Roses for Thanksgiving

'Granada' is a rose that meets almost all of these requirements. A repeat-flowering Hybrid Tea, 'Granada' has stunning, large, multi-coloured flowers in pleasing blends of yellow, pink, red, and gold, and is a prolific bloomer. Right now, in October, my 'Granada' is flowering just as furiously as it did in summer. And 'Granada' has a wonderfully rich spicy scent, one of my favourite scents of all the roses I've ever smelled. In fact, this rose won the Gamble Award for Fragrance in 1968. On the negative side, (although mine has been fortunate enough never to experience it so far), 'Granada' is listed as being prone to mildew.

Another of my favourite Hybrid Tea roses that is currently blooming is 'Ingrid Bergman'. This vigorous, disease-resistant rose bears large, bright red, fully double flowers, remarkable for their colour and velvety feel, has a sweet spicy scent, and has won a host of awards and accolades. Botanica's Roses describes it as "wonderful", saying that it's "worth a place in any rose garden". Enter "Ingrid Bergman" in EveryRose's search form to see excellent photos of this rose that is everything a rose should be.

And, of course, I have a 'Peace' rose, currently covered with blooms and buds. The picture of my 'Peace' rose accompanying this article is a very poor representation of the spectacular beauty of this rose's blooms, a fascinating blend of yellow, cream, and pink with perfect Hybrid Tea form. You'll find much better photographs by entering "Peace" in EveryRose's search form. Botanica's Roses calls 'Peace' a "masterpiece" and it's impossible to disagree when you see this rose in full blooming glory. It has a lovely delicate scent and has won numerous awards. On the negative side, 'Peace' is susceptible to black spot.

Finding Roses That Match Your Criteria

Roses are such long-lived perennials and full-sized roses are such dominating plants in the garden that its worthwhile to find out as much as you can about a particular variety before you decide to enter a long-term relationship. Local nursery people are often excellent sources of information; he or she are often rose experts themselves, or know of a local rose expert you can ask. Books are another valuable resource; if you're only going to buy one, ever, invest in Botanica's Roses: The Encyclopedia of Roses (1999, Raincoast Books, Vancouver). This lavishly illustrated text with a foreword by David

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4