More of Tuscany Superb coming into flower. I grow a small hedge of TS.

I am still waiting for the following Gallicas to flower: Belle sans Flatterie, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Duchesse de Montebello, Ellen Tofflemire, Marianne, Rosa Mundi and Song of the Stars. I've been juggling a few activities alongside photographing my Gallicas, so I hope I don't miss getting shots of the blooms at their best. If I miss some photos this year, I know that many of you also grow these wonderful old Gallicas and take much better photos than I do with my ancient iPhone. Thank you all for joining my Gallica thread every year. This is one of my favorite events, sharing my Gallica passion with kindred spirits and reading about and gazing upon your beautiful specimens. You all bring me so much joy, and I wanted to say that out loud!

I am waitlisted at RVR for a replacement Rook and for an Allegra, Etienne and Umbra. I really look forward to growing those. I'd like to take a moment to thank Paul Barden for his new-old roses in and out of commerce and to thank Claire for her generosity in sharing her old rose starts with me. Someday, when my propagation area is fully functioning, I hope to be able to do the same for other forum members, to pay forward the kindness I have received from forum members who have gifted me so many starts of so many hard-to-acquire and rare roses. Carol

Carol - your sentiments are echoed here. Just treasure your annual Gallica thread as well as other related topics!

Took another pic of Gallicandy yesterday. So enchanting!

'Tricolore de Flandre'

As lovely as I remember the last time I saw a Tricolore de Flandre...in your garden! Thank you, Paul. A magnificent rose that has become too rare in commerce. I look forward to growing a plant to maturity and passing along many starts. Paying it forward! Carol

Some buds on Marianne starting to open.

Boy do I now regret not keeping Tricolore de Flandre which I had from Pickering years ago.

My heart went pitter patter when I saw Paul Barden's Tricolor.

I hear your pain, Chris! Pickering...TdF....

Mine, too, Monarda!

A fading bloom of Belle sans Flatterie in the afternoon sun.

These are both Orpheline de Julliet. One a fresh bloom. (Reposted.) One a fading bloom.

A Gallica boasts such a kaleidoscope of color during its flush.

Tuscany Superb.

TS, my true love!

Charles de Mills finally bloomed today! Tuscany Superb is still taking her time......

Ellen Tofflemire's first opening bud. Clematis Niobe in the background.

Thank you for bearing with all my Tuscany Superb photos!

TS buds opening.

Carol, your latest photos of Tuscany Superb sure have captured the velvety appearance of her petals!

Marianne further along.

Rook buds

Chris, I love all your shots of Marianne. I am moving things around in my pot nursery and can't get to my Marianne to take photos at the moment PLUS some vile creature attacked and uprooted my young Rook (why that one?), and I'm waitlisted at RVR for another. So, your photos are extra, extra appreciated this year! Carol

Lin, I'm celebrating your Charles de Mills bloom! He's just one of the most exquisite purple OGRs ever. I'm growing a young Charles in a nursery pot...and there I kept him very well. Carol

Belle de Crécy. Bloom on a baby plant.

We had a downpour last night. All of a sudden, there are so many new blossoms!

For you Carol - Tuscany Superb!

One more Charles de Mills - can't have enough of him :-)

The Apothecary's Rose:

--Lin

My mystery gallica/hybrid china/Red Runaround:

Gallicandy's really pushing out the bloom:

--Lin

It's raining again, but of course, after work I had to run out and see how everything has progressed.

Rook

Song of the stars

And what carol has coined "Paul Barden's Unnamed Purple Gallica". Although it can be anything from pale pink, to dark pink to purple. Paul, any idea as to the parentage of this one?

Thank you all for the incredible pleasure this thread has brought me. At this point I can't even pick my favorites as there are so many superb roses here, but right now it's Marianne (again) and Tuscany Superb, but there's also Charles de Mills, Song of the Stars and so many other purple beauties.

Edhelka, that's a deeply beautiful bloom on your young Belle de Crecy! And her fragrance.... She's got such a lovely scent. I have to say, you have wonderful taste in roses!

Chris, all of your Barden photos are gorgeous! Thank you for posting more of Marianne and Rook plus Song of the Stars and "PB's Unnamed Purple Gallica" as they unfurl their flushes in your garden. I must say that like Edhelka, you have great taste in roses! A corner of your garden resembles mine. :-) I hope RVR sends me a back-in-stock notice for Rook ASAP. The Rook photos you posted today are almost unbearably beautiful! I keep clicking on "enlarge image." The rain makes your roses even more magical.

