Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the purple-ist rose of all? My rose garden was deliciously purple last week, plenty of purple pulchritude (I always wanted to use that word) to lure me down into the garden for a closer view of the sumptuous rich colors.
'Basye's Purple' |
'Charles de Mills' |
'La Reine' |
Another purplish Hybrid Perpetual, 'La Reine' has been in my garden for almost a decade and it has been a trouble-free, if perhaps only mildly interesting, bush. It requires little or no extra care and has been free of Rose Rosette disease despite it's placement next to my ailing and super-affected 'American Pillar'. The violet blooms are fragile, almost dainty, but it's exposure is primarily to morning sun so it doesn't suffer from the hot afternoon sun.
'Orpheline de Juliet' |
I raved last year about my young deep purple Gallica 'Orpheline de Juliet', and this year's display was no different. Those purple buttons are just jewels against the lighter green matte foliage of this rose and the fragrance is, yes, "to die for." I simply don't understand yet why this rose isn't more widely grown because it was a fabulous addition to my garden.
'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain' |
'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain' has become one of my favorite old garden roses, and is one of the only Hybrid Perpetuals I've found to be healthy and unfailingly hardy in my garden. I can count on it for a nicely presented spring bloom, although I question how "perpetual" it is; followup blooms are rare in my garden. It's deeply scented and has a nice vase-like form, and is completely sans thorns so that I can bring those blossoms inside with a risk of bloodshed.
'Tuscany Superb' |
'Tuscany Superb' is a delicious deep purple in my garden, but I have yet to decide if this old Gallica is going to survive Kansas. My original plant struggles, a bare couple of feet high and of straggly form. It has provided only a handful of blooms each of the 8 years it has lived in my garden and always looks on the verge of perishing, although it has suckered about three feet away into another small struggling bush. I love the color, but the blooms only last a day in the full Kansas sun before they shrivel into blackness.
So, which is your favorite? Do you agree, with me, that Dr. Robert Basye's creation is the winner? Is 'Orpheline de Juliet' in the running? The Gallicas and Hybrid Perpetuals have their fair share of mauve-purple hues, but most are vulnerable to the sun and lack stature. In fact, writing this, I'm struck that helpmefind.com/roses lists several of those roses as 3'-5' while they struggle to reach even three feet tall here in Kansas. 'Orpheline' is pretty in the garden, in a squat sort of way. Who does the mirror choose as the most scrumptiously purple? Who might get a chance in your garden?