A commentary on what’s happening in the world of roses

Attached are a few photos of a single bloom cluster from my Noisette rose called ‘Lemon Zen’….after growing here in Tampa 6 years it is now producing, as it did in Denver, massive candelabra-shaped bloom clusters. This cluster had 60 blooms and buds!

I bred it in Denver under glass, in 1997 I think….I need to check. I love the parentage, (Rosa moschata X Graham Thomas), as it mirrors ‘Champney’s Pink Climber’ breeding of  (R. moschata X Old Blush) but with yellow vs. pink genes done over two hundred years later. The cinnamon-clove perfume of the mother, a Synstylae rose called Rosa moschata, aka ‘The Musk Rose’ , dominates the sweet scent of ‘Lemon Zen’ and provided the genes for the 5 petal bloom form and massive clusters. Each 2.5 inch diamter bloom opens a fair shade of yellow, fades to pastel by afternoon, and are cream colored the next day….I wish the yellow was more persistent. The smell is a nice spicy-sweet cinnamon-clove-China tea perfume…but it does not carry….you’ve got to lean in and sniff.

Photos by John Starnes

In Denver it was a cold hardy 7 foot tall pillar/climbing rose trained up rebar…here in Tampa it has been a true shrub rose from the get-go, averaging 5′ X 5′. In my xeric all-organic beds of rose test seedlings interplanted with veggies and herbs here in Tampa, as in Denver, it seems very disease resistant, and in winter it, thankfully, goes into a semi-dormancy period to build up reserves for the spring blast.

I am going to try again and root cuttings of it for testing in gardens other than my own.

This is the second hybrid rose I have bred from Rosa moschata that loves my Tampa yard, smells great, and is healthy here, so I will pursue this breeding line for sure. I hope future Noisettes of mine bear huge clusters like this one! Enjoy the pics.
John

You can view John’s website here.

Posted by Helene Pizzi, Rome, Italy

Hello to all you rose friends.

This rose-season is nearly at its end, and we can all look back on what has happened in our gardens this year, as well as how the roses have been doing in public gardens and even in the wild…

Often I wonder why the rose is without a doubt the world’s most loved flower, and then when I stop to look carefully at a rose – any rose – my question is repeatedly answered.

Last week to the day, I was at Tollcross Park in Glasgow.  The sky was overcast but the rain held off, and we judges didn’t get wet feet.

Photos thanks to Living In Glasgow website

The Glaswegians all, in a common chorus, complained about the rain, more rain and even more rain that they had all summer.  The city was decked in a million tones of lush green, the pyramidal flower containers, placed frequently all over the center of the city added bursts of bright colors to the sober grey stone buildings.  It was obvious that the vegetation had loved all that water that had poured from the heavens.  The roses too at Tollcross Park had no problems with the wet summer.

This year, generally, they were in better condition health-wise.  As they don’t use sprays, black spot, mildew, and those nasty things that roses are prone to get, sometimes have a hey-day, and here the disease resistant ones really prove themselves.  Probably because of the abundant water, and ideal humidity, with some sun, the roses in Glasgow were really good this year.

Water.  We need it, and we are in a situation, world-wide, that makes me shudder.  I look out here in my garden in suburban Rome as I write this, and unlike Glasgow, the summer here in Rome has been dry.  My lawn looks like a dry field, my roses are still…very still…waiting for cooler weather and water.  ‘Bloomfield Abundance’ is about the only rose that is cheerfully blooming.  My automatic watering system is having problems, and in my long absence, my roses have suffered.

Italy has had odd weather patterns – like almost everywhere it seems.  We had a very wet winter in Rome, and then no rain.  Instead I was in the Alps in June and it rained for 23 out of 26 days.  Turin was flooded and declared a disaster area.  I wonder how the roses in the south are faring with Gustav and the series of horrific hurricanes this year.

As the season closes, join me in thinking about how good the blooms were in early summer…did you see any wild roses when you were on holiday in the woods or mountains?

Now I shall go into the garden and pick a few sprays of ‘Bloomfield Abundance’ and place them in the house where I can enjoy their fragrance that is always intense at this time of the year.

