Rose Stories

Since Christmas has come and gone, I have been working on my garden lists…

Seeds to buy. (So far I’ve ordered several packs of Sonata Mix Cosmos and Cannes Mix Larkspur-great rose companions!)
Perennials to add. (I totally want more peonies!)
Annuals to add. (I’m looking at the new ones out!)

And, TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT ROSES TO ADD!

With a moved tree I found a bit more sun and am happily finding roses and companions to fill that sunny spot!

On order so far are 3 Mother of Pearl roses from Roses Unlimited. Look at these blooms!

mother-of-pearl-a-bouquet-on-a-stem

Photo courtesy of Marci Martin.

Pat Henry of Roses Unlimited is lovingly caring for them until ship date in late April! I fell in love with this rose at the Biltmore in September. The experience of seeing an entire section filled with this beauty was enhanced by my friend Marci Martin standing beside me regaling with stories of how beautiful and healthy this rose was in her Connecticut garden last year. I was sold! Marci could sell me most anything! 😃

Listen to Marci tell her story …

David Austins coming to my garden…

desdemona_3_4

Desdemona

A medium size, fragrant shrub. These peach pink buds get to me! In an interview with Michael Marriott a few weeks ago, I found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with this one!

More details here.

the_ancient_mariner_1_1

Ancient Mariner

Medium size shrub, disease resistant shrub with strong fragrance. Because you can NEVER and I mean never have too many pink roses. Ad says “masses of blooms” on this one. A pink, blooming machine … SOLD!

More info here.

maid_marion_1

Maid Marion

Small, disease resistant shrub with light fragrance. More info about the rose here.

ROSES BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER…

As you know I love the stories behind rose names, so I wanted Maid Marion in my garden. At the helm of this story behind the story of the rose name is none other than my friend, Marci Martin. Marci had this rose named for someone very special. It’s a rose story you don’t want to miss! Read about Marion here.

Thank you Marci for all you did to make Gayle’s dream a reality.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

So, you’ve seen the roses I am adding so far this year. Is there one that you think I need on my list? Please leave me a comment and tell me about it!

In the meantime, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY. Wishing you love, flowers and perhaps some chocolate!

This summer I received a huge gift from my Instagram friend, Holly Hagy. I “mentioned” that I would love to have a start of a found rose–Barbara’s Pasture Rose–that I had heard about several times.

I’ll let Holly tell you her side of the story…

I got started on Instagram in December of 2014. I had been thinking of doing a blog, to find a way to connect with more folks, to talk roses, gardening, cooking decorating and just plain life! I found Instagram and boom, the blog became IG instead…which is still a blog, but in a snippet of a phrase and a photo.

It’s a great fun way to connect with people who have the same interests! I started following Teresa B. On IG and she started following me too…😀

One day, I posted a photo of an old, found rose I had bought at the SCC (Sacramento City Cemetery) sale, many years ago…Barbara’s Pasture Rose, this is a rose Barbara Oliva, one of the founding caretakers of the Sacramento Cemetery found. One day she and friends were driving in the country and there in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere, no farmhouse anywhere around, was this big beautiful blooming pink rose. Barbara said “stop the car” and braved a barbed wire fence to take cuttings of that rose. And it’s a good thing she did because the rose is now long gone from that field!

Anyway, Teresa posted she wanted this rose. I knew she could not get it easily in Indiana, so I offered to root one for her! I was so nervous if my cuttings would even take, but a few did … and Teresa’s baby rose was sent to her.

It made me so happy to share a rose with her! To me, this is what gardening and roses are all about…making new friends and sharing roses! I try to offer cuttings at both the rose societies I belong to…and whenever anyone likes one of my roses that is a found rose or a hard to find rose.

Holly Hagy

THE ARRIVAL…

Well the California baby rose came to Indiana the first week of June and it was in perfect shape. If you ever wondered how to ship a rose, take a look at what Holly did.

She shipped Priority Mail and the baby rose arrived just like this…

Barbara this summer as she grew on my deck potting bench...

Barbara Today…

She is inside out of the cold and will be ready for a big pot next spring! Believe it or not this little rose bloomed this summer. One pretty pink bloom but it was during a rain storm and it was beat down before I took a picture. But, there will be more to come.

I cannot tell you what Holly’s gift means to me. Although we have never had the pleasure of meeting in person, I think of her every time I look of this rose. I am hoping to say “thank you” in person some day. I will never meet Barbara in person this side of heaven, but her legacy lives on and I will never forget her. To read more about Barbara and her legacy, read on here and here.