2006-06-03

Web Resource: Vintage Gardens, "Antique & Extraordinary Roses"

[Technical update, August 21, 2006: Removed new lines between table rows to eliminate white-space preceding table, per http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help-publishing/browse_thread/thread/a2999c2c0017b5b0.]

I'm trying to select an "antique" rose or two for the heirloom garden, one which was available in 1905 or earlier. (Our house was built in 1900.) I don't want to have to learn how roses are classified: Floribunda, Musk, Bourbon, and so on. I want a rose which will perform well in a mixed border: long-/repeat-blooming, fragrant, disease-free.

Many of the rose growers I've found online assume that the visitor is a rose "geek." The only way to look at their offerings is to browse through a hierarchical listing of what's available. They require that you already know the rose you're looking for and how it's classified.

Vintage Gardens provides the best online search tool I've found.
Our rose collection has grown to over 3500 varieties, including every rose class from the very oldest to the most modern. It is the largest collection of roses offered by any nursery in the world today. We value each variety and look on this as a preservation collection that provides a valuable resource to gardeners and helps to preserve our heritage of roses. We go to the greatest lengths to maintain correct identifications on our roses. We research and compare with collections worldwide to ensure that our information is as accurate as it can be. In our catalogue we identify the source from which our mother plant came, to assist others who are seeking a specific rose.

Vintage Gardens
Below is a table listing partial results from a search for roses introduced in the 1800s with intense scent and rapid rebloom.

NameYear IntroducedColorNotes
Aimée Vibert1828White
Baltimore Belle1843Blush Pink
Blanc Double de Coubert1892White
Blush Noisette1814Blush Pink
Captain Christy, Climbing1881Blush Pink
Clotilde Soupert1890White, "pale blush with a lilac-pink heart"The photo of this on VG's Web site is gorgeous. They describe it as "Very round, very double flowers of Victorian perfection ..." Just what I need for the heirloom garden!
Deuil de Dr. Reynaud1862Cerise"... appears to be identical with the Bourbon rose labeled Philémon Cochet (Cochet-Cochet, 1895) at the Roserie de l'Hay."
Devoniensis, Climbing AKA "Magnolia Rose", "Tradd St. Yellow"1858Cream, "... primrose yellow, magnolia white or ivory, depending on the weather."
La France, Climbing1893Blush Pink
Mme. Bérard1870Peach Pink, "... honey colored flowers which take on golden-apricot shades in the Spring and Fall ..."
Mme. Creux (Kaiserin Freidrich)1893Apricot-Buff"As we have observed this over the past few years we grow convinced that this rose is identical with Kaiserin Freiderich, a modest growing Tea-Noisette. We suspect that the latter is more likely the correct identity."
Mme. Ernest Calvat1888Cerise
Mme. Isaac Pereire1881Purple, "... intensely colored claret pink, amaranth and magenta" ...Another which looks amazing on VG's Web site. "... perhaps the most extraordinary of the Bourbons. Large, intensely colored claret pink, amaranth and magenta flowers of surpassing fragrance ..."
Mme. Lambard1878Peach Pink, mutable, "... shades of pink, buff, apricot, rose, blush and coppery yellow"
Nastarana1879White
Pierre Notting1863Dark RedThis one's also on my short list for the heirloom garden. "Very full, large velvety red flowers which at their best have no peer among the Hybrid Perpetuals."
Pink Soupert1896Rose Pink

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