Spending sunshine

[hrj]

I had a delightfully decadent day yesterday, although I feel like I wasted some of the sunshine. I picked up SK then doubled back to Regan Nursery to do some serious plant shopping. Picked up a replacement for the one miniature tree rose that died, plus a Rosa alba "Maiden's blush" which they claim dates to 1740, although that's not a typical name for a variety that old. (My rule of thumb when buying roses is to look for strains that are at least 100 years old.) Also two replacement blueberries, a couple of English lavenders, oodles of strawberries of five different strains, and a few ordinary herbs. (If I plan to get any of them into the ground before xrian appears for apprentice day I need to get out of bed soon.) Then it was back to SK's place for a French chocolate tasting. We only got through a small fraction of the contents of the two boxes she brought back from Paris, stopping between each taste to cleanse our palates with fresh fruit and hot milk. With a baguette and brie we called it an actual meal. And now it's gray and gloomy again, but not wet quite yet.

Comments

Cuisse de nymphe

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

Your rose has a more interesting name in French.

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

I look for classic roses, too, but sometimes I am just attracted by the color or scent. Many of the stuff you mention is too unhappy in the heat (except the lavendar, which dislikes my sinuses, or they dislike it), so I just don't mess with them.

Do you have a list of the roses you have in?

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Do I have ... (dissoloves into maniacal laughter). Have I ever mentioned that I have an information-organization fetish? I keep a log of every plant I buy (where, when, what), where (on my carefully mapped yard grid) it was planted, and when it died or was removed.

My general rule for plants is they have to either be smelly, delicious, or both. For roses, I have a couple that I bought just for looks (and the four mini tree roses in the knot garden aren't fragrent, since that doesn't seem to be an option), but mostly they have to have a strong scent. Fortunately, overlapping "old roses" and "smelly roses" creates a very large set.

Currently, I have:

Bourbon roses:
- Coquette des Blanches (1871)
- Eugéne de Beauharnais (1838)
- Reine Victoria (1877)
*died* Madame Isaac Pereire (1881)
*died* Louisa Odler (1851)

Damask Rose
- Ispahan (1832)

David Austin (modern)
- Wenlock

Hybrid Tea
- Bewitched (modern -- very fragrant)
- La France (1867)

Rosa alba
- Maiden's Blush (1740)

Rosa chinensis
- "mutabilis" (<1890)

Rosa corymbifera
- var.? (1838)

Rosa gallica
- "offincinalis" (1310)

Rosa rugosa
- a' Parfum de la Hay (1901)

Tea rose
- Monsieur Tillier (1891)

Shrub rose
- Sunny June (modern)

also the four miniature tree roses, all modern.

I've never gotten to the point of going to a specialty source for old roses, this is just from several nurseries that tend to get some old ones in along with the modern hybrids. And, of course, I have horrible problems with rust, black spot, and aphids. But I persevere.

[gunnora.livejournal.com]

I have a specialty source for you, the Antique Rose Emporium.

We have a couple of ARE branches in Texas, so the roses will not faint from the heat in your area.

I like all the bourbons myself. My favorites so far are either Mutabilis or Mermaid (1918), but Mermaid needs 30' in all directions, she gets HUGE. If you like Mutabilis and don't mind a modern rose here and there, try Joseph's Coat (1964, both shrub and climbing varieties), which does the same color-changing but in the warmer yellow-to-red range.

I also like a found rose, Caldwell Pink which, since it was taken from a cutting of a rose found in tiny Caldwell, Texas, has no exact provenance or date.