Celebrate the Rose

Celebrate the Rose

As we mature, our lives take on different meaning. We become more attune to our surroundings and our appreciation for life changes. Some of us might continue to challenge the status quo, while others become steeped in tradition. I think gardening helps us discover which path our heart desires.

Specifically, I think growing roses hold us in a more traditional mindset.

Bee in a sunflower

Think back to the plants your grandmother grew.  Geraniums, Zinnias, Sunflowers, and Roses... gorgeous roses! These coveted memories of our grandmothers' garden roses become the impetus to carry on a desire to have beautiful roses just like she had.

The classic favorites are timeless and they have become the gold standard in our rose gardens. We speak of them as we would an old friend for they've become a permanent part of our collection. When these roses have finally become tired and less productive, we hold onto them for as long as possible until we can no longer fight the good fight. Eventually we give in to their aged status and decide to finally replace them. We ceremoniously dig them up and give them a proper burial. We ruefully scour the catalogs for suitable replacements thinking maybe this is the year we will "try something different."

But wait! What delightful new surprises grace the catalogs filling my mailbox!  

Suddenly, the desire to act with predictable decision making is uncontrollably thrown out the window.

Climbing Westerland

I regularly pay close attention to what comes out of the breeding program at Weeks Roses. The roses rarely fail to impress me. The new Climbing Above All™ is one that I'm excited to see because it's being promoted as a modern version of the Climbing Westerland. Having blooms as salmon-orange as it's predecessor but with a higher petal count and greater flower production.

Another rose that has piqued my interest is called Anna's Promise™.  

Named for Anna, a character in the British television show Downton Abby, it apparently symbolized the heart and integrity of her personality. There are golden petals blushed in pink with a bronze reverse which look absolutely stunning. It boasts a spicy, fruit fragrance to boot. Sounds delish... is this a rose or a new dessert?

The Wake Forest University Rose

In its parentage is About Face™, which I have always admired. Its glossy green leaves have never looked worn or faded and the growth always seems to be strong and vigorous. Good as Gold™ (a 2014 Introduction) come from About Face™ and has been an impressive hybrid tea so far this year.

Another new introduction from About Face™ that we are quite proud of here at Witherspoon is The Wake Forest University Rose. 

This grandiflora has good disease resistance and a light apple fragrance on golden blossoms that deepen with cooler temperatures. We are honored to have a hand in producing and promoting this exclusive rose to the market with $10 from every sale going to the general scholarship fund and Wake Forest University.

Peace

I feel like this article would not be complete unless I mentioned some of the old favorites. These roses are tried and true, so we go to them time and time again. Peace is for sure one of those on my list. And, let's be honest, so are the others in the Peace family. I believe the Peace rose is one hybrid that will remain in the hearts of rose lovers across the country. To add to this list, I would include Queen Elizabeth. This tall, pink beauty blooms in clusters and is a sight to behold! Did I mention she's nearly thornless? Certainly my list is not complete without mentioning Tiffany. How can you not love the tall pointed buds?

These roses were introduced around the 1950's when America was full of high spirit and optimism after World War II. The garden was a victory, family togetherness was time well spent and roses were in the hearts and yards of smiling gardeners.

Queen Elizabeth

Sincerely,

Sandie  

Virtual Tour of Gardens: Strowd Garden

Witherspoon Rose Culture Presents:

Virtual Tour of the Gene Strowd Community Garden

We live in a society that champions speed and efficiency.  Smartphones make it easy to communicate without verbal communication and almost eliminate the need for face to face contact.  These advances in technology, frequency of relocation, and busier schedules have all contributed to an overall sense of isolation in our society.  We truly have to work to be a part of a community, but it is a refreshing experience to be a part of something larger than ourselves.  Gene Strowd was a man who championed community, and over four hundred and fifty roses stand as a testament to that fact in the Gene Strowd Community Garden in Chapel Hill, NC. 

Gene Strowd Community Garden

Gene Strowd was a rosarian on the national level, but his heart was obviously dedicated to his home community of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.  Mr. Strowd used roses as a way of engaging with people and bringing beauty into the lives of those he came in contact with daily.  In 1987, he proposed the idea of a community rose garden where everyone was welcome to come and experience the beauty that only roses can provide.  Gene Strowd, along with the Chapel Hill Rose Society and the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department, designed the layout of the garden and construction began in 1988.

