CHAPTER III

SUMMER-FLOWERING ROSES--OLD AND NEW.

LET us now consider those roses which, although their lovely season of blooming is but short, shed such fragrance and delight on the gardens of rich and poor. Our oldest favourites first--the Cabbage, sweetest of all; the Moss; the Maiden's Blush; the Crimson Damask; the Austrian, Scotch, and Sweet Briars; the tiny _Rose de Meaux_, so seldom seen now in England that when we find bunches of it on every barrow in the Paris streets, to be had for a few centimes, we fall upon it as on lost treasure.

Then the climbers, the Ayrshires, Banksias, Polyanthas and Evergreen. And when to these we add all the novelties which Japan has bestowed upon us in the Rugosas and the Wichuraianas, and those marvels which the hybridists are deriving from them and introducing every year in such numbers, we may well consider where best to make a place for these lovely roses, so that from April till August we can rejoice in their varied beauty.

Of the climbing roses I treat in a separate chapter. But if with regard to the dwarf or bush roses, some may raise objections to massing them in by themselves, because they are so soon out of flower and leave the beds bare of bloom for the rest of the summer, the objection--a valid one--may be overcome in two ways. First, by planting China roses among them and an edging of the charming Dwarf Polyantha roses round them. Secondly, by planting lilies and late-flowering perennials with them, which will be in bloom as soon as they are over.

But to my mind, the Cabbage, Moss, Provence and Damask roses look most thoroughly in place in the old-fashioned mixed border along the walk in the kitchen garden, where they flower after wallflowers, daffodils and polyanthus, with lilies and pinks, stocks and carnations, and all the delightful and fragrant odds and ends that, somehow, make it the spot in the whole garden to which all footsteps turn instinctively.

THE PROVENCE OR CABBAGE ROSE, _R. centifolia_,

is perhaps the oldest favourite in English gardens; for it was introduced as far back as 1596. Said to have come originally from the Caucasus, it may well be, as its Latin and French names suggest, the Romans' favourite "hundred-leaved-rose" mentioned by Pliny. And as it was found in Southern France at a very early date, it became known as the "Provence Rose." In spite of all new comers, beautiful and attractive as they are, the "Old Cabbage Rose" holds its own to-day in the garden of every true rose-lover, as unsurpassed in fragrance and colour. Its pure white variety, the _Rose Unique_, discovered in a garden in Suffolk, in 1777, is far less common and less vigorous than the pink Cabbage rose. But if it can be induced to grow it is a very beautiful object in the summer garden, especially as a standard on the briar. The tiny _Rose de Meaux_ and _Spong_ are also miniature Provence roses--and as I have said, ought to be more widely grown in English gardens.

THE MOSS ROSE, _R. Muscosa_,

originally a sport from the common Provence or Cabbage rose, was also introduced into England from Holland in 1596; and many varieties have since been derived from it, some of the newer ones having the additional merit of being perpetual flowering. The best are the common _Pink Moss_, _Comtesse Murinais_, _Celina_, _Crested_, _Gloire des Mousseuses_, _Laneii_, _White Bath_; while there is a delightful little pink, mossed _Rose de Meaux_. Of the perpetuals, _Blanche Moreau_, _Salet_, _Perpetual White Moss_, and _Mme. Wm. Paul_ are all good.

The Old Double Yellow Provence, _Rosa Hemisphaerica_ or _Sulphurea_ is somewhat rare now, and only found in one or two modern catalogues or in very old gardens.

THE FRENCH ROSE, _R. Gallica_, also called _Rose de Provins_,

as its name implies, is a native of France; but it is also found in Italy, Switzerland and Austria. A good deal of confusion reigns on the subject of this rose and _R. Damascena_; for varieties of both are often misplaced in each other's classes. For instance, the common red _Gallica_, the "Apothecary's rose," is usually called the _Red Damask_, and its many striped varieties, especially _Rosa Mundi_, are mistaken for the true _York and Lancaster_, which is a true Damask rose.

_Rosa Gallica_, however, is easily distinguished from _Damascena_. Its flowering shoots are upright, with few prickles, and rigid leaves. It seeds very freely; and this accounts for the innumerable varieties which were in vogue fifty or sixty years ago. It is said that one grower near London had two thousand different sorts. It is still largely grown in England for distilling purposes, on account of its delicious perfume; and a field of the "Apothecary's rose" in full flower is a lovely sight in July. But the chief centre of the industry used to be round Provins, the old capital of La Brie, about sixty miles from Paris, on the way to Chalons. Here vast fields were grown, the petals being used not only for scent, but for conserves and medicinal purposes.

When well grown, namely well fed and well pruned by cutting out all the weak wood and shortening back the strong shoots to six or seven eyes, _Rosa gallica_ is worthy of a choice place as a decorative rose, whether in the house or on the exhibition bench, when the almost single flowers open and show their brilliant golden stamens. The best sorts grown at present are _Oeillet Parfait_, _Perle des Panachees_, _Rosa Mundi_, _Red Damask_ (the all-red form of this last), _Village Maid_, and _Tuscany_.

