There are some people for whom a rose is a rosebush . I am not one of them . There are some multitude who get tired of taking care of roses . I am not one of them either . I think it is dependable to say that if I could stare at ‘ Buff Beauty ’ in full efflorescence each morning , I would be quite contented to squish aphid every Clarence Day for the rest of my life . With such a mindset , it is no curiosity that I get a thrill each January when I sit down with the new rose catalogue .
Rose vendors are drawn to themes and one of this class ’s predominate themes is red pink wine . White Flower Farm and Jackson & Perkins both feature red blossoms on their covers . ‘ Lovers Lane ’ ™ , J&P ’s top subject , is that company ’s “ Rose of the Year ” for 2002 . Like most other “ pink wine of the Year ” , it is a hybrid tea , with large pointed bud , mellow - pore flowers and long base . The new crinkle that make ‘ Lovers Lane ’ dissimilar is that the reverse side of the petals are silvery in appearance , making them seem almost reflective . ‘ Lover ’s Lane ’ joins two other new J&P redness , ‘ Cesar E. Chavez ’ and ‘ Habitat for Humanity ’ . The former honor the late labor leader and the latter lionize the humanitarian homebuilding establishment . In both cases , a portion of the take of the sale of the plants goes to a Jacob’s ladder associated with the honoree .
Wayside Gardens honors comedienne Rosie O’Donnell with her own new red pink wine . This wax , like ‘ Lovers Lane ’ , has a trivial something surplus on the backbone of the petals . In this sheath , the setback is white or ointment . ‘ Rosie O’Donnell ’ is also a hybrid teatime .
Every rosaceous devotee be intimate the name David Austin . The English rose breeder , now somewhere in his seventies , has revolutionized the rosaceous business with his “ English Roses ” . These plant , which combine the many - petaled forms , rich scent , and plushy growth habit of quondam varieties with innovative traits such as repetition blooming and disease resistance , have taken the rosaceous world by storm . Last year the Austin troupe expatiate into the U.S. , and now offers its own catalogue . There is nothing like competition to shake thing up , and in the last few days many major rose breeders , both in the United States and abroad , have explicate their own “ English - style ” roses . Harkness of England has introduce the “ English Legend ” series of rose wine . The great French rose house , Meilland , has introduce its own furrow , christened “ Romantica ” roses . Another Gallic breeder , Guillot , is selling its “ Generosa ” rose , which are very much in the “ English ” style . With the elision of David Austin himself , each of these rose breeders sells roses in America through one or more of the big catalog vendors . Not to be outmatch , J&P has start cover its own English - trend rosebush . This year the company has enclose ‘ Camisole ’ , a fragrant pale pink / apricot rose , and ‘ Guenevere ’ , which is whitened with a pronounced old rosebush fragrance .
One of the most exciting things to happen in the roseate world in the past several years is the rediscovery of the recent Dr. Griffith Buck , who spent his vocation as Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University . For days Dr. Buck spawn roses in relative obscureness , and he make some beauty , such as ‘ Silver shadow ’ , a sick , blue lavender rose , and ‘ Distant Drums ’ , which has lavender - pinkish flower petal and a burn golden center . Last year I buy ‘ state Dancer ’ , and it has become the centerpiece of my garden . The pinkish blossoms are huge and the petal color grows more acute the closer the petals are to the substance of the flower . Even citizenry who normally do n’t notice flowers at all exclaim over this bush . This year there are more Buck roses on the market than ever before . It might be impertinent to corrupt some before the whole world catches on .
Rose vendors are going out of their way to show the versatility of roses , feature an increased number of bush roses , climbers and older - fashioned varieties with relaxed growth habit . Mindfulof the fact that many people have limited spaces or gardens made up entirely of containerized specimens , vendors are show an regalia of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree roses , “ bedding rose wine ” that grow no more than 2 - feet tall , and “ groundcover roses ” that are design to mature out rather than up . The rosebush has been liberated from the dedicated rise seam and congeal free to roam around the garden .
As always , the hard part about perusing the rose catalog is attempt to prefer from among the many gorgeous specimens . The next hardest affair is enter out how to annex the neighbor ’ grand so I can install all the roses I want . If you have n’t already received copies , you may want catalogs from any or all of the following companies : Heirloom Roses , 24062 NE Riverside Drive , St. Paul , Oregon 97137 , ( 503)538 - 1576,www.heirloomroses.com;Wayside Gardens - The Complete Rose Catalog 2002 , 1 Garden Lane , Hodges , S. Carolina , 29695 , ( 800 ) 845 - 1124 , www.waysidegardens.com ; Jackson & Perkins , 1 Rose Lane , Medford , Oregon 97501 , ( 800 ) 292 - 4769 , www.jacksonandperkins.com ; David Austin Roses Limited , 15393 Highway 64 West , Tyler , Texas 75704 , ( 800 ) 328 - 8893,www.davidaustinroses.com .
