June is the month when we hope summer will begin. Watching
the Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade in rain showers is just part of
life in the Northwest. Although we know it won’t stop raining until after our
4th of July camping trip is spoiled, we can’t wait around to celebrate the
beginning of rose season. The roses are blooming!
The ultimate June experience is visiting a rose display
garden in full, fragrant bloom—and it’s very easy to find one in the Pacific
Northwest. There are dozens of rose gardens in our public spaces, beginning
with the delectable International Rose Test Garden in Portland or try the
Woodland Park Zoo rose garden in
Seattle. Pt. Defiance Park in Tacoma has a spectacular rose garden, as well.
Then there are the rose nurseries! Two specialists who
offer beautiful display gardens are Heirloom Roses in St. Paul, Oregon, and The
Antique Rose Farm in Snohomish, Washington. Both are located in rural areas and
invite visitors to bring a picnic lunch and spend some time enjoying the
beauty.
Louise Clements of Heirloom Roses has a favorite quote
from D.H. Lawrence: “The human soul needs actual beauty more than bread.”
Certainly the display gardens Louise and her late husband, John, created are a
feast for the senses. The couple began their rose business in 1972 by growing
miniatures, some of which John hybridized himself. In 1987 they visited several
rose growers in England, including David Austin, and John could see that
disease resistant, fragrant roses were the wave of the future. Christine Hart,
in charge of growing the roses now, says that Louise and John were committed to
growing roses on their own roots (instead of grafting them onto a rootstock)
and keeping them free of rose virus—decisions which led to a long-lived,
healthy product.
The display gardens cover six
acres, the largest rose display garden of any nursery in America. Near the sales cottage
is a planting
that includes several different types of roses for a quick sampling of what Heirloom
Roses is all about. There is also a 100-foot pergola with 50 varieties of
ramblers blooming on it, delightful to walk under. One of the most fragrant is
the fabled ‘Darlow’s Enigma’, a dainty-leaved old rose Louise and John obtained
from Mike Darlow of Eugene. This rose has not been conclusively identified, but
it is one of the top sellers at the nursery. The gardens also include a formal
setting for the miniature roses (400 of them!), a Peace Garden, the Hope
Garden, and a Fragrance Garden for many of the most fragrant varieties. Be sure
to bring your camera to capture the sumptuous blooms.
Jackie and Don McElhose run
the Antique Rose Farm near Snohomish. Their first love was with old roses,
which were appropriate for their 1901 Victorian farmhouse. They grow many old
roses on their own roots and also sell selected roses from the top rose
breeders. Classic white lattice fencing sets off a large lawn, which is
surrounded by hedges and beds of old roses. An arbor provides a place for more
rose beds filled with fragrant old roses. Jackie is still visibly in love with
her roses, showing off exquisite miniature moss roses, roses that are suitable
for hanging baskets, the new David Austins and her selected easy-care
floribundas and tea roses. “People don’t want to deal with diseases any more,”
she says, “so we cater to that. The old roses that are trouble-free have an
advantage.”
The Antique Rose Farm has put on a Rose Festival for the
past 14 years, which includes an old rose show (this year on Sunday, June 15).
The show provides an opportunity to see and compare the old roses at their
peak.
Both Louise Clements and Jackie McElhose have suggestions
for the new gardener who may have to deal with a small lot and shade from
nearby houses. “Use climbing roses!” says Louise, pointing out that vertical
space can be beautiful. Both nurseries offer an unusual number of climbers,
ramblers and larger shrubs that can be grown on a fence, trellis, arbor or
pillar. Although roses bloom best with at least six hours of sun, if you have
dappled shade or part shade, Jackie suggests trying the small Knock Out series
of shrub roses, or cultivars ‘The Fairy’ and ‘Ballerina’.
Louise specifically mentions the rugosa hybrid ‘Therese
Bugnet’ as performing well in shadier conditions. The hybrid musk roses
‘Cornelia’ and ’Sally Holmes’ along with Austin roses ‘Graham Thomas’ and
‘Winchester Cathedral’ get the nod from Chris Hart. She and Jackie both mention
the China roses, “and don’t forget ‘Dainty Bess’” adds Louise, cautioning that
shade will give roses a different—but still charming—form, with more willowy
stems and fewer blooms.
Roses can be very successful in containers if the soil is
substantial, according to Louise and Chris of Heirloom Roses. They advise
regular garden soil (not potting soil), amended with fast-draining perlite and
a bit of compost or rotted manure.
As for growing roses in the ground, no advice can be
better than John Clements’ dictum: “…dig a BIG HOLE.”
Heirloom Roses and The Antique Rose Farm are well worth visiting
this summer for the beauty of the rose, the artistry of the gardens and the
pure pleasure of walking among the color and fragrance of this romantic flower.
To visit:
Antique Rose Farm
12220 Springhetti Rd.
Snohomish, WA 98296
360-568-1919
www.antiquerosefarm.com
Heirloom Roses
24062 NE Riverside Dr.
St. Paul, OR 97137
503-538-1576
www.heirloomroses.com
