Memories of Spring

The roses have bloomed and crisped, and the spring flush is already a memory. But its beauty endures, in my mind's eye as well as in these pictures, imperfect though they are.

Zéphirine Drouhin has been one of my most impressive roses this spring.



A couple of years ago, I had to cut it down to the ground because a tree fell on top of it, breaking all the canes. It was an experiment in extreme pruning that fortunately turned out really well.



The rose came back very vigorously....

It took only a year to climb through a tall juniper a few feet away

.... but didn't bloom much last year, preferring to grow its long canes. This past winter, I tied all the canes in rows parallel to the fence and hoped for the best.  I wasn't disappointed.

My only alba, Félicité Parmentier, has been growing very slowly but blooming handsomely. Each year there are more and more blooms on its few canes. They smell wonderful and last for quite a few weeks in half day shade.

William Shakespeare 2000 is another big favorite of mine. My two grafted plants come from David Austin Roses.

They are planted on both sides of my driveway and get regularly whacked by passers-by, neighbors, delivery men and kids on bikes. For all that, they look impressive, bloom generously and stay healthy.



Shön Ingeborg, having finally been put in the ground after two years in a pot, has rewarded me with a very generous flush. Quite a few buds crisp and fall off  (my William Shakespeare 2000 roses do that too), but what does open looks wonderful. The bush is very healthy too.

I have tried a few of John Clements' roses over the years, and find them as variable and unpredictable in growth habit, disease resistance and bloom quality as David Austins. Magnificent Perfume is so far one of only two (Imagine being the other) that I feel are here to stay. Magnificent Perfume mildews a little most of the time, but it is vigorous, and the blooms are gorgeous.

'Benny Lopez' has been very lovely this spring. On its own roots, it suckers readily though never straying far. It is healthy for me and the blooms are always well formed and fragrant. Benny's only drawback, which it shares with a few cluster-flowering hybrid perpetuals and such, is that often the first bud, surrounded by a cluster of secondary buds, has no room to open properly. But as you see, there are still plenty that do open well.

After four years of being a restrained 4'x4' shrub, my Jude the Obscure (grafted from David Austin) started throwing longer and longer canes.  It seems to be on a determined mission to reach the moon.

I cut these canes back quite severely and my bush started branching and spreading sideways enthusiastically. The blooms have a heavenly fragrance for which I will always keep the rose, but they last a few hours, and the rebloom so far is not generous at all. It does stay healthy for me.



I aways find it so hard to set the exposure to capture the tender embrace between the fair Sharifa Asma and the dark Ebb Tide. Both of them are healthy, fragrant, and generous with bloom, besides being some of my most mannerly roses in terms of growth habit. True soulmates.

I acquired 'Lundy's Lane Yellow' because it is a found rose (I love the mystery) and because of a glowing description in Vintage Gardens catalog (always a big inducement to buy). In its second year, the color of the blooms has become richer and more nuanced, but the foliage has started to mildew :(. I am still trying to decide whether to keep it or not.

I confess that I grow Hermann Lindecke chiefly because it is a rare rose. There are good reasons why this particular rose is rare. It is easily the sickliest in my garden (mostly rust), not very vigorous, and the blooms are not really distinctive in any way (for me at least). They are pretty, fragrant and open well, and that's about it. Thankfully its diseased foliage is not very prominent because  the beautiful chartreuse leaves of a large feverfew clump are all around it.

Pat Austin is exuberant, as ever. It is true that its blooms fade in seconds and afterwards linger rather longer than they should,  but it is a keeper in my garden for its bright good cheer, fragrance and clean foliage.

The spring flush is now over, and most roses are resting. The task of deadheading has been daunting, and a few of my large climbers (Mme. Berard in particular) set hips long before I found time to bring in the ladder and pruning shears. Perhaps I will do better next spring :)