Cultivated Roses

Classic Beauties

Cultivated roses seem to enjoy the sunny spots in our area. They grow nicely in our climate, especially if they get lots of sunlight and water in well-drained soil. We have various hybrids and old-fashioned climbers, and most do well. (Tropicana has been the exception for some reason.) Our soil does need to be sweetened for garden roses, however, as it naturally tends to be acidic on the western side of the Cascade Mountains. (Our wild roses seem to know no restrictions: they bloom well even in the shade in our woods, producing dark pink flowers. They bloom even more in the sun, producing many flowers of a delicate pink. We just can't lose!)

June is the usual beginning of blossom time in our garden, although more than once we have had roses continue to bloom through the fall and winter, and on into the spring of the next season! This happens only during mild winters, and with the roses that hug the front of our house, which faces west. The cheerful face of a bright red rose shining out during our gray-skied winter is one of the most delightful Christmas gifts I've ever been given. (Thank you, God!)

The rose family is a huge one, even restricting the definition within these pages to the flowering plants we consider roses (excluding the fruit-producing plants that are actually considered to be part of this group). Roses can be found in all degrees of cultivation, from the naturally free-growing wild roses through the "standards" to the ultra-sophisticated, genetically controlled hybrids. These plants range in size from exquisite miniatures only inches high, to free-standing plants that may be a few feet tall, to the rangy ramblers which can, given a trellis or fence for support, grow several feet in a season. Some varieties even lend themselves well to tree-pruning.

Most rose flowers range in color from white through a variety of yellows, pinks, oranges, and reds to a maroon that is almost black; there are many with blended tones, and hybrids are also being developed in more unusual colors. The actual number of petals can vary from one type of plant to another, with some, relatively close to the wild stock, having simple five-petal flowers. Most hybrids available now have two to four dozen relatively large petals, while the "cabbage" type of rose may have many more, although they are often small.

The scent of the rose is famous. What often surprises people, though, is the wide range of rose scents. Some roses (usually hybrids) have little or no scent--they're all show! Others have the familiar sweet scent that is copied (not always successfully) by perfumers. Wild roses have their own unique, delicate aroma. My favorite rose scent is that of a yellow climber that grew along my Grandma's fence in a small town in Washington State. This rose had a delightful, almost peppery scent. When hundreds of blossoms were out at the same time, the smell could be noticed all through the neighborhood. What a way to breathe! No wonder rose bowers have been a classic garden item for centuries.

Roses continue to be one of the most popular of cut flowers, perhaps the most romantic. Special occasions take on even more meaning with these graceful blooms, and throughout history poetry has probably spoken more of roses than any other flower. I'm sure that millions of rose petals have been spread by young flowergirls in thousands of aisles before the approaching feet of countless new brides.

Note: The rose shown life-sized at the top of the page is a hybrid, but has the sweetest, truest, strongest "old-fashioned" rose scent of any hybrid I've ever found. It also has the most thorns of any hybrid I've ever seen! I am looking for the name; we have had it several years and no longer have the identifying tag. (I do know it is not a Peace rose.) It may have the word "Summer" in the name. If you know, please tell me! Thanks.

Feel free to use any of my rose images for buttons or backgrounds on your pages, but please, please credit Diane's Designs for them, and place a link from your site back to that page or to this one. Thank you!