To Delight in a Rose

Given the state of the all current news (sour) and the economy (abysmal), and given the fact that outside my window as I write this, snow falls atop inches more of snow, I have to write about something colorful, something beautiful, and something that lifts my spirits (as I hope it does yours)—roses. Ah, yes, roses … life should be a beautiful bouquet of roses. Especially around this time of year, when the ground and everything surrounding it appears dead and brown, and the snow washes everything clean and white, and our eyes forget the riches of Nature’s beauty in the color that spring so lavishly brings. Yes, roses.

The roses I’d like to share are no ordinary roses. These roses are … my favorites, which mean these rosebushes are ones which have withstood the tests and trials of time in my backyard garden in Zone 6 Southwest Ohio. It also means these beauties have outlasted one very feisty old dog and her tricks and three young men who constantly test the roses’ durability with soccer balls and the like. These roses, Jennifer’s favorite roses, are ones that, with enough abuse, can survive and flower beautifully in any other garden, too—including yours. Of course, I’m being funny, but it’s true—these roses I’m listing below are ones which have bloomed in profusion despite everything I do wrong. I hope the photographs I paste in bring you a slice of fragrant springtime …

Jeanne LaJoie: One of the most beautiful roses I have ever seen. The two in my garden, I bought at the clearance table at a local nursery one year. They have produced abundant blooms every June and then throughout each summer and into fall. Both top out at about six feet tall, and send up new canes for even more blooms each year. Technically, Jeanne LaJoie is a Miniature Climbing rose. Click here to find it online.

Double Delight: This rose is one of the roses my grandmother loves most, and so I also planted it in my garden a few years back. Every rose seems to be different, with a unique and exquisite blending of cream-colored white and crimson red. Combining its looks with its captivating fragrance, this rose is a definite favorite. Mine has always remained somewhat small, and the leaves never look very attractive, so I’ve interplanted mine with other perennials, but the blossoms are amazing. Technically, Double Delight is a Hybrid Tea. Click here to find it online.

Tahitian Sunset: Truly, I have to say that this rose has been the one, besides the climbers, to continually produce oodles of blooms. Not only is it robust and its leaves are attractive, but it has a wonderful fragrance and is resistant to the blackspot that normally disrobes my other roses by mid-summer. But the best part is that I have had the pleasure of cutting a dozen long-stemmed apricot-colored roses from my single Tahitian Sunset rosebush. Many times. Amazing, in my mind. Click here to find it online.

Peter Mayle: This is my absolute favorite in the rose world—Peter Mayle. The fragrance on this Hybrid Tea rose is beyond that of any other in my garden, and the blossoms—well, the photograph speaks for itself. Heat has never seemed to affect its flowering, and a single long-stemmed rose lasts for over a week in a vase. Yes, this is the one I love most … Peter Mayle. Click here to find it online.

I would love to hear your stories and favorites from your yards. Please add as you like to the comments below. Enjoy the day! Looking forward to a color-filled spring-- Jennifer.