Roses: Fragrant & Symbolic

Despite their thorns, roses are the most popular flower. The rose has been a symbol of romance for decades. Roses are popular because of their beauty and fragrance, they are relatively hardy and easy to grow, they don't have to be replanted every year, many are repeat bloomers, and they come in many colors. There are probably many more reasons, but look for yourself at some of the roses growing in my garden and see if you don't agree that roses are wonderful.

Mr. Lincoln: On of the all time favorite garden roses. Mr. Lincoln has velvety deep red petals and is a hybrid tea. Strongly scented flowers are held upright on stiff stems, and flowers are good for cutting. This one is growing along the drive into the gardens. Red roses are a symbol of beauty, romantic love, courage and passion.

Cecile Brunner: Nicknamed the 'Sweetheart Rose', this polyantha has perfectly formed tiny pink buds with 18 petals. Cecile Brunner was developed in 1894 and is lightly fragrant, a once-blooming climber in my garden although it is often sold as a continuous bloomer. Dainty flowers and an aggressive vine which will grow to 20 to 30 feet. If you want to cover an arbor quickly but are willing to do lots of pruning at the end of the year, this one is for you. Cecile is growing on the rose arbor. Pink is a symbol of elegance, gracefulness, appreciation, and says thank you.

Midas Touch: A beautiful hybrid tea yellow rose almost golden in the sunlight with 17 to 25 petals and bred in the United States in 1992. Midas Touch has 4 inch blooms in flushes throughout the season and has a warm musky scent. Midas is growing near Mr. Lincoln along the drive into the gardens. Yellow roses are a symbol of youth, happiness, friendship, a new beginning, and are given to remind the receiver of the sender.

Angle Face: A strong citrus scented lavender floribunda, cluster flowered, developed in the United States in 1968. Blooms are 3 inches in diameter with ruffled petals. Climbing Angle Face is along the driveway and upright Angle Face is under the ash tree. Lavender roses are a symbol of love at first sight and enhandement.

Devoniensis: An old fashioned climber from the United Kingdom developed in 1858. Known as the magnolia rose, this fragrant, repeat bloomer has a strong tea scent. The blooms are soft cream colored and about 4 inches in diameter. This rose is growing on the left side of the potting shed.

Sombreuil: Another old fashioned climber from France developed in 1850. Fragrant fairly strong tea scent, creamy white flowers and a repeat bloomer. This one is growing on the right side of the potting shed. White roses are a symbol of purity, innocence, humility, youthfulness, sincerity and unity.

Joseph's Coat: An slightly fragrant orange climber developed in the United States in 1964. Joseph's Coat blooms open yellow orange then change to red and gold. The rose is disease resistant, has 20 or more petals and blooms continuously with hanging clusters. Joseph's Coat is growing on the re-bar arbor near the perennial border. Orange roses symbolize enthusiasm and desire.

The roses will be blooming over the next several weeks. I have over 50 roses growing in the gardens and some of the roses were planted by a previous owners. I would like to identify each rose, so if you see a rose and know its name, please let me know. Hope to see you soon.

French Lavender, Lavandula dentata

Everyone thinks of French lavender as very fragrant. However, French lavender, Lavandula dentata, is not known for its fragrance. But the varieties of lavender grown in France for essential oil production are very fragrant. Those varieties are a cross between two different lavenders, Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia. I will post about these varieties another time. It all boils down to the names we use to identify plants. There are many similar common names but only one botanical name. For example, there are many trees called maple, but there is a big difference between sugar maple and Japanese maple. If you ask for a maple tree at the nursery you might not get the variety you want unless you use the botanical name. Using botanical names for plants can help to assure you will get the particular plant variety you want.

In most nurseries you will find plants labelled as French lavender to be Lavandula dentata. The photo to the left is French Lavender or Lavandula dentata. A good way to tell is to look at the leaf of the plant up close. You will see there are dents in the leaf, hence the botanical name dentata. French Lavender or Lavandula dentata is grown because of its extended bloom time. Recently in the nursery there has been a newer variety of French lavender called Gray French lavender. The photo to the right is Gray French Lavender or Lavandula dentata 'Gray'.

One of the nurseries I really like to get lavender plants and other herbs from is Mountain Valley Growers. They grow organic herbs and are a mail order nursery only. Before you discount them because of that, please give them a try. They were the first nursery I ever ordered plants through the mail from and I am glad I did. The plants come delivered right to your door and in fine shape for planting. Mountain Valley Growers has an excellent website with good descriptions of the organic herbs they grow and their growing requirements.

Any of the lavenders look so much better in person. If you live nearby and want to see the various lavenders in bloom, please come for a visit. You can come to visit by appointment or you'll find my days open listed on my website under News and Events, Springville Lavender Gardens. I will be posting here about my lavender blooms times. Right now the French lavenders are blooms along with the wisteria, now in full bloom and some of the roses. The rest of the lavender usually blooms the middle of May through June. I'll keep you posted, so check back often and be sure to ask questions here or make comments.