The Rose Report

Even tough guys need a jacket when it's chilly.

It is 50ish but feels 45.

I freely admit my objectivity is in short supply when it comes to my garden. Naturally, I assume everyone is on pins and needles waiting to hear the latest developments.

Three days of cold rain did in what was left of my peonies and my "big pink rose" bush is sodden to the roots. Lucky I took some pics before the deluge.


Zepherine Drouhin, aka, the big pink rose bush. Apart from it's tendency to get really big, this is a near perfect rose. Thornless, doesn't seem possible but it's true, a prolific bloomer, very fragrant.



Ok, maybe the foliage could be a tad darker. Nothing is perfect. It is a beautiful pink though.

This one is called Tamora, beautiful color and fragrance. Thorns but not dangerously so. Fragrant.

My white rambler, Ilse Krohn, launched a growth spurt this year. Those copper spikes are 8' tall.


I feel she is just begging for an arbor. Hmm, Father's Day is around the corner...



Good fragrance, creamy white buds, dark foliage. a few thorns but nothing your leather gloves can't protect you from.

"Will to Live"

Over the years I've tried several climbing roses in this spot. None of them did well so I dug them up and planted a rhododendron and an inkberry. Then one summer day, a few years back, a couple slender rose canes were gracefully draped across the tops of the rhody and the inkberry. I went back behind the bushes and there was this rose bush reaching up. Admiring its spirit, I let it stay, gave it a name and some support which it promptly outgrew. No fragrance to speak of, some thorns, and not much of a re-bloom, but it is making an admirable effort to disguise the window air conditioner.



Fairly new to the garden. Jackson and Perkins' Yellow Simplicity. It should do well in this sunny spot.

Just about every garden in New England has a "Fairy Rose" bush. It is just starting to bloom.

I have a couple more roses, but they'll be in the next report.

Do you keep a garden? Pots on the deck? Anyone else have a thing for roses? What is your favorite garden flower?

Thanks for reading,
Linda Pakravan

if you'd love to have a home you love coming home to, contact me!

This post was not sponsored by Jackson and Perkins.