THE DAMASK ROSE, _R. Damascena_.

This rose was brought from Syria to Europe at the time of the Crusades. The true _York and Lancaster_ is the best example of the old Damask rose, and grows into a vigorous bush when well established. _Madame Hardy_, a cross with the Cabbage rose, is an excellent pure white variety; and in the last few years some new and admirable Damask roses, _Lady Curzon_, _Lady Sarah Wilson_, _Lady White_, and the _Single Crimson Damask_, have been raised by Mr. Turner; while Mr. Orpen, of Colchester, introduced the beautiful pink climber, _Mrs. O. G. Orpen_, in 1906.

ROSA ALBA,

the white rose of central Europe, introduced into England about 1597, is now too often only to be seen in cottagers' gardens. But surely a corner may be found for the _Maiden's Blush_, for the fine old _Blanche Belgique_, or for _Celestial_--the roses that used to be seen in our childhood with a sprig of Southernwood in every village boy's buttonhole on Sunday.

AUSTRIAN BRIAR ROSES, _R. lutea_.

These are among the most brilliant of our early summer roses, and are distinguished also by their singular and aromatic scent. But their flowering season is as short as it is vivid.

The single Austrian Briars, mentioned by John Gerard in 1596, both the Yellow, and the Copper known in France as _Capucine_, should be found, if possible, in every garden. But both are of moderate growth; and the Copper is often troublesome to grow, showing itself as capricious as it is attractive. For instance, I have tried in vain for eight years to make it flourish in my garden, while in a cottage garden by the roadside a quarter of a mile away it flowers so profusely that during its short-lived season of beauty the passers-by stop to gaze at its brilliant single blossoms of satiny-yellow lined with vivid copper red.

The double yellow _Harrisonii_ was raised in America in 1830; and in 1837 Willock introduced the beautiful and fragrant _Persian Yellow_, which grows so freely wherever it is planted.

All these Austrian briars have been utilized of late by the hybridists with most interesting results. In 1900 the famous house of Pernet-Ducher, of Lyons, succeeded in developing a new race of roses, which they named _Rosa Pernetiana_, by crossing the _Persian Yellow_ with _Antoine Ducher_, a hybrid perpetual. The first of these was _Soleil d'Or_, a large, full, flat flower, varying from gold and orange yellow to reddish gold shaded with nasturtium red. It is perfectly hardy, and perpetual flowering. And in 1907 they added a further seedling, far more amazing in colour, named the _Lyon Rose_--offspring of a cross between an unnamed seedling of _Soleil d'Or_ and the hybrid Tea _Mme. Melanie Soupert_. This, judging by the reports of those who have seen it, is destined to be a most valuable addition to our gardens.

Another Pernetiana, _Les Rosati_, has been raised by Gravereaux, from a cross between _Persian Yellow_ and a hybrid Tea. It is hardy, prolific, and when I saw it at the end of September, 1907, in MM. Soupert et Notting's ground, it was covered with brilliant cherry-red flowers on a yellow base--the outside of the petals pale salmon. _Godfried Keller_, a cross with Austrian Copper, apricot with the outside of the petals dark yellow, semi-double and perpetual, and _Parkfeuer_, a shining scarlet hybrid briar, are both of the same type.

LORD PENZANCE'S HYBRID SWEET BRIARS,

_R. rubiginosa hybrida_.

These invaluable roses, the result of years of careful hybridizing of the common Sweet Briar, _R. rubiginosa_, with various old-fashioned roses, are amongst the greatest gifts of last century to the rosarian, the amateur, and the cottager.

_Lady Penzance_, one of the most attractive, though less hardy and vigorous than others, resulted from a cross with the Austrian Copper; _Lord Penzance_ from the Austrian Yellow. This last is extraordinarily fragrant, the scent of the leaves after rain filling the air to a considerable distance. The rather small flowers of both these show their parentage very clearly in colour. But for size of blossom and effect, none of the fourteen varieties equal the bright pink and white _Flora McIvor_, the crimson _Meg Merrilies_, and the superb dark crimson _Anne of Geirstein_. This last is a plant of extraordinary vigour, forming in a few years huge bushes ten feet high and nearly as many through. For a high rose hedge or screen these hybrid sweet briars are invaluable, while they may be also used for pillars and arches. And, with the exception of _Lord_ and _Lady Penzance_, which are of more moderate growth, they are easy to propagate, growing readily from cuttings, which, if put in early in the autumn are in flower the next summer. The foliage of the common Sweet Briar, however, remains the most fragrant of all, with a clean, wholesome sweetness that is unsurpassed by its more showy children, always excepting _Lord Penzance_, which, if possible, excels it. Therefore let no one discard the old friend, and let them plant it beside a walk, so that they may give it a friendly pinch as they pass, to be rewarded by its delicious scent.

