Judith’s Corner - March, 2003

    From now on, I’m planting my roses in threes. This is a radical departure from my scatter-shot strategy of “just plant the darned thing somewhere!” This is also very good news for the local nurseries, since it means I’m going to have to buy two more of everything I have--eventually.

    I know, I know--this is an extreme plan, which will take time, and money, to implement. I don’t see a way around doing this, though, if I really want to see my roses.

    I’m finally beginning to figure out how to look at roses--I’m evolving from the early phases of sensory overload; rose lust, rose greed, and rose blur. I’ve begun to notice details and nuances, and when it comes to color, massing color has the greatest, and most satisfying, impact on my eyes. And, the smallest number for creating a “mass” of roses is three.

    This would be a good time to learn to propagate, no? I do want to learn how to do that, but I’ll probably keep buying nursery grown roses for my yard. It’s that instant-gratification thing.

    Have you ordered a catalogue from David Austin Roses? They’re still mailing their 2002 catalogue--the 2003 won’t be out until Fall. English roses are especially gorgeous, and the heat and reliability of our summers bring out lush fragrances that they don’t get in the UK. The catalogue is beautifully, and irresistibly, photographed. Several of the varieties are available in local nurseries. You can request a catalogue at www.davidaustinroses.com., or at 1-800-328-8893. Guaranteed to take your breath away!

    Janet Coleman is a nurse/administrator at The Commons, and she’s putting together a plan for a rose garden there--a BIG rose garden, with wheelchair and walker accessibility, and an emphasis on fragrance. She’s starting from bare ground, and she’s getting several of the residents involved in the planning and selecting. Nifty--stay tuned for updates!

    Wanda and Alex Smith-Valencia have 350+ roses at their home in Fruita. Our June program is going to be a field trip to their place, with a chance to wander and ask questions. Plans for a potluck/BBQ are in the works--mark your calendars now! Details in a future issue.

    We’re having program attendees fill out a survey about roses in their gardens, and so far, nearly everyone is planning to put in more roses, despite drought fears. Several people have turned in rose maps--we have very interesting gardens in this group, and I want to visit every one!

    Hope to see you at the meeting on the 25th--I have Japanese Beetle horror stories to share!!! (Mar. 03) Four Roses Make All-American!  This year’s “academy awards” for roses go to  four terrific roses that have thrived in every climate of the All-American Rose Selection test gardens. The winners for 2003 are: Hot Cocoa. Floribunda with a novel, brownish-             orange bloom/chocolate and rust             overtones. 4” blooms. Striking mass.  Eureka. Floribunda with 4” apricot-yellow             old-fashioned blooms/glossy leaves.  Whisper. First classic-white Hybrid Tea to get             AARS award since 1980. Very disease             resistant. 5” blooms on single stem. Cherry Parfait. Grandiflora has white petals              with broad red edging. Excellent             container plant.

Fairmount Red, an OGR for Coloradans

    Fairmount Cemetery, founded in 1890, is located at the intersection of Alameda and Quebec in Denver. While it isn’t exactly a public rose garden, the cemetery’s 250+ acres is home to many hundreds, if not thousands, of Old Garden Roses growing amongst the gravesites. One rose in particular, Fairmount Red, has become available from High Country Roses in Jensen, Utah. The rose, discovered by John Starnes, and growing next to a grave for Willie M. Rollins, is a shrub of unknown origins, but is probably a Hybrid Perpetual, and can reach 8’x’8’ in size. Once blooming in late-Spring, the shrub produces gloriously fragrant crimson-magenta cabbage style roses. Deadheading may prolong the bloom time.

    Several GVRS members have expressed an interest in growing this historic rose, and we hope to make a trip to Jensen this year to do a group purchase. If you have an interest in this rose, please let Janet Coleman know, and we’ll keep you posted on our plans for bringing the roses into town. High Country Roses will have another rose from the cemetery, Fairmount Proserpine, available in the Fall--we’ll tell you more about it as the year progresses. An online Google search of “Fairmount Red” or “Fairmount cemetery” (be sure to include the quotation marks) is absolutely fascinating--the roses in the cemetery are a stunning collection, and many may be one-of-a-kind. Consider a rosarian tour of the cemetery the next time you get to Denver.

    Old Garden Roses used to be hard to find locally, but former GVRS President Tracy DiPaola worked relentlessly to change that. She had much success with Meadowlark Gardens, (2259 Broadway) which added an excellent variety of OGRs to its rose inventory. Her influence can be seen at all the local nurseries--thank you, Tracy

    High Country Roses can be reached at www.highcountryroses.com., or at 1-800-552-2082. Later this year, in the Fall, we hope to schedule a group excursion to this fabulous rose nursery! We’ll keep you posted. (Mar. 03)

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