Lin, thank you for Tuscany Superb! If I were forced to choose only one rose, TS would be the one. But I'm glad I can grow more. :-) Charles de Mills and Marianne are like complementary forces of nature. Similar blooms but one in a kaleidoscope of purples, pinks and mauves and one in a sunrise of apricot, pink, butter and cream. Gallicandy should be more widely grown. The shower of bubble gum pink brings out my inner child, and individual blooms hold that same fascination for me as the Apothecary's Rose. Even with all the full and fancy purple Gallicas around me, I am still in awe of The Apothecary's history and its simple elegance. I love that you grow a mystery rose/Red Runaround! I kept my "Not Tricolore de Flandre" to see what it will become. Will it grow into an identified Tuscany? Or something I've never grown before? Mysteries make life so interesting, yes?

I can't decide between all the Gallicas either, Ingrid. I think that's why I started growing so many. Indecision. Ha, ha!

Carol

Here's one I've rarely photographed, and spoken of even less: 'Constance Spry' X 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', circa 1998. I don't often mention it because its a big sprawly plant (not unlike Constance) and for all its climber-like canes going everywhere, it never produces more than 15-20 blooms a year. Worse still, rarely are more than half of them as well-shaped as this one. And as if that wasn't bad enough, they last fully open for maybe one day before falling apart completely. But hey, the few good blooms I see every year almost make it worth keeping!

And yes, it has a wonderful fragrance.

A sea of 'Rosa Mundi'.

And 'Camaieux', since this is a stripey post:

An un-named Gallica, probably descended from 'Alain Blanchard', circa 2000:

An un-named Gallica, probably descended from 'Tuscany Superb'. It ages to a deep velvet red/purple.

One of the many Gallicas acquired twenty years ago from Pickering. I've lost its ID.

'Gloire de France'

'Song of the Stars' in one of its funnier moods:

'Cramoisi Picotee':

'Camaieux':

'Ellen Tofflemire':

Wow! Thank you for posting that string of wonderful photos, Paul.

The best blooms of your Constance Spry X Souvenir de la Malmaison are truly spectacular! It's one of those roses that a collector with enough space might grow for just those few gems, like growing Ash Wednesday or one of the other grey roses so that when one DOES get blooms, there's a chance of winning the lottery!

A sea of striped Gallicas is one of the calm places that I go to in my head when my car dies or my technology explodes. :-)

And so many other absolutely gorgeous roses: Ellen Tofflemire, Gloire de France, Cramoisi Picotee. Your two unnamed roses, are beautiful semi doubles/doubles! Red and purple are two of my favorite colors to grow together. Something that makes Gallicas so wonderful is that one could grow nothing but Gallicas and still have an enchanting rose garden. The range of colors and bloom types across cultivars and the ever-changing colors within each bloom make for great diversity!. Carol

@portlandmysteryrose

"The best blooms of your Constance Spry X Souvenir de la Malmaison are truly spectacular! It's one of those roses that a collector with enough space might grow for just those few gems, like growing Ash Wednesday or one of the other grey roses so that when one DOES get blooms, there's a chance of winning the lottery!"

Thank you Carol!

Yes, when it plays nice (a lot depends on the weather) it is a marvel to behold, at least for a few hours! If it made 4X as many blooms that looked like that, I would consider sharing it around, but trust me, its a stingy beast. A shame, but that's rose breeding!

Here are some pictures of the pass-along rose my Grandma called "The Old Shop Rose" (because it grew by "the shop" building on the farm) -- an unidentified Gallica

Georges Vibert:

Marianne in full bloom

Buds on Henri Martin

Possibly Belle Sans Flatterie

Gallica season is just starting here.

Song of the Stars is bubble gum pink after a couple of cloudy and rainy days.

Chris, after that last photo your Song of the Stars has definitely been given my cuteness award. It's a very sweet rose!

Belle de Crecy is my favorite gallica. Unfortunately it grew rampantly in my front bed, taking over a large swath in a few years. I couldn't let that go on forever so I had to pull it all up, saving a few pieces in pots to hopefully one day replant somewhere. I noticed today this perfect bloom from one of the potted plants.

I know I posted some gallica pics when this post was first formed, but I must have forgotten to press submit!

I love looking at everyone's pictures! Especially Tricolor and Camaieux, two I am still trying to get. Bug they are all, so beautiful! My most favorite roses class along with the hybrid chinas, to me, they go together. I'll see if I have any pictures left on my phone...I got these. , but alas, I can only guess at the id...I wish I had a way to save them with names, cause my mind just can't remember. I can only tell you how much I love and enjoy them, and wish to aquire more! Lol

So beautiful. Are there some that "walk" less than others?

Alana, can you make folders in your phone pics to save the different varieties? If not, you can go into "details" on each picture and change the name there. ...or use a paint app that's already in your phone pic section to write on each picture. What phone do you have?

Vaporvac, yes some are more rampant spreaders than others. Charles De Mills is another notorious spreader. Paul's gallicas that I grow have all been very well behaved.

Tuscany superb looking very velvety today:

Dreamy. I've been offered some cuttings, so perhaps I'll just post the varieties in a bit. Do they tend to root easily?

Got it! Thanks so much!! Now I will slways have it!! Super cool!!! I believe this one is belle sans flatterie.