‘The Pilgrim’ rose hybridized by David Austin and introduced in 1987 is
not named after the pilgrims in Massachusetts but the pilgrim in Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales. Parentage is ‘Graham
Thomas’ x ‘Yellow Button’. It grows 4 ft tall x 5 ft wide and up to 10 ft
as a climber. Its perfectly formed blooms are quite large, shallowly cupped, rosette-shaped
and up to 170 petals. The beautiful yellow color pales towards the edges of the
blooms, giving a charming softness that is rare among yellow roses. The soft
green foliage complements the soft yellow blooms. It has a delicious medium to
strong Tea and myrrh fragrance. The bush is quite healthy and repeats very
well.
In warmer areas, it is a good idea to do summer pruning to keep the plant
upright and bushy. It is superb as a climber, one of the best English Rose
climbers. It will quickly reach some height and still produce flowers and
leaves lower down on the plant which is rare among climbers.
Tip of the Day – Learn how to cook one awesome meal to make those
dinner parties much more special. (Not just on Thanksgiving).
This
exhibition quality pink blend Hybrid Tea is a winner of the All-America Rose
Selections Award in 1994, Portland Best Rose in 1998 and the Gamble Fragrance
Award in 2003. It is white with raspberry pink edges and is both excellent on
the show table and garden display. It is a medium, moderately thorny, bushy
plant with an upright habit, semi-glossy dark green leaves on long stems and
produces lots of large high-centered blooms 4 to 6 inches across. It grows 3 to
5 ft tall and 2 to 3 ft across. Blooms come on single stem or in clusters of
three or four. Blooms are double (30 to 40 petals) and tend to get larger in
cool weather.
Secret is a
generous performer giving blooms from late spring to early summer and repeats
through to fall. It can be used in beds and borders and if you need lots of
fragrant blooms to share with others, plant Secret in the cutting garden in
threes so the plants look bushier. It has a strong, spicy fragrance. It is
winter hardy and has good disease resistance. Who says modern hybrid tea does
not have any fragrance? Secret can perfume a room with just one bloom.
Tip of the Day – Be around
positive people who do positive things.
‘Pristine’ has the delicate look of porcelain, you’ll be tempted to feel the petals to see if it is real. The bloom is high-centered, double (30-35 petals), large – six inches across and somewhat ruffled. Most often, it comes singly on a long, thick stem although quite thorny, with large, dark green glossy leaves. It is a very vigorous plant and very disease resistant. It can be used for cut flower or for garden display. It has gathered enough trophies to be a favorite among exhibitors.
The tapered
bud opened white to creamy petals blushed with light to medium pink on the edge
of the petals and displaying orange-yellow stamens in the center. Fragrance is
light. Habit is quite tall and spreading, from 4 to 7 ft. tall and 3 to 6 ft.
wide. It tends to spread its canes sideways so prune it to inward-facing buds
to discourage sprawling. It blooms continuously throughout the season. The best
location for this rose is in the back of the border. Good companion plants are
pink flowered plants and some blue stately delphiniums. For regions with harsh
winter, it requires winter protection.
Tip of the
Day – Keep your desk and work area neat and clean.
After two
years going through the toughest tests in their test gardens across the
country, the All-America Rose Selections had a winner for 2012. The 2012 only
AARS winner is Sunshine Daydream hybridized by Meilland International
and introduced by Conard-Pyle Co./Star Roses.
Sunshine
Daydream is a butter-yellow grandiflora with
lighter edges and an ovoid bud form that turns into cup-shaped flower as it
opens up. It is complemented with dark green, glossy foliage on a round and
bushy plant, 5-1/2 ft tall and up to 4-1/2 ft wide. Sunshine Daydream
has a large flower size with about 25-to 35 petals and blooms continuously from
spring to late fall. Disease resistance is excellent including blackspot. It
has no fragrance.
For a great flower color and bloom production, Sunshine
Daydream surely is a winner to all rose lovers and gardeners. Sunshine
Daydream’s sunny color will brighten any garden. I planted one in front of my
house and it is the only yellow rose in that flower bed.
Tip of
the day – Never invest more in the stock market than you can afford to lose.
