Veilchenblau was introduced in 1909 with claims that here, at last, was the blue rose. Alas, it is not blue: rather, the flowers open purple and pass through shades of lilac and mauve and then to pale lilac grey – but, in that last stage, it is as close to blue as any rose gets. I am assured you can, sometimes, see the odd old flower that could be described as blue without bending the truth too far. I am yet to see it.
It seem like ages since I wrote a post and it is ages since I wrote one of my Rose of the Week posts. I was very slack last year. I dropped the ball. I got it into my head that no one was interested in my rose posts so I lost interest in them. This is notwithstanding every day a number (and some days a large number) of my rose photos are copied and the posts are regularly visited.
Don’t let these pretty photographs fool you. I have had this rose for about five years and this is the first Barbra Streisand flower I have seen.
Phew… I am glad I got that off my chest. Continue reading
Charles de Gaulle is a lilac/mauve Hybrid Tea rose. It is considered by many to be the finest Hybrid Tea in this colouring. Continue reading
Day 3
It’s rose season, again, and the first off the rank for this year is Elizabeth Harkness.
Looking at how beautiful this rose is, I wondered why I hadn’t noticed it before.
My reading revealed a few reasons. Firstly, I read that this rose is best in cool climates which the summer in the South West of Western Australia is not. Secondly, its beautiful blooms tend to fade to an ivory (read “off”) white as the temperatures rise. So, during the heat of the previous summers when I have been seeking a pretty rose to photograph, Elizabeth Harkness would not have been at her best. Continue reading
Adolf Horstmann is not a rose I can recommend. I am not sure whether Adolf Horstmann doesn’t like the Western Australian climate (hot and dry), needs a bit more pampering than mine gets, or whether it is just that my bush is a dud. Whatever the reason, my Adolf Horstmann is the most miserable of all my roses. It is small (about 20cm tall) spindly and regularly sports dead wood and black spot. Continue reading
I have started this post three times and each time it has been titled something different. The first version was Orange Silk (which is what this rose is labelled in my garden) but Orange Silk is not a variegated rose and this rose most certainly is. Continue reading
Ooh … it has been so long since I did a rose post. These posts are called Rose of the Week and it has been more than a week since my last one. Sorry, I have been a bit slack.
Back to the task at hand … Make a Wish, as you most certainly would have guessed, is named for the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Australia which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. $1.00 from the sale of each rose in Australia is donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Continue reading
I am not a fan of Hybrid Tea roses generally, but I have a soft spot for Tiffany. If you are a fan, Tiffany should be in your garden. It’s a beauty. Tiffany has been, justifiably, very popular since its introduction in 1954.
This is a beautiful rose. I just love the soft rose-pink flowers but, geez, it is hard to find much information on it. What I do know is: this Summer Breeze, which was bred by Meilland (France) and introduced in 1987, should not be confused with the Kordes’ Summer Breeze which was introduced in 2000. The Kordes’ Summer Breeze is a vigorous climbing rose which has bright pink single flowers with pale cream centres. Continue reading
Passion Fruit Garden 