Whenever the weather people are predicting a frost when it shouldn't be time yet it always comes as a shock or at least somewhat of a surprise. The first passenger, therefore, is Shockwave showing a good, bright color that always leaves you wanting more.

Of course someone there has to provide some easy listening music, and this one also provides some mood perfume, Melody Parfumee.

Where would we be without a really red, always blooming floribunda like Lili Marlene?

And to keep things interesting, the seductively scented Chantilly Lace.

Of course we would have to have a little Black Cherry to throw into the mix.

The next two are two of the three roses that Park's offered on a one-time only basis. From that standpoint, these two are history. The first is Shag Dancing, a red floribunda that, to me, has been only so-so, but it looked pretty this week.

The second one is Carolina Girl, a nice lavender that you can see is in healthy condition. Why it was not introduced I don't know, but it does quite well for me. Its only downfall that I can see is that its flowers age poorly. They look good when new, but they do get ratty looking rather quickly.

This next one has a history. It is one of the parents of a rose that set the standard for a new class called grandifloras. This rose was a parent of Queen Elizabeth. It is Floradora, a rose that changes color between orange in the fall and salmon pink in the spring and summer.

The last two are roses that look to the past, a couple of Austins. The first is one that doesn't get seen much, but it sure gets big and blooms a lot. I think this is the fourth time it has had a flush. It is Blithe Spirit.

We have to have a red one to shine as the taillamp lantern on this train. I could never get my camera to capture the beauty of Munstead Wood the way it needed to be captured, but this LD Braithwaite sure fills the bill.

Please join me in waving a good-bye to these colorful passengers on the train to History for this year. I hope you liked them.

Debbie

Jean

The color of Munstead Wood is a dark wine red. That is about as close as I can call it. It is darker than William Shakespeare 2000 and is somewhat like The Prince. Having not seen the original William Shakespeare, I cannot comment. The color of Munstead Wood in David Austin's catalog is close to what it is. It is also quite fragrant. The color is darker in cooler fall weather, something that happens commonly in fall.