Old English garden roses. Both out of season and from a florist's bucket, the sensation of these being picked fresh from the back of a cottage couldn't be farther from the truth. And yet they immediately make me think of the garden...
~More pictures and rose sources after the jump~
When reading up on old English garden roses, it was interesting to see that they can be some of the hardiest, healthiest , and easy to care for roses in the garden. Two websites that had information and many varieties to look at were David Austin Roses and Antique Rose Emporium.
I find these roses lovely for many reasons. Their shape makes them seem wilder and resembling more a peony than the common long-stem roses. The garden roses I bought, above were mixed with what I think is a hybrid tea rose. They had a tinge of green on their petals and had many blossoms per stem, feeling more like ripe grape clusters than flowers.
If you are curious about how these rose varieties are cultivated take a look at the growing and selection process on the David Austin's website. He claims these old rose varieties are naturally more disease resistant because they are grown in a monoculture environment. These environments promote disease, so if their top picks perform well there for eight years they should hold up even better in a well tended garden.
Have a great weekend!
matt at apartment therapy dot com
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
Thanks for the Saturday flowers! After a long work week, and on a cold, dreery Saturday morning, this just makes my day. Lovely pictures. I could swear I smell roses!!
view nazrd's profile
Just perfect. Thanks for the beautiful images.
view j i's profile
And the best part? Most Old Garden Roses are gorgeously fragrant! Love the pics, and can't wait until June...
view kibitzknitz's profile
One of the best sources for roses in North America, and one of the best sources of roses, is Pickering Nurseries
http://www.pickeringnurseries.com/
David Austin roses are actually not old roses, they are hybrids between old varieties and tea roses -- in order to get the shape, and scent of old varieties with the colours of hybrid teas, and often, the repeat flowering characteristics.
Pickering shows the different types of old, they have more Austins than anyone else outside of the U.K. (or, they used to), and are a great resource.
Lovely pictures! wish I could get some here!
view monika1's profile
Beautiful...Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing. :)
view NoleStyleandBeauty.net's profile
Monika1,
Thank you for posting a great resource! I really enjoy the disc shape of these roses.
view mattplantguy's profile
These are beautiful roses, thank you for this post. Great photos, too.
view CanadianOlive's profile