‘Spray Cecile Brunner’ AKA “Bloomfield Adundance”

Photo Thanks to rose-gardens.com

I will take the time to look closely at a bloom and loose myself in its complicated perfection.  Whatever weighs on my shoulders always becomes lighter…and I am convinced that indeed it is good to be here in this ROSY WORLD.

Take a look just to the left and a bit below this column and you will discover a new addition to the blog, Pages. This section will be devoted to more detailed articles about roses. To start with we have posted three articles by Viru Virargahavan, who along with his wife Girija was our 2006 Great Rosarians of the World honorees. The three articles are the result of Viru’s life long research and open up a window to rose breeding for near tropical climates and his love and use of the native roses of India.

For the time being the articles are not accompanied by photographs but hopefully at some point we will be able to remedy this situation.  

Viru has focused his life on roses and is a wonderful writer, lecturer, and rosarian. It was very kind of him to agree to share with us his years of experience and devotion to the rose.

The About piece is about who else, but me. Read that one at your own peril! Every blogger has to have a section about themselves but the link to the About page under the Home link I just can’t get to work. Thanks to WordPress and their widgets I was able to get this new section up and running.

Over the next few months I plan to post a series of updates and news items relating to the upcoming Great Rosarians of the World IX program. We will be announcing some exciting additions to the programs and adding some surprises too!

While the schedules for both of venues are still being developed, I can promise you that the Steering Committee has decided to add some exciting new additions to our programs both on the West coast and East coast.

We will be inaugurating a new award, The Great Rose Gardens of the World Hall of Fame. This new award is designed to recognize outstanding public rose gardens worldwide.  Nominations for this have been solicited from our GROW honorees. To be considered for the award a rose garden must be open to the public (with or without a fee); display an outstanding or unique collection; be recognized as having an outstanding design or historical significance; and/or promote rose growing with educational outreach programs.

The purpose of the award is to develop a wider knowledge and appreciation of these garden treasures to the rose growing world and the gardening public and promote rose travel and tourism. 

Each year we will be presenting two awards, one on the West coast and the second on the East coast. 

In addition to updates for the program, I also am planing a series of blogs focusing on our previous honorees. I have interviewed our previous honorees and and will be posting blogs to catch us up on their lives and roses.

The Great Rosarians of the World Annual Lecture Series was established to honor and provide a forum for the men and women who could be considered treasures of the rose world. The concept was to invite a rose notable, someone who has made significant contributions to our chief love, the rose. Candidates are selected from among outstanding authors, horticulturists, and educators both nationally and internationally and then asked to present a program on their work and be honored as the Great Rosarian of the World.  

This program soon expanded from its original venue, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, to include a whole new audience of East Coast rose growers. In 2007 The Huntington and the Manhattan Rose Society joined in partnership to produce this lecture series on both coasts of the country. This coming year marks the ninth program in the series and the third in the new joint presentation.

After much discussion and deliberation, the Great Rosarians of the World (GROW) steering committee has decided this was the opportune time to jointly honor two outstanding Rosarians for their work promoting the love of roses and helping bridge the gap between two major factions in the hobby, Modern Roses and Old Garden Roses. Our two honorees have worked tirelessly both to promote their love of roses and bridge the differences between these two branches of the hobby. Both have been actively involved in local, national, and international rose societies giving freely of their time and energy to further the love of all roses.

Both of our honorees are active educators tirelessly speaking and writing about their love of roses and promoting the rose by their example and willingness to share their knowledge with gardeners world wide. 

The Great Rosarians of the World for 2009 are Marilyn Wellan and Stephen Scanniello.

Marilyn Wellan is the past president of the American Rose Society, and only the second woman to hold that position in the 116-year history of the ARS. Her work to transform the ARS and increase membership brought a new air of openness to the society, its publications, and its garden in Shreveport, Louisiana. Marilyn opened up the ARS, embracing exhibitors, novice gardeners, rose industry, and lovers of Old Garden Roses equally into the society. She has been a tireless promoter of her love of all roses traveling and speaking widely imparting her enthusiasm and knowledge.

Stephen Scanniello is the former curator of the acclaimed Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and now is the president of the Heritage Rose Foundation. He is a hands-on gardener who continues to work designing and maintaining private rose gardens across the country. He is the author of five books including Roses of America, 1990, and Climbing Roses, both with Tania Bayard, and A Year of Roses, 1997, Rose Companions, and Easy-Care Roses, 1995.

