I've always loved roses. Several years ago, I discovered David Austin roses. They're also called "English roses" and I love the catalog the company puts out. Each rose has an intriguing name--"Othello," "Evelyn," "Glamis Castle," "A Shropshire Lad"--and the descriptions of the fragrance reads like a wine description:

 

Evelyn: Its great glory is its wonderful fragrance, which is similar in style to an Old Rose, but with a sumptuous fruity note reminiscent of fresh peaches and apricot.

 

Munstead Wood: There is a strong Old Rose fragrance with a fruity note. Our fragrance expert, Robert Calkin, assesses this as ‘warm and fruity with blackberry, blueberry and damson’.

 

Princess Alexandra of Kent: They have a delicious fresh Tea fragrance which, interestingly, changes completely to lemon as the flower ages – eventually taking on additional hints of blackcurrants.

 

 

 

And the photos! The catalog itself could be a coffee table book, it's so beautiful. How could I resist falling in love with these amazing, magical flowers? I had to have some. I had to have an entire front yard full of roses. I wanted them all.

 

So, with great anticipation, and a little anxiety, I ordered my first plants several years ago. They come bare root, but we were able to get them growing quite easily. We even had blooms the first year. But there was so much I didn't know about roses. These in particular are quite English, and Nebraska's climate is nothing like England. We're actually nearly on the edge of where they can survive. Over the past several years, they've struggled through late frost, ice storms, brutal winters, humid and hot summers, black spot, hail storms, and whatever the damn insects are that keep chewing up the leaves.

 

And they've survived my efforts to learn to take care of them. I'm trying to be 100% organic, so no fungicides and pesticides. But there's so much I didn't know. Poor things had to live through my learning curve. But they did--they survived. And this year, they look like the ones in the catalog. The weather has been better the past year, so that's helped. And I've learned a lot, too.

 

It's ridiculous how happy I feel every time I look at them. And the fragrance! It's heaven. I admit, I talk to them like they're some sort of pets or a very cute baby.

 

They are going to make an appearance in the new story I'm working on. They deserve a place in the magical, beautiful story world I'm creating. My husband photographed them for me earlier today, and I thought you might like to see them. My beautiful sweethearts, my English roses.

 

 

Golden Celebration Roses with Chives in bloom

 

Chives are supposed to be good companion plants for roses. They do look pretty together. I'm still waiting to see if they help control insects and black spot, but I'm hopeful.

 

 

 

 

Either an Othello or L.D. Braithwaite Rose, with purple Salvia against our fence

 

 

 

Glamis Castle Roses

 

 

Evelyn Rose

 

These are the ones with the amazing fragrance. They're named after the store Crabtree & Evelyn

because they used to use this rose in some of their perfumes.

 

 

 

Either Othello or L.D. Braithwaite with Salvia

 

We planted Othellos here first, and one died, so we moved the other one, and I am pretty sure we put the

Braithwaites in the spot instead, but not positive.

 

 

 

Roses along the fence

 

Don't you think they deserve to be in a novel?