New Rose

I needed some zone-out time yesterday evening, so I went to roam round my nursery. Not much is blooming at the local public gardens, and I wanted to get a few annuals to tuck in my newest rose bed. I noticed there was a new shipment of roses and I could not resist tucking my nose into as many of them as I could. You know where this is going...

I was saddened to see so many roses only hardy to -5F, or -10F, b/c those roses will never make it through our winter. Just a few short years I ago I was that gardener who loved roses, but did not understand how to grow them in this climate (zone 4, temps can dip to -25F in the winter). The nursery offers a one year guarantee on their roses, so vigilant gardeners can bring the dead rose back in the spring an get another one... but why not just order from the massive selection of hardy roses? Who can afford to spend $24.99 on rose that lasts one year like an annual? I can't tell you now many times I've wanted to ask, 'Who's in charge of the roses here?'

So, there I was surrounded by a bounty of roses, checking the tag with the hardiness, carefully not falling in love with any rose I couldn't bring home with me. Then I spotted this:

This is 'Distant Drums,' a Buck rose, hardy to -20F, and yes, I had to bring it home with me. Here are some more pictures I took. Its full of blooms, and smells pretty good, too. I just love the color variation!

Happy gardening everyone!