I prefer purple, pink or lavender roses myself. I absolutely love a Stirling rose with its intoxicating smell. I can still recreate that smell in my mind if I try hard enough. Another favorite of mine is an Osiana rose, it is a soft ivory-peach colored rose with a long stem and a high petal count. It is also very fragrant. Fragrant roses appeal to me a lot. I’ll be on the lookout for some of these while at the International Rose Test Garden in Portland Oregon during my Swan Island Dahlia workshop. At the Portland rose garden there are over 650 varieties and over 10,000 bushes—that incredible. Who knows, I may even look for some deep red roses or orange roses to photograph this year, it’s hard to say until I get there.
When I used to own my larger garden center, I spent hours looking at the Jackson and Perkins catalog, choosing the roses I wanted to sell. I had some favorites and some tried and true best sellers that always made it on the list, but I always managed to add a few more varieties to my order each year. I ended up taking over an entire section of the garden center with my roses. When customers would come in to buy a rose bush they would ask for me by name, the word in town was that I loved roses and could walk anyone through their first year with their plant.
One of the best parts of visiting a rose garden like the one in Portland is the myriad of roses and walkways that seem endless. For me it brings me back to my days when ordering, caring and selling roses was part of my seasonal work. This time I will savor the sights and smells a bit more…I will walk the garden with even more joy as the anticipation of a return trip has gotten my creative juices flowing.
Below are some of my past favorites, hopefully they brighten your day. Try to imagine the smell as you view each photo.
