Thursday, March 11, 2010

Mary Rose

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!