It’s February. When you’re a gardener, right about now the daydreaming begins. Of warm spring days spent in the garden amongst aromatic, colorful flowers. In your mind, bees buzz about; butterflies flutter here and there and hummingbirds make their appearance to dine on blooms.
Of course, in most areas of the country, the garden is still asleep. There’s two or three months to wait for spring’s horticultural concert. You can, though, take a trip down the garden path of your imagination by admiring and maybe ordering some up-and-coming roses from top rose breeders. The following easy-on-the-eyes roses can make a nice addition to your spring garden.
David Austin
For the last 60 years,
David Austin has developed a line of award-winning English Roses. The beauties combine the charm and heady fragrances of Old Roses with the wider color range and repeat-flowering habit of modern roses.
Austin’s roses are known for their vigor and reliability. They feature a graceful, shrubby growing habit and are ideal for many gardening situations, including mixed borders and large containers. Many varieties respond well to being trained to climb.
The new ‘Roald Dahl’ features a delicious tea rose fragrance. The flower is an eye-catching peach color to honor Dahl, the writer of
James and the Giant Peach, says Michael Marriott, the company’s technical director and senior rosarian.
In addition to being gorgeous and aromatic, the ‘Roald Dahl’ rose is a strong repeat bloomer and very disease-resistant. Marriott notes that the book was published in 1961, which was the same year that Austin introduced his first English Rose, ‘Constance Spry.’
Also enjoy gazing upon ‘Imogen.’ This rose has soft lemon-yellow flowers featuring frilled petals arranged around a classic button eye. The plant is a free bloomer and grows into a sturdy, upright shrub.
‘Bathsheba’ is a climbing rosebush featuring repeat blooms of large apricot flowers. The blooms have a myrrh fragrance.
Jackson & Perkins
Founded in 1872 by Charles Perkins,
Jackson & Perkins is one of the oldest U.S. rose breeders. The company began selling roses before the turn of the century, but it wasn’t until 1901 that they had their first rose success. The rose was hybridized by E. Alvin Miller, who started hybridizing in 1896. His variety, a climber named ‘Dorothy Perkins,’ became one of the most widely planted roses in the world. That success prompted the company to focus solely on roses.
The new Jackson and Perkins ‘Soaring to Glory’ floribunda rose was hybridized in honor of 70 years of service by the United States Air Force. The bush features buttery-yellow flowers that have a spicy scent. It reaches just over 3 feet in height and width.
To honor the 150
th anniversary of Jackson and Perkins’ sister company,
Park Seed, they are introducing the new floribunda, ‘La Park.’ The plant features apricot-peach and pink blooms on the same plant—no two flowers are the same. It grows up to 4 feet high and becomes covered in colorful blooms.
Park Seed was founded back in 1868 in La Park, Pennsylvania by a 15-year-old named George W. Park, who started the company to sell seeds harvested from his backyard.
Anthony Tesselaar Plants
The Flower Carpet Rose from
Anthony Tesselaar Plants is known for its ability to grow in just about any growing condition. These easy-to-grow roses thrive in humidity, high heat and even drought once they’re established. They’re also pest- and disease-resistant.
The new generation of Flower Carpet Roses is even more free-blooming. You’ll have roses throughout the entire growing season. You’ll find the new generation of Flower Carpet roses in three eye-catching varieties: ‘Scarlet,’ ‘Pink Supreme’ and ‘Amber.’
Weeks Roses
Weeks Roses was founded in 1938 by O.L. and Verona Weeks in Ontario, California, who sold the business in 1985. The company is a top U.S. rose breeder with more than 1,200 acres of production facilities in the San Joaquin Valley.
New from Weeks’ Roses is the ‘Top Gun Shrub Rose.’ This rose is the first and only variety that’s resistant to Rose Rosette disease. The plant has a rounded, bushy habit and features deep red, long-lasting flowers. In addition to being disease-resistant, it’s easy to grow.
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
