It's a rambler/climber. Once blooming in May.
It has a lemony rose fragrance.
Heavily armed
Roots easily, but does not spread rampantly like other ramblers.

Background on my rose:
The original rose bush came from North Carolina where one line of my family originated. Then they moved to what is now known as the state of Georgia and in 1790, they moved to far western Virgina (now in WV), then to Ohio in 1832, then Illinois, then Missouri, then Iowa during the Civil War, and then to California in 1883. Most of my family refused to just be forced out, so early on they sold (most) of their property in WV, and the whole clan went north instead of being forced to Oklahoma Territory - The Grandfather and Grandmother, their children and wives and their children and etc, and several cousins and their families. The Grandfather bought a huge piece of land in Illinois. Some of the family remained in WV, "passing for white". Some of the family still lives in WV and one branch still has some of the family property where the family cemetery is located. How ironic that I would end up here in Oklahoma.

The Cherokee people who held out to the last were finally forced out in the winter of 1838. This forced exodus was called "The Trail of Tears".
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Legend of the Cherokee Rose
Retold by Barbara Shining Woman Warren

In the latter half of 1838, Cherokee People who had not voluntarily moved west earlier were forced to leave their homes in the East.

The trail to the West was long and treacherous and many were dying along the way. The People's hearts were heavy with sadness and their tears mingled with the dust of the trail.

The Elders knew that the survival of the children depended upon the strength of the women. One evening around the campfire, the Elders called upon Heaven Dweller, ga lv la di e hi. They told Him of the People's suffering and tears. They were afraid the children would not survive to rebuild the Cherokee Nation.

Gal v la di e hi spoke to them, "To let you know how much I care, I will give you a sign. In the morning, tell the women to look back along the trail. Where their tears have fallen, I will cause to grow a plant that will have seven leaves for the seven clans of the Cherokee. Amidst the plant will be a delicate white rose with five petals. In the center of the blossom will be a pile of gold to remind the Cherokee of the white man's greed for the gold found on the Cherokee homeland. This plant will be sturdy and strong with stickers on all the stems. It will defy anything which tries to destroy it."

The next morning the Elders told the women to look back down the trail. A plant was growing fast and covering the trail where they had walked. As the women watched, blossoms formed and slowly opened. They forgot their sadness. Like the plant the women began to feel strong and beautiful. As the plant protected its blossoms, they knew they would have the courage and determination to protect their children who would begin a new Nation in the West.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Below is a LINK to a website where this was posted. You will see she has the Pink Cherokee Rose as her graphic. Most of "the people" use the white rose, as told in the 'Legend'. She must be part of my family's clan. How interesting...for me! :)

~Annie
"Sagewood Spirit"

Here is a link that might be useful: The Legend of the Cherokee Rose

View of the rose from the shade of my biggest weeping willow:

{{gwi:668686}}

That is my new rose arbor I built a few weeks back made from recycled hog wire, and metal poles that used to be Purple Martin birdhouse poles.

~Annie

Very pretty rose. I love the white coloration in the center. I tried to look it up for information about it and came up with this nice article about the wild roses of North America. Thought you might enjoy it, Annie.

MeMo

Okay, GW has blocked all information from Daves@Garden so you will have to email the link.

How interesting. Annie, I am very impressed with your genealogical nowledge of your family. I have done a lot of work on ours and I know it is not an easy task.

I found several references to the Cherokee and Delaware in the area of Christian Co. Missouri where my family settled.

I had never heard he story of the Cherokee rose. Thank you for sharing it.

Beautiful story. Beautiful rose.

I didn't even know there was a pink variety. My mom has a white one rambling on the edge of her property in NC. I'm down there every year when it's in full bloom and it's by far one of my favorite things in her garden. Thanks for sharing all the information. How nice that you can look out into your garden and remember your ancestors from the sight of that beautiful rose.

Both the white and pink are indigenous to Southeastern N. America...the pink family heirloom I have is Rosa Carolina, if you wish to look for her on the web.

Thanks everyone for taking a look.

~*~*~
~Sagewood Spirit :)

Annie, That is a very pretty rose. I have Cherokee in my family background, as does my DH. He has a larger percentage than I.

I'm sure you already know that the "Trail of Tears"
is enacted during the summer months in Cherokee, North Carolina.
kay

Kay,

I have wanted to go to the re-enactment for many years...I have a dear cousin who lives in the area who offers an open invitation to come for a visit and stay with them. They would take us to see ALL the great sites in Cherokee county and around there.

We have one here too in Tallequah, Oklahoma. Never gotten to go to it either. I got invited by several tribal leaders to go to it and be with them. But....

We have the Iowa tribal Pow Wow here every year on Father's day weekend...missed those too for one reason or another.
This year, I (we) received a personal invitation from one of the chiefs (and tribal cops) to attend with him and his wife. Betcha that doesn't go down either, but who knows. Miracles do happen!

We drove up through N. Carolina one time, through all the National forests and I took pictures of the trip and wrote it down so I would remember what was where each photo was taken. We took the scenic route, so we were "forced" to drive slowly on those steep, winding roads behind logging trucks. Darn loggers! (hehehe!!!) I was in pure heaven. The scenery...the fragrances of the forests, the wildflowers, the Mountain Laurel, the ferns and the waterfalls...I felt like I was home. Strange feeling. I made the hair on the back of my neck stand up at times. I wanted to go to the tribal areas and take in the sites, get a few souvenirs (made for white people)...maybe find the old homesites of my families...but we couldn't do that because we had to get back to Oklahoma...grrrr.

You can kinda see a pattern here, can't you?
~*~*~

More pictures to come of my other Cherokee roses mingling with Rosa, New Dawn and cottage flowers.

Gotta ton of weeding to do! Ack!

Hi Annie Sagewood Spirit~ I enjoyed seeing this beautiful rose and hearing about the history behind it with your family. I certainly hope you get a chance to go to a Cherokee Tribal pow wow in the near future. Thanks for sharing. Becky

Annie,

We stayed in Cherokee and across the state line in Pigeon Forge on our honeymoon. that was more than a few years ago.

When I drive into those mountains, the cares of the world slide away. I love it! It does indeed feel like home.

I hope you get to spend Father's Day in such a great sitting. I do see a bit of a pattern here. Rats!
kay

Becky,
Do you read the Fallbrook newspaper?
You may have read an article about my cousin Eric Ray and his Cherokee flute music. He has done a lot with his talents - his music is beautiful and he does make all his own instruments. His mother has shoved all of his (and her) "accomplishments" in our faces and in the local newspapers for so many years until none of the relatives can stand either of them. Our Grandmother would say, "See how important I are?" whenever someone acted like a "big shot" in public or tooted their own horn too much.

I like to think that my little humble planting of the family rose and working on family history is as much an accomplishment. It's the Indian way.

My Grandfather used to say:

"The white man builds a great big fire and stands w-a-y back.
The red man builds a small fire and sits up close."

Of course, that saying has many meanings to it, but it applies here too. That is a lesson he taught me that I will always remember and take to heart.

Oops! I guess I should have sent that to you via an email.
My bad!