Sunday, May 05, 2013

Rosa 'Belle Isis'

Logic says that it would be a travesty to cut a rose bloom before it’s time. This would be particularly true with an old rose that is not remontant. This means that the rose in question, Rosa ‘Belle Isis’ blooms only once and then you have a green bush for the rest of the summer. And yet if you observe the bud you might notice its beauty. It is reminiscent of the filigree of the Acanthus mollis which the Greeks used as a motif for their Corinthian column capitals.

But other buds of Belle Isis will open in the next few days and the perfume of myrrh will go up into my brain like Keen’s Mustard and refresh me to the realization that life is good even if like many of those old roses we are not remontant either.

'Belle Isis' Parmentier Belgium 1845

A small to medium-growing shrub with tidy, upright growth and grey-green foliat. The flowers, which are fully double and open flat, are a lovely shade of pink and have a strong perfume.
Peter Beales Classic Roses

Acanthus spinosus