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Where have all the flowers gone? Beauties remembered!

dublinbay z6 (KS)
10 years ago

"Where have all the flowers gone?" as the anonymous medieval poet lamented--or if your memory isn't that long, crooned some famous group in the 1960s or 70s --who was that? Simon and Garfunkel? Maybe the Beatles? Bob Dylan? Who? (My memory is even shorter!)

On this cold snowy white day, I was reminiscing about some of the beautiful roses that I used to grow, but (for one reason or another) are no longer present in my garden. Thought I'd compile a record here of some of that beauty "loved but lost."

Golden Showers climber/rambler--victim of RRD! I had been growing it for years and years--maybe 15-20 years. It would spread out its yellow blooms all over that corner of the garden. I didn't replace it because that part of the garden had become much too crowded over the years and needed the "breathing space" provided by GS's departure--unfortunately.


Eden climber--this one really hurts. Just up a died mid-summer of this year. Never have figured out why, although we did have a drought the summer before. Maybe it was too damaged? Don't know.
{{gwi:233097}}

Here's a closer view of Eden's gorgeous blooms:
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Love & Peace HT--Oh, I miss this one. Never thrived in my garden--always a shrimp and regularly suffering from BS problems. I hear it does splendidly for other gardeners. Guess it didn't like Kansas.
{{gwi:328024}}


Cherry Parfait floribunda--another one not real happy in my Kansas garden. Bloomed, but just never looked thriving. I grew to actually dislike it. I know others love theirs.




Mayflower (Austin shrub)--the first to bloom every year. It was sacrificed for Scepter'd Isle--which better bloom darned good at that price!
{{gwi:208901}}


Viking Queen climber--another victim of RRD, alas.



Happy Child (Austin shrub)--one of my favorite blooms, but the poor darling always remained small and wimpy, so I finally gave up on it.
{{gwi:218935}}


Pink Prosperity HM--my first victim of RRD -- a real shocker!
{{gwi:288157}}


Gertrude Jekyll (Austin shrub)--never overly happy in my yard, took too long to rebloom, and those SHARP PRICKLES finally got to me. Too bad--a legend!
{{gwi:288155}}


Gold Medal HT--I'm sorry now that I got rid of this one. It was some years ago, and I don't remember the exact reason --just that I regretted it right after I did the dirty deed!
{{gwi:288161}}


St. Swithun climber (Austin)--so sad. Bloomed once and came down with RRD.
{{gwi:288159}}


Buff Beauty HM--I immediately replaced this one. It had been my oldest rose in my garden, maybe 20 years! A few years ago my neighbor's giant oak tree dropped a BIG branch dead center--splat!--on BB. One of our famous Kansas tornadoes? Don't know. Could a straight hard wind do that? Never knew for sure. Poor BB never really fully recovered afterwards and then just couldn't survive our drought last summer. I'm happy to report that the new BB is thriving already and ought to be full of spring blooms this year, so this one at least has a happy ending!
{{gwi:207537}}



These are some I remember most vividly, but a couple absent ones I never photographed were Peace HT and its relative Chicago Peace. I do miss them--beautiful but not up to the BS standards of my gardens nowadays. Alas, alack, alas!

Thank you for indulging me in my moment of nostalgia. I'm sure you have your favorites you also miss.

Kate

Comments (14)

  • lesmc
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This WAS my Golden Celebration! It was so beautiful every spring. But...after that I never saw another bloom, only blackspot. One day I just dug it out. I was so sick of looking at the disease.I now regret it, but I now have an open spot and hope to pick something a bit more healthy. Lesley

  • lesmc
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    One more....New Dawn. This rose became such a monster. Beautiful spring bloom, but never another the entire rest of the season. I am sure you all think I am crazy, but I could not control this rose and I hated getting on the tall ladder to prune her. I finally gave up. Once again, I wish I had had more patience. It will be missed next spring.... a lot. Lesley

  • sara_ann-z6bok
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kate - I'm sure we all get nostalgic when it comes to our roses. There are some real beauties here! Eden is such a lovely climber, very unique. I'm glad your new Buff Beauty is thriving, it is a beautiful rose. Your Love & Peace HT was gorgeous. They are all beauties. Really sorry for the ones you lost because of RRD or the ones that died for no apparent reason. By the way, I love the natural look your roses have, several on here know how to create that look, I think it so lovely! I miss my Queen Elizabeth roses the most, she's quite a rose!