I hear it all the time that rose is difficult to grow and yet the Hildesheim Rose, (Rosa canina commonly called dog rose) is estimated at approximately 1,000 years old. It is said to be the oldest rosebush in the world. It is the one climbing the wall of the apse of the Cathedral of Hildesheim in their courtyard at Hildesheim, Germany. It is a symbol of the city of Hildesheim and its prosperity. According to the legend, as long as the rose keeps blooming, Hildesheim will not decline. During World War II in 1945 allied bombers destroyed the cathedral yet the rose not only survived the bomb attacks but it grew new shoots just a few weeks later and soon was growing strong as ever. It has withstood war, drought, pestilence and poison gas to bloom serenely every summer against the Cathedral wall.
There are several mythical explanations of the origin of this rose. The most appealing story is that of Emperor Louis who became separated from his men while out hunting for deer. Night was falling and the snow was blowing fiercely about him as he hung his crucifix on a thorn tree, knelt and prayed for help. Worn out from his exertion he curled up in the snow and slept. The next morning, he awoke to find his crucifix hanging from a rose tree in full bloom. And through the leafless forest he saw his men walking toward him. In thanksgiving he built a chapel on the spot. The chapel grew in size until it became the great Cathedral of Hildesheim against which the rose still blooms.
Tip of the day – Don’t miss the chance to ask your grandparents questions before they die. They are a great resource of valuable life lessons but ask before it’s too late.
‘Gemini’ is always a winner. It won the 2005 Members’ Choice Award from the American Rose Society. It also won the AARS 2000 award. It has all the qualities that exhibitors love – high-centered large blooms, 5”-7” in diameter, double (17-25 petals), and elegantly formed. It has a lighter tint in the spring and gets darker hue as it progresses through the season. The light pink color with a darker hue on the edges is so beautiful. No wonder it always captures a place at the Court of Honor of a Rose Show.
Gemini produces plenty of exhibition type blooms on a tall, bushy plant (4-6 ft high x 3 ft wide). Most often, blooms come singly on a long, thick stems with large, deep green glossy foliage. This rose looks great in the garden and in a vase. It also lasts a long time in a vase. If you have one space in your garden, try to get Gemini. It will capture your heart as it does most judges at the Rose Show.
Tip of the Day: Set short term and long term goals.
Jubilee Celebration was named in commemoration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. It has lovely rich pink blooms with tints of gold on the underside of the petals. The blooms are large, pleasantly cupped above an attractive glossy foliage and blooms continuously. The rose is very healthy, vigorous, 4 ft. x 4 ft. building up into a fine shrub.
The scent of the young flower is almost pure lemon zest, later becoming a delicious, fruity rose fragrance with hints of fresh lemon and raspberry. It is an excellent rose throughout the US including the challenging hot and humid climate of the south east. Winner of the fragrance prize and people’s choice in Glasgow, Scotland.
I planted my one plant in a raised bed. It gets plenty of morning sun and shade in the afternoon and seems to be happy where it is.
Tip of the day – Commit yourself to constant self-improvement.
Constance Spry, introduced in 1961, is one of the first English Roses hybridized by David Austin and its success contributed to the founding of the English Roses. David Austin Roses is a flower arranger’s dream. They can be used to make wonderful floral arrangements either on their own or with other plant materials. With its voluptuous blossoms and dainty habit, you can duplicate the beauty and charm of an Old Dutch floral painting.
Photo Credit – David Austin Roses
Constance Spry can grow to a height of 6-12 ft. with a width of 6-8 ft. or 10 to 18 ft. as a climber. Bloom size is 3” with a petal count of 80+. It has a lovely pink color and very fragrant. The only drawback is it only flowers once in the spring but it blooms profusely.
Photo Credit – Flower Magazine
Who is Constance Spry?
Constance Spry is the mother of modern floral design. She would have loved to use David Austin Roses for her floral arrangements. After World War 1, she changed the formal, rigid composition of floral design with unconventional pastoral compositions; flowers arranged asymmetrically with assorted shapes of foliage in various types of containers. She used all kinds of wildflowers, grasses, pods or practically anything the Victorian ladies shunned. Her style was full of drama and a refreshing reprieve from the more staid, stiff floral design of her contemporaries.
