Rose Season

It was a good year for roses in my neck of the woods.

From those very first buds in April, it was fun to watch in anticipation and excitement as my roses started to bloom.

Earlier last week, I was out back with my coffee on my morning walkabout, admiring their beauty and literally stopping to smell the roses. Because roses have that effect on people.

I got curious about how roses came to be cultivated, so of course I asked the itnernet about it. I was surprised to learn that people have been cultivating roses for thousands of years; some of the earliest recorded examples are from China where they were used in the making of perfumed oils or for medicinal purposes. Egyptians used roses for their baths and to scent their rooms, and across the empire, Romans grew roses in public gardens which is one theory of how roses then spread into Europe in the Middle Ages.

All of the roses that are grown in gardens today stem from a few roses that were orginally from Asia, and over the centuries, those roses were then crossbred with the native species in Europe and America. In addition to wild roses – those that can be seen growing in the underbrush of forests or scrambling along barbed-wire fences in the countryside – there are two other classifications of roses: Old World Roses (anything introduced before 1867) and Modern Roses (which includes hybrid tea roses).

I currently have five varieties of roses growing in my backyard, and like they have for other gardeners throughout the centuries, they bring bring me a tremendous amount of delight and joy. So today I thought I would celebrate them by telling you a little more about each one of these beauties.

Kimberlina

I like to joke that ‘Kimberlina‘ was my gateway rose because she was the first rose bush I planted in my backyard many years ago. She is a floribunda rose meaning her flowers grow in clusters on a single stem and often repeat bloom throughout the season.

I can attest to the fact that this beauty is a tough, resilient, and reliable bloomer that can withstand Oklahoma’s harsh growing condidtions. I love the pale pink color of her simple, old-world type blooms that open up to reveal the pistil and stamens. The bees love this about her as well.

In addition to this traditional floribunda rose, I also grow four varieties of David Austin roses. These special roses started out as a passion project for their namesake, David Austin. He loved the old-world roses most, but he also admired the wider color range and disease resistance of modern roses. So he had the idea to cross to two types of roses to create a completely new style of garden rose.

I became acquaitned with David Austin roses when my daughter was working as a floral designer after college. With their elegant shapes and lovely frangrance, these beautiful roses are extrememly popular for weddings and other special occasions. But they are equally popular as a garden rose thanks to their gorgeous blooms and disease resistance. Below is a little more about the four types I have in my yard.

Oliva Rose Austin

‘Olivia Rose Austin’ was named for David Austin’s granddaughter and has sweet buds that open into beautiful, cupped rosettes with a delicate, fruity fragrance.

I planted this variety rose three years ago, and this year she has really taken off and produced a plethora of pretty pale pink blooms.

Lady of Shalott

If I was forced to pick, ‘Lady of Shalott’ is probably my favorite rose in the yard. She starts out with the most most beautiful salmony-pink color in the center and then her outer petals fade to a golden yellow over time.

I also love her subtle warm scent with just a hint spice.

The Alnwick Rose

Named after a garden in England, ‘The Alnwick Rose’ has lovely cupped shaped blooms in a warm pink shade. I have grown this beauty in a large pot on my patio for a few years and she has performed incredibly well through the seasons.

She is a reliable repeat bloomer with a traditional old-world fragrance.

Golden Celebration

If you are looking for the perfect yellow rose for your garden, I can highly recommend the bodacious, buttery blooms of ‘Golden Celebration’. And in addition to be being one of the largest flowers, it has one of the strongest scents.

Although it is currently listed as a shrub rose, I bought ‘Golden Celebration’ as a climbing rose and have it growing on a trellis on our fence. It is also is a reliable repeat bloomer, but in the spirit of full disclosure, this rose is more susceptible to Black Spot than any of my other roses. It could be due to the fact that it gets less airflow around the leaves since it backs up to a fence, so I treat it regularly with a copper fungicide which seems to keep it under control.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my roses as much as I enjoy growing and photographing them. I also hope that this post encourages you to try them in your garden. Despite their somewhat delicate blooms, roses are incredibly tough and resilient and relatively easy to grow. A beautiful combination if you ask me.

Love, Kelly