The Queen of All Flowers; A Rose Primer
From earliest childhood, I have memories of the flowers my mother grew in our garden. Snowdrops and crocus in early spring, sweet bi-coloured columbine in May and fountains of pink and red roses all summer long. As long as I've had a garden, I've grown roses. From those uninspiring, thorny canes sprout the promise of heavenly beautiful and often fragrant blooms every year.
~Rock and Roll Rose
Queen's Park
Now in a townhouse, I have space for only a few roses. But lucky me, I have only a short walk to one of the prettiest rose gardens in the whole city. I have to give much credit to the man that created the Queens Park Rose Garden as well as those who maintain it with love and attention. This garden contains roses of every shape and colour in the possible palette. From purest white through every shade of pink, apricot, yellow, red, mauve, burgundy; not to mention all the combinations of red or pink and white stripes. My favourites are the roses where the petals melt from soft yellow to pink to salmon....just like the most beautiful sunset.
~Archbishop Desmond Tutu Roses
~Cinco De Mayo Roses
~Living Easy Roses
Organic Growing Tips
If I could share a few bits of wisdom on growing roses, first it would be to pick a trusted variety for health and disease resistance. This can vary by region, so get opinions from knowledgeable gardeners in your area. Roses get all manner of bugs and problems so choosing well and treating them right will go along way in your overall enjoyment of your rose(s). The second most important thing is to meet their needs of good quality soil, something akin to a fluffy chocolate cake by liberally mixing in manure and compost. Also feed the soil, not the rose, which means using organic fertilizers like bonemeal, alfalfa, greensand, kelp and epsom salts. Of course, you can buy a premade mixture, but best to pick one with these kinds of natural ingredients. It's very important to pick an area with at least 6 hours of sun a day and good air circulation.
~Wild Blue Yonder Roses
~Julia Child Roses
~Poseidon Roses
Every time I walk through the rose garden, I take a moment to stop and stick my nose deep into a variety that comes in a soft red colour but does not have the most perfect blooms. Just like with people, sometimes we look past the imperfections to the hidden beauty, which in this case is the most delicious 'Fragrant Cloud' of sweet perfume you could possibly imagine. Aside from health and beauty, in my opinion, fragrance is a top consideration when choosing a rose.
~Fragrant Wave Roses
~Dee-Lish Roses
Happy sniffing!
