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When I first planned my lower garden 20 years ago, I was enthralled by antique roses and tried
to pick a rose from virtually every classification: Damask, Gallica, Moss, China, Noisette, Bourbon.
A living link to history. I “pruned with a shovel” varieties that were dogged by mildew or rust or
blackspot…even if they had lovely names like Variegata de Bologna, Charles de Mills. Some like
Comte de Chambord just up and died on me. I finally honed in on Bourbons…because they
had all the looks and heavenly scent of 18th century roses with the bred in ability to rebloom.
Above are a few favorite 19th century Bourbon roses from this morning: Icy pink Souvenir de
Malmaison, deep pink Deuil de Dr. Reynaud, and striped Honorine de Brabant.
More on white roses soon…
