If you were to look up ‘Rose de Rescht’ in a book or on another website, you’d probably read that this rose was discovered and collected by a prominent rosarian near the Persian city Rasht (spelled differently in French, apparently, and now in Iran). A bit of history like this can fire the imagination, and…
How do species roses compare to the ones hybridized for gardens and cutting? Very different, but beautiful in their own way, I’d answer. Have a look at one of our native roses, Rosa woodsii: It has <gasp> only five petals. Calm yourself. This isn’t a mistake. The garden has one set of rules, and nature…
Recently, I’ve been talking to anyone who will listen about why we (rose gardeners) need to take control of our own hobby and safeguard the many garden-worthy, heirloom and unique roses that are no longer offered “in the trade”. Think about this for a minute: we have over 2000 years of rose cultivation under our…
Even if you only know me casually, you’ve probably caught on that I’m a bit of a plant geek… I mean, more than just the roses, tomatoes and squash. In fact, my real expertise (at my day job) is regarding perennials. I’ve learned a lot there about how to grow each crop to finish for…
As I write this post on roses and thorns, I have a song stuck in my head. I wish I were classy enough to instead be reflecting on one of these famous quotes on the topic: Anne Bronte wrote “But he who dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose” and Alphonse Carr…
It’s a good thing that my hobby is neatly divided into seasons. It gives me time to forget how foolish I was to buy and save all those seeds last year, and how hard pressed I was to find warm places to germinate them. My wife Lisa (who I may have mentioned having the patience…