Climbing Iceberg

As you walk into the garden, you get a sense of what Gene Strowd hoped to accomplish by planting a rose garden in the middle of Chapel Hill.  There are benches around the garden where you can sit and have a face to face conversation with friends.  You will hear joyful giggles from the playground that is located directly adjacent to the garden, and if you take time to sit in the gazebo at the back of garden you will see how many people from the community take time to stop and smell the roses.  The copper fountain in the center of the garden provides a soundtrack to the rose garden with soothing sounds of trickling water, and the brick pathways lead you through the fragrant beds of roses that encourage you to take time out of your busy day to enjoy pure beauty.

Raised Brick Bed

Both Gene and his beautiful bride, Irene, have passed on from this world, but through Strowd Roses, Inc their commitment to the community of Chapel Hill and Carrboro continues on to this day.  Not only does Strowd Roses, Inc fund the maintenance of the Gene Strowd Garden, they also provide funding for community organizations that improve the quality of life for the community of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Living in a society where speed and efficiency are often championed over personal connection, it is refreshing to step into a world of beauty where we can slow down and enjoy the people around us.  Gene Strowd and his wife Irene dedicated their lives and their money to promote a community where helping one another and enjoying togetherness was advocated for above all else.

Carefree Spirit  

Climbing America

Copper Fountain

Seating area in the gazebo

Secret

Double Delight

Signature

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW FOR A 360 VIEW OF THE Gene STrowd Community Rose GARDEN!

Join us next time for our third stop on the Witherspoon Virtual Tour of Gardens!

Would you like for your garden to be featured in our virtual tour of gardens?  

Email Kelley Triplett at ktriplett@witherspoonrose.com

Witherspoon ships premier roses to all 48 contiguous states February- April.  

Visit www.witherspoonrose.com for product details

Witherspoon also provides professional rose care services.  We offer preventative and corrective spraying for pests and diseases, fertilizing, pruning, mulching, and planting.

Give us a call at 1-800-643-0315 to request a FREE onsite estimate.

Witherspoon Rose Culture's Service Map

Witherspoon's Virtual Tour of Gardens: Welcome to the Bolton's Garden

Witherspoon's Virtual Tour of Gardens

Welcome to the Bolton's Garden

Peaceful sounds of trickling water drifted across the garden as I sat down with Steve and Karen Bolton to talk about their roses.  We sat on the top level of their two tiered deck that overlooks their secluded garden and had a conversation about how they began their journey into growing roses.  

A beautiful water feature adds peaceful ambiance to their garden.

Their journey began ten years ago in Oxford, North Carolina.  Steve pastored a church where they met a lovely woman, named Nellie Grey McFarland, who was an avid rose gardener and became a very dear friend.  As Ms. McFarland grew older, she approached Karen and said “I want to give you something to remember me by.” She wanted to give Karen a rose garden.  Thus, Karen’s rose journey began with Ms. McFarland’s small gift of three roses.  

As the centerpiece of their garden, they had a beautiful Abraham Darby rose climbing up a small trellis.

Ten years later, Karen still takes the first blooms from her rose garden to Nellie Grey who is now 104 years young.  I wonder if she knew ten years ago that her small gift would inspire such joy in the Bolton’s life.  When Steve and Karen decided to move from Oxford to Durham, North Carolina, the three roses that Nellie Grey gave them made the journey to their new home where they are still flourishing.

Look at that stunning Abraham Darby!  You can tell I fell in love with this rose!

  This gift of roses has inspired Karen to enjoy her garden by sharing her blooms with others.  One of her favorite things about growing roses is the opportunity to share the cut flowers with others.  She will cut her roses to take to her neighbors, as hostess gifts, and to her friends and family that are under the weather.  I’m sure Veteran’s Honor, being her favorite rose, makes it into most bouquets!

View of the garden from the deck.

