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ROSES beautiful ROSES

Roses have everything that makes a plant desirable in the garden - beauty, perfume, longevity, adaptability and variation.  No wonder the first thing many of us think of planting in our new garden .. is a rose. There is such a choice of varieties in so many shapes and sizes.  Rose breeders have given us many versions - ground-covers, minis, standard minis, climbing minis, low-growing floribundas, bush roses, tall shrub roses, standards and climbers --- there really is a rose suitable for every position in a garden, except shade.

This beautiful yellow rose "Helmut Schmidt" was the Rose of the Year in 1983 - its just a perfect flower! Modern hybridising has given us a wide choice of sizes in bright colours and good perfume.  Roses grow in most climates and in most soils but good preparation of a rose garden will give better results.

This beautiful shrimp-pink rose is named "Cherish" & is a floribunda with hybrid tea-type flowers

"Love", a grandiflora with quilled petals is  wonderful crimson white bicolour

"Honor" a lovely white with a faint pink blush

Planting and care of rose plants will vary from country to country.  Here in Australia bare-rooted roses are sold while dormant from about May to August  usually, although many nurseries seem to have them year round.  Roses are the undisputed favourite flower all over the world  and new releases come out every year.

"Peach Melba" has an unusual bronze tint...just beautiful.

"Orange Honey" is a mini rose

"Champagner" blooms in lovely creamy clusters.

"Shreveport" is fragrant and easy to grow

"Constance Spry" is reddy/pink with old charm and modern vigour.

This two-toned pink is called "Touch of Class"

A graceful arrangement of large pink roses and green foliage in a classical setting - to the right.  Roses look wonderful in the garden, in the house, anywhere!!

The full red blooms of "National Trust" and popular white bedding rose "Pascali" are hybrid tea roses. The birth of the modern hybrid tea was 1867 when there was a cross between the Hybrid Perpetuals and the Tea roses.  Garden manuals of the time devoted a lot of space to various methods of protection during the long cold winters of northern Europe. Today a hybrid tea is tolerant of most soils and situations, but needs to avoid draught.

The fragrant unfading blooms of "Korresia" in brilliant yellow are   produced in large clusters .  Blooms are well-shaped and have a pronounced fragrance. (on the left.) and  (below)   a floribunda-hybrid-tea type rose named "Bonfire Night" .  This has large clusters of beautifully formed, pale orange-yellow flowers that turn scarlet and have a lighter reverse - absolutely beautiful roses. Floribunda roses bushes seemed to come into their own in the 1940's

Troika is a first-class bedding rose. The  medium sized bushes clothed with deep green foliage support early blooms of orange-bronze with red shadings.

For a soft blush heritage rose you can't go past "Souvenir de la Malmaison" with its large blooms that last a long time. It has a wonderful perfume, and has been around for more than  150 years.  The soft blush flowers turn off-white in warm weather.

Some of the nicest roses are the apricot tones.  This colour is not found in old roses, neither is yellow.  In about 1900 after 15 years of experimentation, the first true yellow in modern roses appeared.  Joseph Pernet named it "Soleil d'Or" , bred from an old yellow persian rose.  This paved the way for more yellows and the apricots of today.

"Crepuscule" was bred in France in 1904 and produced an abundance of rich apricot blooms through spring and summer in Australia, on a climber.  It is a bit thorny though.   (left)

"Graham Thomas" is a rich gold and tall growing and looks good planted behind small growing apricot tones.   (right).

"Apricot Nectar" (left) is a lovely rose that deserves a sport in any rose garden. This rose has an alluring perfume and a perfect flower.

"Just Joey" has glowing colour and wavy petals.  It is a small bush and looks good planted with several of the same together.

There are many more apricot toned roses to plant and local nurseries should be checked to see what grows in your area.  A very romantic rose.

"Cymbeline" is a soft greyish-pink, very subtle and beautiful.  This rose was bred by David Austin. Feature this in your blue garden with 2 or 3 for effect.

"Lavendar Pinocchio" (right) was an early attempt at getting a blue rose, bred about 1948 in USA.  It has large trusses of fully double flowers which are a pinkish-brownish-lavendar.

"Blue Moon" is a modern hybrid tea and a lovely blue rose whose shades actually range from silvery lilac to lilac purple.

Hybrid tea "Peace" has bright yellow flowers, flushed with pinkish-red at the edges.  When picked, blooms last  for days without dropping petals.  It is a disease resistant strong healthy rose bush.  And its beautiful.

"Friesia" is a bright non-fading floribunda in yellow.

"Princess de Monaco"  (right) was named for the late Princess Grace.  This rose is lightly perfumed with flowers in large double ivory-white, with margins of rosy-pink.

"Paradise" is a bicolour hybrid tea and a lovely rose for any garden.

An Australian-raised hybrid-tea is "Megan Louise" a deep rose-pink in bud, opening to a lighter shade as the petals unfold.

This rose is very fragrant and performs well blooming early in the season and flowering through to late autumn.

"Mr Lincoln" is a perfect dark red with long stems and a damask perfume.  A rose that is the true symbol of love.

A top breeders choice is "Konrad Henkel", a lovely deep red.

"Kentucky Derby" is a velvety red with a black sheen, and a strong grower.

:Olympiad" is a fragrant red that grows well in both hot and cold climates. Truly beautiful blooms.

"Zephrine Drouhin" is a  fragrant Bourbon climber with thornless stems and semi-double carmine-pink flowers.  This type is part of the old-fashioned roses with a chinese influence.

"Compassion" is free-flowering and healthy.  Its fragrant orange-salmon blooms are in small clusters on this climber rambler.  This rose grows well on a trellis or arch and makes a lovely display. Climbers and rambling roses are tough and tolerant.

It would be very hard to name a favourite rose - they are all so beautiful. Plant several in your garden and enjoy the fragrance, the velvet petals and the gracefulness of what a rose is about. There are wonderful public and private Rose Gardens in various cities around the world, and any rose-lover would enjoy walking through them and checking out all varieties grown within.

THE LANGUAGE OF ROSES. Red Rose  -  I love you China  Rose - beauty always new Damask Rose - brilliant complexion Garland of roses - reward of virtue Japan rose  - beauty is your only attraction Burgundy rose  - unconscious beauty Cabbage rose  - ambassador of love Carolina rose - love in dangerous Deep red rose  -  bashful shame Dog rose  -  pleasure and pain Hundred-leaved rose  -  pride, dignity of mind Musk rose   -  capricious beauty Single rose  -  simp;licity Thornless rose  -  early attachment White rose -  I am worthy of you Yellow rose -  declining love ; jealousy A full-blown rose placed over 2 buds - secrecy White and Red rose together - unity Red rosebud  -  pure and lovely White rosebud  -  girlhood Moss rosebud - confession of love Rose leaf  -  you may hope.

What do to with the fallen rose petals, and the rosehips on your favourite roses?  Well click next and check out the pages on Miscellaneous uses for Roses.

Gardening - see more here

this site revamped 7 July 2007 Updated 10th May 2009