In the Rose Gardening World, Our Lady of Guadalupe is a lovely pink Floribunda with 25 petals. Our Lady of Guadalupe Rose blooms are complemented with reddish green leaves and very healthy. It is prolific bloomer and as good if not better than Knock Out roses in my garden.

When it was first introduced, only Jackson and Perkins carried it for a while with part of the sales going to a charity. It is such a lovely rose in the garden. I had two bushes planted in the middle of a formal garden with six roses on the same bed. On one of my Ice Cream Socials at my garden in New York, I showed the rose to the priest who was attending the Ice Cream Social. I also had two American Beauty roses, the priest’s favorite rose on the bed and two Brother Cadfael roses, another pink rose. The priest decided to bless the bed and the whole garden.

The following winter, we had a very harsh winter and lo and behold, the roses in that bed all died except Our Lady of Guadalupe. I then replaced the four roses with John Paul II, Brother Cadfael, Glamis Castle and Tess d’Urbervilles. When we had the Ice Cream Social again the next year, Fr. Burns was back and I told him the story. He could not believe it and told me he would tell his mother who loved to garden.

The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is Dec. 12. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico. Our Lady of Guadalupe dates back to the 16th century, when, according to tradition, an Aztec Indian named Juan Diego had a vision of the Virgin Mary in December 1531 who identified herself in Spanish. The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe generated the conversion of Mexico, Central and South America to Catholicism. Indeed, Our Lady of Guadalupe became an integral part of Mexican life and a central figure to the history of Mexico itself. The three most important religious celebrations in Central and South America are Christmas, Easter, and December 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Her appearance in the center of the American continents has contributed to the Virgin of Guadalupe being given the title “Mother of the Americas”. After the Spanish Conquest, Diego was one of the first converts to Christianity, according to believers. He was canonized in 2002, making him the first indigenous American saint.

Tip of the Day – Share your time, treasure and talent to help others.

Until next time. Stop and smell the roses.

Rosalinda