Photo Credit – Pinterest
Connie, as she was known to her friends, was born in Derby, England, in 1886 and raised in Ireland. She found refuge from her domineering mother in the gardens of her childhood, where she began to take note of what would become her favorites: old garden roses, lilac, mock orange, laurel, buddleia, and evening primrose, as well as grasses, weeds, and other typically overlooked plants and materials.
Though flowers and gardening would be her lifelong passions, under her father’s direction she began her early professional life as an educator and social reformer. Traveling by horse-drawn wagon through the Irish countryside, she became a proponent of healthy living, educating housewives on the benefits of fresh air and nutritious food as part of a “War on Consumption” campaign. After a disappointing marriage to a coal mine manager, she took her only son back to England to begin life anew. It was there she met and fell in love with Shav Spry, a colonial civil servant who would be her lifelong companion.
It wasn’t until the age of 41, that Spry’s amateur talents as a floral designer were noticed by an influential lunch companion, leading her to Norman Wilkinson, a theater designer whose encouragement would launch her meteoric design career. With a commission to do flowers for cinemas and a perfume shop, Spry took her unorthodox visions of gathered materials and artful references out of the homes of friends and into the public eye, where she was praised for displays that in an incredibly modern twist included leaves, berries, seed pods, wild clematis, and golden hops mixed with exotic orchids. Her fate was sealed.
Suddenly this middle-aged woman found herself thrust into the social scene, befriending legendary decorator and fellow entrepreneur Syrie Maugham and an exuberant crowd of theatrical personalities and social luminaries. She became the florist of choice to London high society organizing the flowers for royal weddings. She designed the flowers for the Queen’s wedding and Coronation. Her books on flower arranging made her a household name.
Photo Credit – Antiques-Atlas.com
Besides being an influential floral artist, Constance Spry is the founder of the Cordon Bleu cooking school and an author of a bestselling cookbook bearing her name.
Tip of the Day – Turn your passions and interests into a career.
Syns: R. banksiana, Banksian rose, Banks’ Rose, Lady Banks’
Cultivated since 1796
Rosa banksiae is one of the best shrubs for a wall and in a few years will reach the top of most houses. It produces an abundance of pretty small roses with the sweetest fragrance you can imagine. The flowers are borne on last year’s wood and so it is well-advised not to prune in the spring. Only dead or useless branches have to be trimmed. The date of introduction is not known but the double white form was first described in the Botanical Magazine for 1818 as Lady Banks’ Rose and one of the sweetest of roses. It has also been known as a native of China and had been introduced in 1807 by William Kerr. The double yellow was introduced in 1824.
Definitely not for the small property, this vigorous species rose offers a spectacular spring show in warm-climate gardens that can accommodate its rampant growth habit. There are four different forms of R. banksiae, varying by flower color and flower form.
·R. banksiae normalis is considered to be the “wild” form, with single white flowers.
·R. banksiae banksiae (also known as ‘Banksiae Alba’, R. banksiae alba, R.banksiae alba-plena, White Banksia, or White Lady Banks’ Rose) offers exceptionally fragrant, double white flowers.
·R. banksiae lutea (R. banksiae lutea-plena, Yellow Lady Banks’ Rose) is the most well-known form of Rosa banksiae in cultivation with small, fully double, bright yellow flowers that come in clusters. They are only slightly fragrant.
·R. Banksiae lutescenshas single light yellow blooms.
All four have small, oval buds that open to clustered, 1-inch wide, rosette-form flowers, usually blooming in early or midspring to late spring. Slender, thornless canes carry semi-evergreen to evergreen, shiny, dark green leaves with narrow leaflets. They are rarely bothered by diseases.
All four forms of this specie rose have a vigorous, rambling habit and can grow up to 30 ft, so they’re usually used as 20 to 30-foot climbers. They need a sturdy support, such as a well-built pergola or arbor; they also like to scramble into trees. It is a great rose for zone 8 to 10.
