Here are some of my favorite roses (both from our Rose Walk in Heath and our new “Rose Alley”):

RugosasAlbasDamasks, Griffith Buck Roses, Farm Girls, Other Roses

 

Rugosas

Apart

Apart is possibly my favorite rugosa because it is the closest I may ever get to a cabbage rose. It is wonderfully fragrant. Like all rugosas it is also wonderfully hardy. It took a big hit the winter of 2008, but in 2010 it is sending  out new hardy babies, close to mom.

Belle Poitvine

Belle Poitvine is similar to apart, and did well in some shade. But that tree is gone now so she is thriving sweetly in the sun.

Mount Blanc Rugosa

Mount Blanc is a big lusty bush with gorgeous double white blossoms. Fragrance too.

Pink Grootendorst

Having Pink Grootendorst is almost like getting two flowers for one. I love the pinked edges of the frilly blossoms, similar to dianthus.

Corylus

Corylus is a low single rugosa, very pretty.

Mrs. Doreen Pike

This low rugosa hybrid was developed by David Austin. It has bright green typically ribbed rugosa foliage and double pink flowers all over the little bush. A good spreader – although sometimes in unexpected ways. Mrs. Doreen Pike is in the Shed Bed next to the chicken house.

Scabrosa

Scabrosa looks just like the standard beach rose if you ask me, and she grows just as strongly. I mow and snip and remove dozens of new shoots a year.

Therese Bugnet

I just learned that the way to pronounce this French name is Boo-nay.

Sitka

Sitka is an Alaskan rugosa that arrived from Japan more than 100 years ago.

 

Alba Roses

Passionate Nymph’s Thigh

Passionate Nymph’s Thigh was the first rose I planted, right next to the unused front door. I could not resist the name and never dreamed it would be so hardy to survive under the roof line, being beaten down by ice and snow all winter for 30 years. Passionate Nymphs obviously have what it takes!

Celestial

Celestial is a robust grower. This is an ancient rose and very fragrant.

Konegin von Danemark – Queen of Denmark

The Queen of Denmark never did very well and then I thought she died, but she sent a stronger shoot into the Rose Walk. She looks better all the time and even though she is out of line, I have been afraid to shift her.

Mme. Legras de St. Germaine

This beautiful white rose is still holding her own against the Scabrosa rugosa next to here. This was not an inspired arrangement on my part.

Mme Plantier

Madame Plantier is another beautiful white alba. I love the blush on the buds before they open.

 

Damask Roses

Leda

Because of her red buds and crimson margins, Leda is often called a painted damask. I have her planted in the Shed Bed where she is a strong grower.

IspahanIspahan often takes a beating during our Heathan winters and I have to cut back lots of winterkill. She is very tall (over 6 feet) and  she always comes back stronger than ever to be covered with beautiful pink blossoms.

Griffith Buck Roses

Applejack is the rose that greets people at the End of the Road. It is the first hardy hybrid that Dr. Griffith Buck developed at Iowa State University.
Quietness

I saw Quietness at the New York Botanical Garden last year and had to have her. I planted her this spring (2010) and we will see how she comes through the winter. She is certainly a serene flower.

Prairie Harvest

I don’t have many yellow roses so I couldn’t resist Prairie Harvest, growing on the Rose Walk near Ghislaine de Feligonde.

Carefree Beauty

I planted Carefree Beauty in 2009. The shrub isn’t very big, but the blossoms are big and magnificent.

Hawkeye Belle

I added Hawkeye Belle to the Rose Bank in the Spring of 2010. In 2012 she has many blooms, but I am worried about her foliage and general health.

Farmgirl Roses – these are the nameless roses given to me.

Mabel

Mabel is the rose we found growing under the huge snowball bush in front of the house. The bush is small, no more than two feet high, but it is certainly hardy, always sending out runners, especially now since we have given it more sun and air. The pink roses are fragrant. She is named for Mabel Vreeland who was our first neighbor in Heath and who aunts once owned our house.

Rachel

Rachel is named for Rachel Sumner, one of Heath’s grande dames. She invited me to come and dig up a root the summer before she died. This rose survived having tons of excavated soil dumped on her in Rachel’s garden, and she has thrived on our windy hill.

Purington Pink

Purington Pink came from Woodslawn Farm that has been in the Purington family for seven generations. It is a lovely rose with its golden center. It is very hardy and thorny.

Woodlsawn Pink

Woodslawn Pink also came from Woodslawn Farm and is probably a named rose. It does not have quite as long a history on the Farm.

Other Roses

The Fairy

The Fairy is a fabulous polyantha, with sprays of petite pink flowers in bloom from June through October. Maybe longer.

Harrison’s Yellow

Harrison’s Yellow is an old prickery rose, but so welcome in the early spring.

Meideland landscape rose

In our climate the red Meideland landscape rose did not get as spready as it was supposed to, but it has held in there for 20 years and more.

Thomas Affleck

Thomas Affleck was hybridized down in Texas at the Antique Rose Emporium. It blooms all summer and well into the fall.

Rosa setigera

Rosa setigera is only native climbing rose. When I groaned at the idea of making a support the man at Nasami Farm laughed and said most people just let it grow into a mound. It bloomed late and for only a short period, but the blossoms were really lovely.

Double Red Knockout

My camera doesn’t seem to like red very much, but the Double Red Knockouts are thriving on the Rose Bank. These are tough, hardy, disease resistant roses.

Fantin-Latour

Fantin-Latour is a little mysterious, but it is sometimes categorized as a centifolia.

Rosa glauca

Rosa glauca is the rose that gets the most attention at the Rose Viewing, not because of the roses, which are not notable as you can see, but because of its magnificent size (over 8 feet) and grace, and fascinating foliage.

Ghislaine de Feligonde

Ghislaine de Feligonde is listed as a climber. She is not doing any climbing on the Rose Walk but she is gaining in strength. She has sprays of small blossoms. I love the dark yellow buds and the golden flowers that become paler every day.

 

This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. chris

    Would love to see this collection of roses during your annual viewing. Some very lovely roses… Thanks for your kind post on my blog..

  2. Esther

    Passionate Nymph’s Thigh is the same rose that I would have seen as Cuisse de Nymph in France, right? I think that translates and the blossoms look right.
    I just found your web site and missed your rose walk by a week. Maybe next year.

  3. Esther

    Oh yes, and I think that rose is also called Maiden’s Blush in the US. I worked for Nashoba Winery for awhile in the retail room and they had a wine of that name. I had a whole story line…

    The apple wine got it’s blush from elderberry, which is also a good starting topic for spinning a tale.

  4. Carolyn

    I think the full name is Cuisse de nymphe emue.

  5. Pat

    Passionate Nymph’s Thigh goes by many names – in French and English.

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