I have had only about 25 roses in my central Ohio garden, so my selection of favorites may not be that useful to you, but here goes:
Astrid Lindgren (Poulsen). This rose is a benevolent giant, a beautiful cottage-eater. I hack her down every year, and she seems fine with that. At one point she was 10 feet tall with arching canes going 6 feet in all directions, twelve feet across!
The blooms are a lovely rich pink, a warm pastel pink, very beautiful and nostalgic. They open somewhat flat, like gardenias. Clusters of luscious blooms. And the rebloom is fast. After a flush is finished, I see new buds in a week and blooms in two weeks.
(Photo to be posted separately)
The scent is mild to medium but with so many blossoms (hundreds at one time), the fragrance is lovely.
I got mine in 2001 from The Rosearie (Waldoboro Maine), which closed when the owner retired. I have not seen this rose for sale anywhere in the USA since then.
However, I propagated a new one last fall from a cutting! I’m checking on baby Astrid frequently this winter; she’s in a pot sunk halfway in the soil. She seems fine. :D It’s very exciting — my first rose bush propagated from a cutting!
I love this rose like an old friend.
Dream Weaver (Zary, from J& P)
This climber floribunda has so many blooms it’s crazy. A warm coral-pink with bountiful clusters of blooms. Each stem is a full bouquet. The rebloom is quick. When I go into the garden wanting to snip a few blooms for a friend, I can always count on some blossoms from Dream Weaver — pretty much always in bloom.
This is one of the few roses that I love so much, I bought a second one.
Heritage
I’ve had this rose for 20 years. Incredibly beautiful blooms, elegant and deeply fragrant. Yes, I know that the blooms don’t last long, but I love them. There are always a few blooms on this rose bush. I just bought a second one because the first is now 20+ years in my garden, and I don’t want to be without this rose. Another old friend.
(I have Nahema on my wish list. Her lovely blooms remind me of Heritage.)
Florentina. ~~~
So, so BEAUTIFUL. Charming chalice-shaped blooms of a fabulous scarlet hue. Masses and masses of blooms. Hundreds at one time, seriously.
In three years, this rose became enormous: 8 feet tall with long arching canes extending out 6 to 7 feet! Covered, absolutely covered in blooms. I now have two of them.
I transplanted the older plant, with its thick trunk and huge root system that was too much to dig up — and I was amazed at how quickly she settled into her new location. This transplanting took place in summer, and Flo is doing great. She’s a beauty.
Betty Prior
I never thought I would love a five-petalled rose. But Betty was here when I bought the house, and she was a darling, floriferous workhorse. The numerous (very numerous) buds were deep magenta, and then the blossoms would start changing to light pink as they opened and matured. A kaleidoscope of hues, a hundred or more blooms at one time, fabulous.
This rose bush became enormous, with a thick trunk like a small tree, and huge canes. Betty was constantly in bloom. She died (along with 6 other roses) when we had 4 weeks of hot weather in March/April 2015 followed by severe freezes and an ice storm in May.
I miss her.
6 & 7. Apricot Nectar and Fragrant Lavender Simplicity are doing superbly—lots of rich color and fragrance.
Lady of Shalott is coming along nicely, planted less than a year ago. She stayed strong despite arriving tiny (7 inches tall from Heirloom Roses for $50) during an extended heatwave. And then popped out some magical blooms.
After three years, my own-root Belle de Londres (aka Compassion) is finally producing more than 2-3 blooms a year — and the very fragrant blooms are ENORMOUS. Classically beautiful in form. Spectacular.
I have a soft spot in my heart for The Reeve, a David Austin rose. One of the first roses I bought when I got started in 1998. A soft lavender/pink with a round shape like peonies and a swooningly strong scent. At this point (25+ years later), he’s become spindly and not that productive, but he’s a familiar friend in my garden. He brings me joy.
Q
Mass grower
Q