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lesley, those are two really beautiful roses--I adore Golden Celebration but have always held off because of its reputation for BS--at least in the Midwest. Your New Dawn was most floriferous, to say the least, but I can see why you finally gave up on it. Hope you find some wonderful new roses to replace these two.

    Sara--you have some gorgeous roses there. I can see why you are sad about losing your Queen Elizabeths--that is a majestic rose! Are you looking for replacements?

    Kate

  • sara_ann-z6bok
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you Kate - I probably will replace it, hopefully in 2014, because it is such a good rose.

  • sara_ann-z6bok
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you Kate - I probably will replace it, hopefully in 2014, because it is such a good rose.

  • iris_gal
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your 'Eden' looks wonderful against the black metal. "Buff Beauty' looks enchanting also.

    Yellow roses were born to blackspot!

  • inga007
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Loved your "reminiscing". Sad memories, we live and learn.

  • nanadollZ7 SWIdaho
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kate, what a beautiful tribute to some exquisite roses. I think it would have about killed me to lose an Eden Climber that looked like yours--those magnificent blooms! I love the mass of creamy color that Buff Beauty produces, too. All are lovely.

    By the way, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" was sung by so many artists that I can see why you couldn't remember just which one. First sung by Pete Seeger in 1955 (too far back for even me); then, I believe Peter Paul, and Mary sang it. But the iconic recording I remember best, at age 19, was that of Joan Baez in 1965, and it became a protest song against the Vietnam War.

    Lesley, I am sorry Golden Celebration didn't work out for you because yours was so gorgeous--it's also one of my favorite roses, but blackspot isn't a problem here, and that can make all the difference. Don't beat yourself up about New Dawn--I rid myself of 5 of them, all of which were once bloomers and monsters. During that brief bloom period in spring, I admit they were gorgeous monsters.

    Sara-Ann, your two Queen Elizabeth roses were simply beautiful, and I can see why you want to replace them. Why did you lose them, if I may ask?

    I've lost a few (by my own hand), but I don't have a single photo of any of them. It's probably for the best. But thank you all for sharing those you have loved and lost. Diane

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    nanadoll--thank you for nudging my musical memories. I think it is the Peter, Paul, and Mary version that sometimes runs through my head--but Joan Baez would be a good bet also. For some reason, I have no memory of Pete Seeger singing it although I do have some very clear memories of 1955!

    Kate

  • sara_ann-z6bok
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Diane - I lost a lot of roses between 2007 - 2012. It was mostly because of things out of my control, that I didn't have the time to devote to them that they needed and they do need care. The Queen Elizabeths were the last to die. I have a few left from that time period, but not many. This was my starting over year. My situation has changed and hopefully I will have the time I need to devote to them. The extreme weather conditions we had during some of those years didn't help either. I don't want that to happen again. I am going to do my best to make sure it doesn't!

  • nanadollZ7 SWIdaho
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kate, I think Pete Seeger actually wrote "Where etc", and I don't mean to imply I wasn't around in 1955-ha, but I was a third grader and not much into folk music.

    Sara-Ann, I can't believe how much you've accomplished in a year, and your rose enthusiasm will carry through 2014, too, I'm sure.
    Diane

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nanadoll--I got curious and looked up the phrase. You are right that the "flower" version was created by Pete Seeger. However, the "ubi sunt" motif--poetic lines beginning "Where are [all the __________ (fill in the blank)]--is about as old as western civilization--first encountered by many students in their medieval studies. Seems every generation has lamented the loss of whatever they considered the ideal life as they got older.

    Personally, I like Seeger's version best--"Where have all the flowers gone?" rather than some of the earlier versions--Where has my horse gone or the festive parties of yesterday, don't you?

    Now I'll be humming that line all day today. Should have had it playing in the background as viewers scrolled down this thread, shouldn't I!

    For those of you who would like to participate, see the link below--to a much earlier Peter, Paul, and Mary version (back when they could harmonize IN TUNE--which, unfortunately, they can't seem to accomplish in their more recent come-back appearances). It was turned into an anti-war song back during the days of the Vietnam War protests by the young people of the 1960s--for those of you who don't remember that history. : )

    Kate

    Here is a link that might be useful: Where Have All the Flowers gone--Peter, Paul, Mary

  • sara_ann-z6bok
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Diane - Thank you for those encouraging words, I really do appreciate it.