The David Austin English rose 'Rédouté' began blooming a few days ago. It's lovely. It has a gentle rose fragrance, a blush pink color to lighten up the goth corner (which it borders), and a friendly fat face of a bloom. It promises to be quite floriferous: a half-dozen blooms are open already, with another half-dozen budded and ready to follow. (The Japanese beetles, which just showed up in my garden yesterday, will have quite a feast. For now, 'Roseraie de l'Haÿ' seems to be their trap crop.) I really don't think of myself as a rosarian, since there are so many other flowers that I've lost my head over, but I am very fond of the roses that I do have. Just to think that this was a bare-root stick two months ago, newly planted by a ten-thumbed gardener—to see it now is just wondrous.
Not much of a rosarian myself, although I do love big, blowsy vases of them around the house. I have had many "rose people" confess that keeping roses isn't as difficult as perceived, especially the non-hybrids. I think they just like the perception that they can do what the rest of think we cannot!;)
Posted by: avril | July 12, 2004 at 11:03 AM
My rugosas have been the lowest maintenance plants of all, and such fragrance! You won't catch me going near a hybrid tea, though.
Posted by: Chan S. | July 12, 2004 at 11:24 AM