Roses in bloom
Sophy's Rose by David Austin
Roses have leapt into bloom in Portland, Oregon. They survived the big, swift storm that uprooted trees four days ago. Suddenly gardens where not a rose had been blooming are flush with them. Some of those roses are David Austin's. We've mentioned him before. I love the scent of old roses, and can't help mentioning him again.
Old roses and their scents had almost disappeared until Austin spent decades bringing them back into the garden.
Now he and his son work together. Not for the Austins the shapely blooms of the hybrid teas which are exquisite but scentless. Austin roses are deliciously fruity, laced with lemon, mysterious with myrrh or, my favorite, breathtakingly rose-sweet.
Their website has information about planting, pruning (why summer pruning is important) and training climbers.
I saw one of their Gertrude Jekyll roses happily blooming in a friend's garden today. . .
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