I saw Rosa banksiae in Charleston, SC on my first visit there in 1989. We went on a House and Garden Tour and at one of the gardens we visited, ‘Yellow Lady Banks’ was growing almost to the roof of the house against the wall. We wandered along some tiny street and I saw ‘Yellow Lady Banks’ rose by the gate and I took the above photo. Fast forward to 2011 – when I joined the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society, I discovered the owner of that rose is one of our members.
Tip of the Day – Learn to be cheerful even if you don’t feel like it.
Not until late nineteenth century when a French breeder named Pernet-Ducher introduced ‘Rosa foetida persiana’ as a pollen parent to breed the first yellow and orange colored large-flowered rose called ‘Soleil d’Or’ did gardeners take notice of this rose coloration. That was a significant event.
‘Austrian Copper’ is a sport of ‘Rosa foetida’ that has been cultivated as early as the 12th century in the Arab world. It is native to Iran and Afghanistan and it is not Austrian in spite of its name. It has single blossoms, 2” in diameter of bright coppery red with yellow reverse and bright yellow stamens. Its color is eye catching. The rose is so beautiful when the sun is shining behind it. It gives such luminescence that’s so magnificent. The petals are very fragile and heavy wind will knock the petals off easily. It is not fussy about soil and can be grown in poor soil as long as there is good drainage. It is winter hardy and requires little care. It is a vigorous grower and it suckers. It can take over a large area if not controlled. It has long, arching canes that can reach up to 8 ft. and can be trained to climb trellis, pergola, fence or even trees. It only takes a couple of years for the plant to reach 6 to 7 ft. high and can grow as high as 20 ft. When trained horizontally, they develop lateral shoots which will be covered with flowers the following season. Flowers arise from old wood so pruning should be done after it finishes flowering. It is a once bloomer, in late spring or early summer for 2 to 3 weeks.
Most often, ‘Austrian Copper’ will sport back to ‘Rosa foetida’. It is a stunning plant and every garden should have it. The only downside is it is susceptible to black spot so separate it from the rest of your roses. For rose exhibitor, this rose is eligible for Genesis Award.
Tip of the Day: Eat your veggies. They are good for you.
‘Sally Holmes’ rose was introduced in 1976 and is a cross between ‘Ballerina’, a hybrid musk and ‘Ivory Fashion’, a Floribunda. It is a single rose of five petals with bloom size of 3” to 4” across with yellow stamens. ‘Sally Holmes’ rose is classified as a shrub but it is so vigorous, it can easily be grown as a climber.
I have seen ‘Sally Holmes’ rose at a friend’s front yard and it is quite a sight. The rose grows all the way to the second floor. It has to be tied strongly to the wall for support. It can grown from 6’ as a shrub and up to 12’ as a climber with almost thornless canes. ‘Sally Holmes’ rose is considered a white shrub rose but her tight buds will appear light apricot maturing to white with a tint of pink at the edges. Foliage is glossy and very disease-resistant. It is also shade tolerant. It has a sweet fragrance.
If you are an exhibitor, it constantly wins awards at the show table. ‘Sally Holmes’ rose is truly an spectacular rose.
Awards:
Baden-Baden Gold Medal 1960
Glasgow – Fragrance 1993
Portland – Gold Medal 1996
Tip #41 – Judge your success by the degree that you’re enjoying peace, health, and love.
This pink grandiflora of 25 to 30 petals is aptly named in honor of the Tournament of Roses, the famous parade of all times held annually on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California. Tournament of Roses is an AARS selection in 1989. It is sometimes classified as a hybrid tea because of the shape of its flowers although it is really a grandiflora.
Bloom size is 3.5 inches on long stem with light fragrance. The blooms have all shades of pink within them – deep pink in the center, pale pink at the edges, darker pink on the outside. Tournament of Roses blooms profusely in clusters of 5 to 7 blooms like a floribunda on a medium upright bush with glossy dark green leaves and large prickles. It is highly disease-resistant and easy to grow. It produces blooms well into the winter. Tournament of Roses is both an excellent rose for exhibition and garden rose with plenty of blooms to enjoy outside in the garden and to take indoors to enjoy.
Tip #39 – Don’t accept “good enough” as good enough.
Photo Credit – David Austin Roses
Stop and Smell the Roses - Stay Healthy and Stress Free 
