American writer Gertrude Stein once said “A rose is a rose is a rose,” suggesting that “it is what it is,” in modern parlance. However, there is evidence that roses existed 32 million years ago. Clearly, the plant has changed over those millions of years — first, by the power of Mother Nature and later by explorers, horticulturists and gardeners, who discovered the magic of hybridizing.
My own view of the rose has changed radically over the years. Early on I had very little experience with roses, which seemed to be bushes that owners were always pruning, and fussing with pesticides. I had no interest in fussing over an uptight bush with poisons in my hand.
When we were preparing to leave New York City for Heath in 1979, I read “Onward and Upward in the Garden” by Katherine S. White, the wife of E.B. White, one of my favorite authors. Katherine was a great gardener and a wonderful writer as well. “Onward and Upward” begins with a chapter about Roses of Yesterday and Today, a rose nursery, as well as other garden catalogs.
Inspired, I immediately sent for my own Roses of Yesterday and Today catalog; thus began my fantasies of a rose garden on my Heath hill.
I wanted these antique roses for their beauty and romance, but they are also practical because they are hardy and resistant to disease. I had no desire to have demanding roses — or any other flower for that matter. The first rose I planted was Cuisse de Nymph, translated as Nymph’s Thigh, later expanded to Passionate Nymph’s Thigh, although some gardeners were too modest and called her Maiden’s Blush. The Passionate Nymph survived 35 years by our front door, right under the roof where she suffered icy winters with icicles falling on her. I gave her a very fond farewell when we left for Greenfield.
The rose walk began with roses like Rosa glauca, a truly ancient rose with reddish foliage and very small single pink flowers. Even though I eventually had many glamorous roses, most visitors to the annual rose viewing were particularly struck by this tall and unusual rose.
From the Roses of Yesterday and Today, I ordered roses that existed before 1799 like the candy-striped Camaieux; Belle de Crecy, which can take on a mauve tone; pink Celsiana; and the tall indestructible pink Ispahan.
Later, I planted more modern, but still old roses including some that came from China like Madame Isaac Perriere, a bourbon rose that did not bloom quite as extravagantly in Heath as it might have in a gentler climate. It is the China roses that gave hybridists longer blooming roses.
Roses are always being created by hybridization, to bend to fashion, but also to create hardiness. Griffith Buck, who became a professor at Iowa Sate University after World War II, created a family of hardy roses that were also disease resistant. Several of these roses are sold under the heading Earth Kind. One of my favorite Buck roses is Applejack. It bloomed and welcomed us all at the head of our driveway.
At least 30 years ago, Germany forbid the use of poisons in the rose garden. Kordes began to hybridize disease-resistant roses like the lush and creamy Polar Express, and pale apricot Lion’s Fairy Tale, which are thriving in my Greenfield garden.
Fashion continues to change what we want in a rose. Nowadays garden nurseries carry hardy Knockout shrub roses in many shades, as well as the new ‘landscape’ roses. These low-growing roses have a long bloom season. Sometimes they are called ground cover roses, which gives a clearer idea of the intent of the hybridizer.
Lush David Austin roses are understandably in favor. I enjoyed my years in Heath with the sturdy pink Mary Rose.
In my new garden, I have a tough red Knockout, and two low landscape roses, Oso Easy Paprika and a Peach Drift rose.
I only took one rose with me from Heath to Greenfield. This rose was a gift from the Purington family in Colrain. They had given me other roses from their old farm, but the rose I called Purington Pink was always sending out babies. It was easy to transplant some of those babies in Greenfield, and leave the mother bush to the new owners of our house. Purington Pink is a rose of friendship and could not be left behind.
I did not bring The Fairy with me to Greenfield, but I did buy and plant a new one. This pink polyantha is loaded with sprays of little frilly pink flowers, and it loves Greenfield.
I cannot grow any other roses now because roses do not like wet feet. Our yard is very wet and floods in winter and spring. The roses I have are planted in the limited dry area.
Local nurseries understandably have a limited selection of roses. I have bought all my roses from nurseries like Chamblee’s Rose Nursery, Antique Rose Emporium, and Roses of Yesterday and Today.
For those who are interested in roses and want to find hardy disease-resistant varieties, I want to recommend the book “Roses Without Chemicals” by Peter Kukielski. I met Kukielski a number of years ago when he was the curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden. He knows about lush, gorgeous roses.
Pat Leuchtman has been writing and gardening since 1980. Readers can leave comments at her website: commonweeder.com.