Rose Perfume

Fragrant Cloud rose: Duftwolke in German.

Mrs. I insisted on all the roses being right outside the front door. We have a little cement porch, so we can walk down the length of the garden without trampling the soil around the roses.

Today I went outside to see the progress of the bare-root roses, which are just starting to bloom. What a bargain. They cost $8 each, including shipping. We are getting yellow, red, orange-yellow, and lavender roses.

The first thing I noticed was rose perfume. I was not expecting it and certainly not bending down to check for aroma. One or more of those roses must be an aromatic. Perhaps more. I know visitors will like that.

When I first planted roses in Midland, Fragrant Cloud was my choice for the aromatic. Although the rosarians voted it a world favorite, most people did not talk up FC the way they did Peace or Abe Lincoln. I planted mine near a downspout and got an abundance of beautiful blooms. FC never got the glamor award, but I always thought it looked spectacular, a slightly darker pink.

Here are some put-downs by rosarians--who can be snotty--and my answers.

Fragrant Cloud - "brick colored." Perfect blooms, productive plant, a unique color of pink, more perfume than anyone could ever expect.

Tropicana - "A great rose if you like one that can be spotted from 200 yards away." The color is radioactive - a crime? Tropicana lasts longer as a cut flower than any other rose. The bushes and blooms can be quite large.

Hybrid tea roses - "Spindly, with too much emphasis on long-stems." Sure, we would much rather cut roses on short stems and put them in shot glasses filled with water.

On gardens - "Every garden is unique. Few are original." That is true, but do we really need to make the cover of Architectural Digest?

Double Delight rose. Perfumed, with varying colors, from white to yellow to madder. I learned madder is one color of pink.