m very tempted. I would love to hear more details from those of you who have grown it.

This year my Artic Blue is blooming profusedly for some reason. I’m glad i don't have to chose. I grow my roses in container.

This picture has so many rose pots there, but you can’t see them, about 4-5 different varieties under the palm tree.

my Artic Blue

Diane, thanks for the tip on generous Scottish Harebell! I will most definitely be looking for seeds or plants of it, love it! All your pentstemons are lovely. I wonder if Edwards has 5 gallon pots of Colette this year - do you happen to know? It might be worth a drive to Boise for me to get her! With a 5 gallon plant, I would think I would be a couple years ahead of my poor little specimen who is having a struggle getting started. She is so gorgeous, I hope her bs resistance is good because my garden is wet and warm enough in the spring that those blasted fungal diseases thrive here.

SoCalGardenNut, your Arctic blue is just yummy, especially in combination with your deep purple delphinium.

Desert Rose, thanks so much. I cannot help with your rose question, I have both Violet's Pride and Love Song but haven't planted either yet.

Crow, I think the harebell seeds are sold by several online sellers, but I've never seen a plant for sale anywhere. Edwards does have a 5 gallon Colette for sale, but it is own root. Mine is grafted, which I prefer, so I don't know if being own root will make any difference in Colette's vigor. I know mine took off blooming the first year really fast. Diane

Wee Colette her first year hasn't made it to the arbor quite yet.

She still managed to produce this.

Love Song

Arctic Blue is another beautiful lavender especially with the purple. What a pretty combination.

I actually ended up with 2 Love Song. One is a standard. I also have a Violets Pride and it really took off last year. I would like another creamy color rose.

I absolutely love Love Song but it did nothing for me. Something must have gone wrong because it was the only rose I had that simply became very stunted and eventually died.

I am thinking it was a fluke and to try it again. Could I try it in a container?

I'm thinking it might have been a fluke, too. I grow two Love Songs and they are great roses. Mine are grafted on Dr Huey and I've grown them since this rose was first sold. You could try it a container, but if you have decent soil and add compost or Tones, plus a late spring fertilizer, that should be more than enough. All my roses get the same routine, starting in late winter, and they seem to like it. Diane

Embarrassing but the other picture above is Plum Perfect

Below is Violets Pride

Another really good lavender Lavender Veranda

Lovely Love Songs, everyone! I planted two Love Songs last fall, and will likely buy Violet’s Pride this week. I’m trying to decide if I also need Arctic Blue. Yours is gorgeous, GardenNut!

Kristine: I didn’t even think about Lavender Veranda. Yours is beautiful. Does that rose stay small? Helpmefind says it’s only about 2’x2’.

Diane, your wee Colette is almost unbelievable - what an epic performer! Like you, I prefer grafted roses at this stage in my life - I don't have years to coddle and wait on slow growers. Own roots are wonderful for many reasons but I need the instant gratification that grafted roses have been giving me. I will be patient with my little Colette and hope she gathers strength. She was the "runt of the litter" out of all the nice bare roots I bought from Regan. I am gratified, however, that my other most coveted rose, Augusta Luise, is taking off like a rocket!

Now where did my post go?

Oh well

Yes Lavender Veranda is a bit taller than wide and less than 3ft .

No fragrance though.

kristine_legault's ideas · More Info

Crow, thanks about Wee Colette. I, too, don't have the years to wait on tiny roses. If your Colette is from Regan, is it not grafted? I thought their roses were mostly grafted. Edwards sells a mix of grafted and own root. I accidentally bought an own root Julia Child from them a number of years ago, and that rose is nice, but can't compare to my big grafted Julias. It's not the size, which I don't care about, but there are fewer blooms, and they aren't as lush as the grafted Julias' blooms. All these JCs are in full sun and similar conditions. My own root Abe Darby is, of course, the notorious Twig Darby, and I know a grafted plant would have done better. The only other own roots I grow are a bunch of Apricot Drifts, which I'm very pleased with. May Colette grow fast for you and produce lots of great blooms.

Keisine, your Lavender Veranda is another beautiful lavender rose. I love it's color and bloom form. Diane

One of my favorite lavenders is Angel Face. She has a great scent, too. But I've read she's not good in black spot country.

Ignore the blasted feet.

Diane, WOW.....your Angel Face is as stunning as all your others. You have me longing to move back to Boise so I can be free of the blasted fungal diseases here in wet Washington. Colette is a grafted rose from Regan but she arrived really really puny looking which surprised me because all my others from them are great. I wish I had taken a photo before I planted her but I remember being shocked when I found her in the bundle because she looked so bad in comparison to the others from Regan and all those from other vendors as well.....she was the very worst. Drat. Perhaps I should have planted her in a pot first and put her in a sheltered spot to try to help her but I won't disturb her at this point, just hope for the best. It's staying so cold here that I'm surprised anything wants to grow, I know I wouldn't! Bah, humbug on weather. I love Mother Nature but she is being really difficult this spring!