As president of the Heritage Rose Foundation he has overseen the growth of that society and its publication, Rosa Mundi, transforming the journal into a full color, glossy publication chock-full of interesting and useful information and research into the history of the rose.

Along with his books and numerous articles Stephen is a tireless speaker and travels widely promoting his love of roses and gardening.

Stephen and Marilyn have worked to bring together their two societies and with their joint cooperation the Heritage Rose Foundation under Stephen’s leadership has taken on the task of restoring the collection of historic roses at the ARS’s Garden in Shreveport.

Dates for the 2009 Great Rosarians of the World IX

To better accommodate bloom cycles on the two coasts we have decided to move our dates further apart this coming year.

The Huntington Botanical Gardens will host the 2009 GROW on Sunday, February 8 in Friends’ Hall. Although all the details have not been finalized there will be two sessions with a morning presentation by on of the honorees, a panel discussion with noted rosarians, followed by lunch, and an afternoon presentation. After the final program, guests are invited to a reception on the Garden Terrace. Ticket prices will be posted once the details are finalized.

The Manhattan Rose Society will host their GROW events on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6. This year’s venue will be the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Program details and ticket prices will be posted as soon as the details are finalized.

Help Us Get The Word Out

Now that we have dates and venues for GROW IX I am asking for your help.  You can pass along the information on our GROW website and blog to your friends and fellow rosarians and gardeners. Also let your local society’s Newsletter editor know about the program, they are always looking for news of upcoming events.  Consider getting a group together to attend one of the programs and car pool. Tickets for the West Coast program will go on sale in early November. East Coast tickets will be announced early in 2009.

Contacting Us — Click on the Highlighted Links Below

• For more information go our website Great Rosarians of the World
• Email us at info@greatrosarians.com
• Manhattan Rose Society
• For venue information and directions: The Huntington — Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Please forgive me in advance but sometimes a gardener just has to say what he feels!

This past week I was working with a group of new interns and had asked them and a gardener to plant some new ‘Tradestant’ shrubs in front of a marble statute of Bacchus. There was a small stump from a shrub we had removed but had not taken the time to remove the stump. My gardener and one of the interns were using their shovels like a “hand tool” and getting nowhere fast removing this stump. 

I looked around and spotted, what our gardeners call a ‘talache’, a combination axe and sharpened hoe. We use these just for this purpose and I pointed it out to the gardener. They hadn’t used it because they thought they would have to use a saw to cut through the thicker roots.

I picked up the ‘talache’ and with two quick swings I had the root cut and in a matter of a few more strokes the stump was out of the ground and no longer a problem.

This incident reminded me of a long time head-gardener, now no longer with us, who always tested his new interns by asking them to pick up a shovel and dig a hole. Nothing difficult, a simple task any gardener should preform without difficulty.

He pointed out to me, on one occasion, that you can instantly tell if the person is a natural gardener or not by this simple test. If the candidate takes the shovel and uses it like an ice pick they have no idea of how to use a shovel. But if they put it to ground and use their foot and put their weight behind it they are a natural gardener!

Yes, I have in the horticultural business for more than 30 years and got my training digging my step-father’s vegetable garden each spring, so I have practical experience but come on people, you go to school to learn this? Its not rocket science people!

An event that was a part of the Great Rosarians of the World East Coast program this year was an exhibit of botanical drawings and illustrations by Maria Cecilia Freeman. Organized by the Manhattan Rose Society and the Horticultural Society of New York. Hidden away on the 13th floor of their West 37th Street offices and library the exhibit was and outstanding representation of Ms. Freeman’s work.

The exhibit was organized by Gene Waering, Manhattan Rose Society Vice-President and incidental Ms. Freeman’s cousin. For me one of the high lights of the exhibit was her drawing of ‘Knock Out’ which just happened to have been hybridized by our 2008 honoree, Bill Radler.

At the dinner that evening hosted by The New York Metropolitan Rose Council and Pat Shanley, Steve Hutton, President of Star Roses presented a framed portrait of ‘Knock Out’ to Bill. In case you haven’t heard ‘Knock Out’ is now the number one selling rose in the world and Hutton was thanking Radler for convincing his firm to take on this new line of roses before anyone had heard of them.

