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Old 20-03-2003, 08:32 AM
torgo
 
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Default still another batch of roses


Fair Bianca is an Austin I think you would like. White white
here. Good form, nice fragrance, not very strong neck but
in my opinion at least in this case, it adds to its charms.
The Prince I adore and the fragrance is the best of any rose
Austin has put out. Bought it band size at Heirloom last Spring
and it gave us a couple of blooms that filled the room for
three days. Gorgeous rose.


Nice to hear good reports on The Prince. I'll have to keep Fair
Bianca in mind. I'm also thinking about Winchester Cathedral for a
nice white Austin.

the one to recommend there, but just found an old one from
Bees, Cyril Fletcher and it is incredible, but it has ivory towards
the eye, and the petals are like silk.


Funny you should mention it - Cyril Fletcher is one I plan to order
very soon. For a white rose, I'm wanting first and foremost a strong
grower and bloomer, preferably with a fair amount of fragrance.
Cyril jumped out right away as one that would fit the bill very well.
I also like the fact that hardly anyone else has it, since most of my
other roses are extremely common varieties.


I share also your opinion of Paul. I hope his labor problems
are a thing of the past. Always loved his plants, it is incredibly
expensive for us to buy from him because of the shipping but
we still buy at least 2 roses every year to help out. If we don't
support people like him and Vintage, Amity and all of the
small growers pretty soon we are going to be back to where
I was when growing old roses in the 70s and 80s : nowhere
and with very little selection. Eugene de Beauharnais came


Being self-employed myself, I'm definitely all for supporting the
smaller, independent growers. I'll check out Vintage and Amity.

Paul's nursery is about a three hour drive away, and Roses Unlimited
is on the way there, so rather than having things shipped, I just
drive there, see both in one trip, and subject myself to fits of
impulse shopping.

Pat's place (www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com) can be overwhelming -
there are I think nine long, long greenhouses packed with thousands of
roses. So many names, you can't keep up with it all.

Paul's nursery is much more dangerous. It seems so harmless, with
nothing at all that you want to buy. Except for this one gorgeous
rose here. And that other one over there. And one of these, er,
better make that two, since they're so small, and one of each of
these, since I'm here, and...

What else is there in your wish list? My husband says that
my wish list is "a work of art, always evolving" and bless him,
he says it without sarcasm!

Allegra


My wish list is constantly changing too. But if you can't change your
mind, how do you really know that you have one?

The Prince, Cyril Fletcher, and one or two more David Austins will
complete my list of immediate "needs". Milestone is still on my
wish list (out of the thousands of roses I saw at Roses Unlimited, it
stands out strongest in my mind). Condessa de Sastago and Fire 'n
Ice also have space waiting for them, as soon as I can figure out
where that space might be....

Otherwise, I already have a Granada and two beautiful Brigadoons, a
First Prize, Mr. Lincoln, Chrysler Imperial, my very first Christian
Dior, and four baby Diors (red, pink, and one that seems to be both
red and pink on the same plant) plus the horde of 30 plants and
counting that I've amassed so far this year. I ought to wait a few
months before making my next wish list just to give my bank account a
chance to recover!

Unfortunately, if the current deluge here doesn't let up soon (day
four of heavy rain, with a forecast for two more days of downpour and
flood watches already in effect) they'll all rot in standing water
and I'll have to start all over.