I have learned in my lifetime that advice from others is one of life’s most valuable treasures.  As we concluded our conversation, I asked what advice they would give to people who are just beginning their rose gardens.  Right off, Karen said research!  Start small and learn all you can about roses and how to care for them.  Before she began growing roses, Karen never really thought of herself as a gardener.  Now, in tending to her roses and learning all she can about them, she experiences great satisfaction. 

Karen and Steve Bolton

As I stood up from their patio table to leave, I looked out over the garden one last time.  Steve said earlier in our conversation that he felt that the roses completed the garden, and I could see clearly what he meant.  Their secret garden has the perfect punctuation mark, roses.

Karen and Steve Bolton

Peaceful serenity is the theme of this garden.

Karen's favorite rose, Veteran's Honor.

The Heritage rose was gorgeous!

Roses, the perfect punctuation mark to this beautiful garden.

Check out the video below for a 360 view of the Bolton's garden!

Join us next time for our second stop on the Witherspoon Virtual Tour of Gardens!

Would you like for your garden to be featured in our virtual tour of gardens?  

Email Kelley Triplett at ktriplett@witherspoonrose.com

Witherspoon ships premier roses to all 48 contiguous states February- April.  

Visit witherspoonrose.com for product details

Witherspoon also provides professional rose care services.  We offer preventative and corrective spraying for pests and diseases, fertilizing, pruning, mulching, and planting.

Give us a call at 1-800-643-0315 to request a FREE onsite estimate.

Witherspoon's Service Areas

The Story Behind the "Rose of the Century."

 Rose Spotlight on Peace

WWI left a trail of destruction that stretched across European soil.  Great losses in manpower and resources sent all countries involved into a devastating landslide.  With millions dead and others in a state of depression, hope and beauty were precious commodities.  It was during these tumultuous times that Francis Meilland was born.  Following in his father’s footsteps, Francis found hope and beauty in his rose garden.  During the years leading up to the start of WWII, Francis and his father Antoine chose fifty promising seedlings to watch as potential candidates for cultivation.  One of these seedlings, 3-35-40, would survive being smuggled out of occupied France and eventually be given the title “The Rose of the Century.”  This is the story of Peace.

Lemony petals kissed with sweet pink edges caught the eye of Meilland as he scanned the bed of seedlings he was watching.  There, that one, that’s the rose I want to cultivate.  There’s my Madame Antione Meilland.  The year was 1939 and WWII was on the brink of escalation.  After Hitler’s invasion of Poland, it became very apparent that France was soon to follow.  Francis was close to launching this precious rose as Madame Antione Meilland, but he became concerned about the future of his rose nursery after the invasion of France and began to make plans to smuggle out his precious Madame.  He was able to smuggle three pieces of budwood out to three different cultivators in Germany, Italy, and finally Robert Pyle in the U.S.  As WWII tore through Europe and left communication lines severed, Meilland was unaware of how the smuggled roses were doing in their new environments.  These rose refugees were not only surviving, they were flourishing!  It was eventually launched in all four countries under different names.  In France Meilland launched the rose under the original name, Germany called it Gloria Dei (Latin for ‘Glory of God’), in Italy it was named Giola meaning joy, and in the U.S it was called Peace.  After the liberation of France, Meilland wrote to Field Marshal Alan Brooke, who was integral in the strategy behind liberating France, and asked if he would give his name to the rose.  Brooke declined since he felt that the more fitting name for the rose was Peace.  Peace was announced as the official name on April 29^th, 1945, the day Berlin fell.  In the midst of war and destruction, Peace started as a seedling and grew in strength and beauty until it could no longer be hidden from the world.  

In 1945, at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations, the Peace rose was given to each of the delegations.  Attached was a note that read, “We hope the ‘peace’ rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace.”  Across the decades this rose has remained a symbol of hope and peace in a world that is often in a state of disarray.  How was Francis to know that this seedling, a tiny sprig of life, would inspire such grand emotions?  He even wrote in his diary, “How strange to think that all these millions of rose bushes sprang from one tiny seed no bigger that the head of a pin, a seed which we might so easily have overlooked or neglected in a moment of inattention.”  

With a story so rich in history and emotion, it is no wonder that Peace will always have a place in rose gardens across the world.  Standing out above the thorns, the yellow and pink bloom inspires peace and serenity.