Another of Ms. Freeman’s drawings was of the rose ‘Golden Threshold’ hybridized in Southern India by Viru Viraaghavan. Viru and his wife Girija were our Great Rosarians of the World in 2006.  Viru has been working to introduce a line of heat tolerant roses that will thrive in the dry and heat of the south of India and other similar regions of the world.

The exhibit at HSNY was only up for a short time but for those who missed it in NY you can see examples on Ms. Freeman’s website. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and they are holding their national meeting at The Huntington October 28 - 31.

The next event in our yearly celebration of the 100th anniversary of The Huntington Rose Garden will be held on Sunday, September 28 at 2:00 PM in Friends’ Hall.

Our speaker will be Michael Marriott from David Austin Roses, UK.  

After graduating in Agricultural Botany at Reading University in 1976 and working for a short time in research in plant pathology, Michael went to the Pacific region working on rubber, cocoa and oil palm estates. He started working with roses in 1984 and on his return to the UK, joined David Austin Roses in 1985 firstly as nursery manager and more recently as technical director giving advice, drawing up rose garden plans, writing, lecturing and generally promoting the nursery and David Austin’s English Roses around the world. He has been a passionate gardener and plants person from an early age and maintains a half acre garden that is treated organically.

Michael will be speaking on “Landscaping with Roses.” His program will illustrate the work he has done both in the UK and around the world showing gardeners how to effectively use English and other shrub roses and incorporate them into the contemporary garden.

The program will be held at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California on Sunday, September 28 at 2:00 PM. There is a $10.00 charge for Huntington Members and $12.00 for non-members. Advance reservations are strongly advised as seating is limited. Reservations can be made either by writing to The Huntington, Attn: Clair Martin, at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108 or by email or calling Clair at 626.405.3507.

Click here for driving maps and more information on The Huntington.

This is a great opportunity to hear a fantastic speaker and get the latest information on using English Roses in the landscape.

This is the centennial year for The Huntington Rose Garden. First planted in 1908 as part of the original Huntington estate, the garden was designed by Myron Hunt, architect of the house, and William Hertrich, Mr. Huntington’s Superintendent of the Gardens. Placed on a gently sloping site just west of the house the garden allowed the Huntingtons to stroll through the roses and spring flowering bulbs planted in abandon on the acre and a half plot.

Rather stark but about half of the metal arches still exist as does the white marble bench which can just be seen at the center of this photo. Hertrich searched up and down California for large climbing roses to plant and settled for just one cultivar Climbing Mlle. Cécile Brunner which gave the garden a spectacular spring bloom.

They even built an Aviary for Mrs. Huntington’s bird collection. Located between the flag pole and what would later become the Rose Garden Cafe and Tea Room it occupied the same space as the current Tea and China Rose collection.

Now the rose collection occupies only a portion of the original site. Reduced by the removal of all the north-south metal arches and the portion extending east from the central rose dome for the placement in the early 1930s of the Tempietto, the collection was later changed from a display garden with a small collection of rose cultivars planted in masses of 100 or so to a collection garden with one or two of each cultivar planted in beds.

Original Photo by Dinah LeHoven

The slides in this blog are from a lecture I presented on July 12 to the Huntington’s Membership on the history of the garden organized as part of the ongoing celebrations of the Rose Garden’s Centennial. We had a sold out audience and after the program Rose Garden Docents, Volunteers, and I met the members in the Rose Garden and had a great chance to chat about the garden and roses in general. It isn’t often that I get the chance to talk to members and other than the heat it was a lovely morning in the garden.

We are planning other events as part of the centennial celebrations including three Members’ Summer Evenings in the garden. The first on Saturday, July 19 will focus on the Roses from China. The second on August 2 will focus on the Gold Rush Roses and the final evening will be held on August 16 and we will talk about the Old European Roses in the collection. These Member’s Summer Evenings start at 5:30 PM and run to 8:00 PM.  There will be music each evening from 6:30 to 7:30 PM and you are encouraged to bring you “friends and wine” and picnic in the designated area or purchase your meal from the Patio Grill. Members are encouraged to bring guests for a $5.00 admission fee per person.