Julia Child is a buttery yellow power blooming floribunda.
This beauty grows to about 2.5′ high and wide in my garden, but is only a two years old. Next year it may reach the 3′ the catalogs describe.
I first fell in love with this rose when Chris (redneckrosarian.com) shared and shared and shared pictures of his beautiful Julia’s. So I succumbed to rose envy.
This 2006 All-America Rose Selections winner did not disappoint … it produces very full fragrant blooms all summer long!
And, you know what I think about yellow in the garden … IT BRINGS THE SUNSHINE IN!
The evenings are very cool, leaves are falling way too fast, but many of my roses are doing great things! There is a lot said about the last rose of summer and much of it is sad. I tend to get sad as the days get shorter and I remember what winter is like in my neck of the woods. But no sadness today … many of my roses look great — especially if you don’t look too close at some of their late season “naked knees”! 🙂 Rose growers, you know what I mean!
Bill WarrinerCarefree WonderJulia ChildVoluptuousCarefree WonderComte de Chambord … SOOOO fragrant!Elle
Some of the companions are looking pretty good too since we’ve had so many wonderful rains!
At the end of the growing season I get a little frantic thinking about the long winter and start working on my list of roses to add to my garden next year. Click here to read about the preliminary list.
Before we even had the first snow I began to “weed” through my first list of ideas to get down to the nitty gritty of what I will add to the garden–armed with URLs and a stack of catalogs.
Here are the roses I couldn’t resist and have ordered for 2012!
Clusters of old-fashioned, cherry-red blooms with a dark pink reverse are proudly displayed non-stop from spring to fall above dark green, glossy foliage. With a relaxed, open habit, this shrub rose can easily get a bit wild, but a little pruning will ensure it dances only where you want it. This performer is extremely disease resistant. A natural for borders and mass plantings. Grown own root. Flower Size: 2-4″ Fragrance: Mild Hybridizer: Beales, 2006.
Grande Dame (Read about the one I planted last year … here.)
Everything old is new again … or is it the other way around? Here’s a clean mean flowering machine whose big bountiful beauties reek with old rose romance, style & fragrance. Each lovely blossom invites you to bury your nose…to swoon from the perfume of the ‘old time’ roses of your dreams. A big vigorous ‘shrubby’ bush whose nodding clusters, abundant deep-green leaves & low-thorned cutting stems provide a perfect touch to a landscape or bouquet.
This sport of the free-flowering Aloha climbing rose bears large, full blooms in a beautiful blend of apricot and salmon. Enhanced by dark, glossy green foliage, the flowers are borne in flushes all season and infuse the air with their strong fragrance. An easy-care, hardy, disease resistant climber that won’t take over and can easily be trained on a pillar. Grown own root. Flower Size: 4-5″ Fragrance: Strong Hybridizer: Beales, 1996.
This climber is a nicely manageable size just right for arbors and patios. You will love the soft color and subtle fragrance, not to mention the easy-care, disease-resistant foliage! Eden reaches 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
This minis have lovely blooms the color of medium pink icing on a cake. The flowers are borne in great abandon. One of the most beautiful of all pink miniatures. Excellent for garden or for show.
Just before our wonderful American icon left us, she selected this exceptional rose to bear her name. Julia loved the even butter gold color & the licorice candy fragrance. Yet it wasn’t just the old-fashioned blooms that inspired the recipe. The perfectly rounded habit, super glossy leaves & great disease resistance finish off the dish. An awesome AARS award winner.
Doesn’t that sound beautiful! Add to all that … my friend Chris, The Redneck Rosarian, shared picture after picture after picture of his beautiful Julia Child roses last summer. I was green with envy and just had to have some for myself. Did you see his pictures??? Take a look at his blog, then look in the mirror … you just might turn green too! Click here…
I rarely see a rose I don’t want but this year I am focusing more on disease resistant roses to eliminate the need for chemicals.
What about you, what are you adding to your garden this year?
In the fall I start getting a bit frantic … trying to enjoy my roses ENOUGH. ENOUGH to make it last. ENOUGH to make it last until next May. That is a lot of enjoying.
And, this is the time of year, I sit in my potting shed and begin working on THE LIST of roses and rose companions to add next year. I pour through catalogs, look at pictures from my garden and listen to the advice of others who love and grow roses.
My happy place.
Participating in Twitter #RoseChat and #GardenChat, I have real-time opportunities to see first hand what others from around the world are growing and hear all the good stuff and the challenges … making it even easier to put together THE LIST.
Paul Zimmerman highly recommends Mme Bovary from Delbard from Roses Unlimited. A lovely mauve rose with a great scent. And, Dublin Bay … a climbing rose. Very hardy, and it’s a true red rose; lightly perfumed with a repeat flowering later in the season.
Brooke Kroeger says Our Lady of Guadalupe is the best, most disease resistant rose she has ever grown. My neighbor has a couple of these beauties … spectacular even in the drought!
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Chris the Redneck Rosarian has tempted me all summer with pictures of Julia Child and Golden Celebrations. Two luscious yellow roses…
Julia ChildGolden Celebrations
My Bourbon Queen was so beautiful this year that I feel I need another one.
Bourbon Queen
And, my Roseraie De L Hay was so beautiful that I want more. Can you blame me?
Roseraie de l'Hay
Thanks to @Lara Lewis, I’m also taking a serious look at David Austin‘s, Munstead Wood. Munstead Wood was Gertrude Jekyll’s garden in Surrey where she worked on her many gardening books. I love Gertrude. Surely I should have the rose named for her garden.
It would be fabulous to add a few more minis roses from John’s Miniature Roses — like Cupcake and Seattle Sensation.
Just wait until the new catalogs start coming … THE LIST is sure to grow.
Yellow in the garden is sometimes controversial. I have had people tell me that they hate yellow in the garden! And some people love it.
FRIENDSHIP…
Julia Child
I’ve heard that yellow floral arrangements symbolize new beginnings, happiness and friendship.
Yellow roses stand for joy and happiness, but most of all yellow roses mean friendship.
Last year I lost a wonderful friend and mentor who loved yellow roses. When I see yellow roses, I think of her. Her favorite was Lowell Thomas. Lowell Thomas is not hardy in my zone, but I grow other yellow roses, like Julia Child, Gold Medal and Harison’s Yellow. When I see yellow roses, I think of her.
As for me, I love yellow in the garden–it “brings the sunshine in.”
