Skip to main content

Backyard Nature Wednesday: 'Old Blush'

I love antique roses. I've grown many of them over the years. They are tough customers, able to stand up to the vagaries of weather and changing climates, flourishing in many types of soil, and not demanding the ministrations of a gardener. They are, in fact, virtually care free once they are established. Now, that's the kind of plant I like in my garden!

 One of my personal favorites among the antique roses is 'Old Blush.' It is one of the most common of the old roses and this is verified by its many common names. Names like Common Monthly, Common Blush China, Old Pink Daily, Old Pink Monthly, and Parsons Pink China. 

 'Old Blush' is a semi-double hybrid of an old China rose and it has been cultivated for more than 200 years. It has medium, semi-double lilac pink flowers that are borne in loose clusters. They flush to a darker pink in the sun, so the blossoms often appear two-toned. The blooms are followed by large orange hips (if the gardener is not a dead-header) that are also decorative. 
My 'Old Blush' in full bloom today.

This rose blooms steadily from earliest spring until first frost - and if there is no frost, it just keeps on blooming. It's not a good candidate for a cut flower because each of the softly perfumed blossoms don't last long. They drop quickly to make room for their successors. The bush that they grow on is full and upright and can become quite rangy if the gardener is not diligent with the pruning shears. It has neat, healthy foliage, and, in fact, the plant itself is inordinately free of disease and pests of any kind. I've had my specimen for more than ten years and I can attest that it is extremely hardy and indifferent to my neglect.

'Old Blush' grows easily in zones 6 through 9. If you have a spot for it in your garden and are interested in a care free rose, I can highly recommend it.

  

Labels:

Comments

  1. CarmenMarch 22, 2017 at 2:57 PM

    Beautiful pics of an equally so bloom! I like hardy flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Judy KruegerMarch 23, 2017 at 11:42 AM

    I love those the most of all roses, especially because they are care free compared to their fussy sisters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMarch 23, 2017 at 2:24 PM

      They are remarkably tough plants. And beautiful besides.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
19 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
6 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
24 comments
Read more