At my last house I had a garden surrounded by a picket fence. But something was always missing. I wanted an entry arch and a rose. But I never got one. I swore when we moved I'd put one in our new house.
So in 2011 I planted a Zephirne Drouhin old fashioned rose. Though I do prune it and feed it, I've never sprayed it. I handles my neglect pretty well. Not only that but it is thornless and smells like heaven when I walk through the arch. The yellow rose is a modern Knockout rose. It smells great too, and handles my neglect, but its thorns are vicious. I wouldn't want one like that over my arch.
I've trained one branch of the rose to hide the gas meters. Right now it distracts from the meters quite well. Sadly its blooms will fade. It reblooms a bit but never like in the spring.
This is the first year I have it on top of the arch. I've tried to coax it up since it was put in. I'm hoping in a few years it will be breathtaking when in bloom. I've seen some old fashioned roses out of control on arches and they look so good.
Roses used to be used more in the kitchen than they are now. I've yet to pick the petals to make jelly or rose sugar. I've always been too in love with their blooms to do that. Maybe some year when the bush is bigger and more out of control. Maybe. I want to preserve that wonderful scent, but the reality is that I want to smell it in the garden. And seeing it always makes me smile. I think this will be another year where I don't get a rose petal harvest.
I love old fashioned roses like that. The color is so vibrant and I can just imagine the heavenly scent. It will be stunning when it covers the arch.
ReplyDeleteIt is just beautiful
ReplyDeleteA thornless climbing rose sounds like a very convenient plant to have!
ReplyDeleteI love your arch and your roses. I am a black thumb with roses. I just can't get them to grow for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful arch, even more so with roses growing over it. It is a pleasure to walk among beauty where the fragrance engulfs you.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful roses! I've been on a hunt for a very specific one - Rosa Damascena, and so far no luck. not that it stopped me from buying half a dozen other pretty rose bushes :)
ReplyDeleteWow! The pink one is great!
ReplyDeleteI'm dreaming about a white rose near a main gate - but my house is only being built so I don't have my own gate yet :(
Wow so beautiful and thornless too!
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful! We have a few roses around our house but I have no idea what they are - I do love them, even though they all have thorns. I didn't realize there were thornless roses. I love the arch - it will look even more amazing when covered with blooms!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! I've been neglecting my roses a bit. I really need to go out tomorrow and give them a good feeding. I have two David Austin roses that I planted last fall. My wish is to have a formal English Rose garden one of these days.
ReplyDeleteI love your archway and your roses are beautiful. Sadly, I lost all but one rose this year. It was such a harsh winter.
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