Mary Rose, it sounds like a name from a past century. I believe I purchased Mary Rose at Costco bundled with a Knockout rose. I had no idea what she was, but I planted her about four years ago. I started with three and am down to two. This seems to be what happens to me when I purchase in threes, I always lose one. She is a wonderful David Austin rose with a marvelous old rose fragrance. I have her in my border so as you can probably guess, she peeks out among other perennials.
Mary Rose grows about four feet tall and four feet wide and is one of the first roses to bloom in the spring. The pink color is delicious and when the petals fall it looks like a wedding has occurred in your garden. I do not have it planted in the most ideal conditions as it is not total sun and there is a lot of moisture in this border.
It is a repeat flowering rose and very hardy with hints of honey and almond. Just as a side note, it was named after Henry VIII's flagship which was recovered from the sea after more than 400 years. For this reason alone it is another rose worth growing!
Dear Eileen, 'Mary Rose', one of David Austin's New English Roses is one I tried but, for reasons which still baffle me, failed with. But that was some years ago. Generally all of his roses are very good value for whilst they appear as old ones, they do have the benefit of repeat flowering and disease resistance.
ReplyDeleteThe 'Mary Rose' ship is, as you may know, on display in Portsmouth Dockyard.
Do you know of the Clematis viticella 'Mary Rose'? That is something really special.
Thanks Edith,
ReplyDeleteI will look for Mary Rose viticella clematis. I have Betty Corning growing on a tuteur and it is very pretty.
I have mostly shrub roses so the David Austin Mary Rose is a nice departure.
Eileen
Beautiful photos ... Mary Rose is stunning, Eileen. I see something else we have in common ... Costco :)
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I really should go to Costco today to see if they have their roses yet. I want to try "Easy Does It."
ReplyDeleteEileen
Your Mary Rose looks fabulous. I grew these along with Winchester Cathedral, and Kathryn Morley. KM performed the best in my garden, but Mary Rose was a close second. The poor Winchester suffered from rust. Though not nearly as prolific as yours, Mary Rose has certainly been one of my favorites. I can't believe you got it at Costco!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had the nerve to try any of David Austin's roses yet... if all winters were like this one, I'm sure they'd do very well. LC
ReplyDeleteI did not know it was a David Austin when I bought it. I usually stay away from the english roses because I had Gertrude Jeckyll some years back and it did very poorly in this climate. For some reason, this one does very well.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who cares COSTCO did not have their usual rose of the year bundles, just last year's.
Eileen
Oh Eileen it is just gorgeous. I will have to look this rose up for zone 5.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing it.
Lona
Lona,I am zone 5, but it is along a fence so it has some protection. I was just out in my yard and the leaves that fell or blew late in the season are like they are glued down. My vinca is super green because it was covered with so much snow.
ReplyDeleteEileen
Beautiful rose Eileen. I will try to find her this spring. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing me to Mary Rose. Must add it to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteAllan, I just received a catalog called David Austin, Handbook of Roses 2010.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea why I received this but it is beautiful. Not that I am going to be doing David Austin roses. Mary Rose is a treat, but I am still into mostly shrub roses.
Eileen
Oh my what a beauty and what a wonderful surprise for you! Have a Happy Day!
ReplyDeleteIt's huge! What a beautiful one. I was just at Costco looking for roses the other day, but they didn't have much. I wish I had space for a huge rose garden, I just love them.
ReplyDeleteI know Costo didn't have much by me either, some off brand of roses this year - not any that were exciting!
ReplyDeleteEileen
Eileen, you may want to check your feed burner. Your postings in picks on Blotanical is coming up errors and I cannot get to your posting to pick it. There are a few that do this on Blotanical when the feed burner is not connecting right.
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