Sunday, April 30, 2006



 The naming of a rose can be the key to its success. I don't particularly like the ones that are named after contemporary and famous women. I would rather have the ones that are the namesakes of now obscure women. Who would Mme Pierre Oger be? I don't know, and I have a fondness for this sport of the more famous Bourbon rose, Reine Victoria. The only famous woman rose I own is Rosa 'Jaqueline du Pré'. It is as popular in my garden as 'Dainty Bess' and 'Fair Bianca'. Some rose names don't inspire. In the beginning I never cared much for a modern shrub rose, Rosa 'Westerland', which is a German rose hybridized by Kordes. I couldn't have it in my garden as it is orange in colour and my wife Rosemary does not like orange in the garden. But consider that this rose is extremely fragrant and its scent resembles (for me) that of apricot jam. So I bought it and planted it on our lane garden (not technically the garden). Rosemary has been won over and she, too, would not part with our Rosa 'Westerland'.