THE SCOTCH BRIAR, _R. spinossima_,

is a most fragrant little rose, its compact bushes forming an excellent hedge round a rose garden, covered so closely with the sweet little double, globular flowers that the tiny leaves are almost hidden by the mass of blossom. They can be had in yellow, white, or many shades of pink. But none are prettier than the common rose-pink. The yellow is a hybrid--raised in France early in the nineteenth century.

The _Stanwell Perpetual_ is a Scotch briar, hybridized most probably with the Damask Perpetual or some such rose, flesh-coloured and flowering from May till the autumn.

ROSA RUGOSA, THE RAMANAS ROSE OF JAPAN,

was introduced into England in 1784. But this fact may, I imagine, be as great a surprise to some of my readers as it was to myself, when I discovered the statement on unimpeachable authority an hour ago. I well remember the first plants of the common pinkish-red variety, which I first saw in 1876. It was then considered something of a novelty; and I recollect how we all began cultivating it in our gardens, and that we were enraptured, as were the blackbirds and thrushes, by its large, handsome bright scarlet fruit in the autumn.

The varieties in cultivation in those days were _alba_ the single white, introduced in 1784 by Thunberg, a very lovely flower; and _rubra_, the single pinkish-red (Cels. 1802). The hybridists began work upon these some twenty years ago. Paul and Son brought out _America_ in 1895; and the fine _Atropurpurea_ in 1900, one of the very best singles, deep glowing crimson with brilliant golden stamens when opening at sunrise, and turning purple later in the day. Double hybrids were also raised, the charming white _Mme. Georges Bruant_, 1888; _Blanc double de Coubert_, 1892; _Belle Poitevin_, 1895, rose-coloured and very fragrant; and the handsome _Rose a parfum de l'Hay_, 1904, carmine cerise and deliciously scented. _Fimbriata_, 1891, semi-double, white tinted blush, the edge of the petals fringed like a dianthus, is perhaps the prettiest of all, and is specially suited for growing as an isolated bush.

But of all the hybrids none can be compared to the superb _Conrad Ferdinand Meyer_ (Mueller, 1900). This last is said to be crossed with _Gloire de Dijon_. It certainly possesses just the same rich fragrance as that invaluable rose, while its beautiful colour, a warm tender pink, its large size and perfect form, its more than vigorous growth, and its persistence in blooming--I have it in flower here from the middle of May till December--render it one of the most valuable additions to the rose garden of the new century.

Besides these there are numbers of other varieties, as the continental growers, such as Bruant, Cochet, Gravereaux, Schwartz, etc., have paid considerable attention to these roses of late years. But the future of this race is bound to be a very important one, and so far we have not in the least realized what its effect may be.

PROVENCE ROSES, _R. Centifolia_.

Cabbage, or Common Provence, 1596. Rosy pink.

Crested. _Vibert_, 1827. Rosy pink, pale edges.

Unique, or White Provence. _Grimwood_, 1777. Paper white.

Sulphurea, or the Old Yellow Provence. Golden yellow.

Miniature Provence Roses.

De Meaux, 1814. Rosy lilac.

Spong. Blush pink.

White de Meaux. White.

MOSS ROSES, _R. Centifolia muscosa_. (Summer flowering.)

Baron de Wassenaer. _V. Verdier_, 1854. Light crimson, in clusters.

Common. _Holland_, 1596. Pale rose.

Comtesse de Murinais. _Vibert_, 1827. White, large and double.

Crested. _Vibert_, 1827. Rosy pink, paler edges.

Crimson Globe, _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1891. Deep crimson.

Celina. _Hardy_, 1855. Rich crimson, shaded purple.

Gloire des Moussues. _Robert_, 1852. Rosy blush, large and full.

Laneii. _Laffay_, 1846. Rosy crimson, tinted purple.

White Bath. _Salter_, 1810. Paper white, large and beautiful.

Zenobia. _Wm. Paul & Son._ Fine satin pink.

PERPETUAL MOSS ROSES.

Blanche Moreau. _Moreau Robert_, 1881. Pure white.

James Veitch. Violet shaded.

Mme. Edouard Ory. _Robert_, 1856. Bright carmine.

" Louis Leveque. _Leveque_, 1904. Colour of _Captain Christy_.

" Moreau. _Moreau-Robert_, 1873. Vermilion red.

Mrs. William Paul. _Wm. Paul & Son_, 1870. Very bright rose.

Perpetual White Moss. Blooming in clusters.

Salet. _Lacharme_, 1854. Bright rose, blush edges, fine.

Venus. _Welter_, 1905. Fiery red, one of the best.

THE FRENCH ROSE, also called "ROSE DE PROVINS," _R. Gallica_.

Belle des Jardins. _Guillot_, 1873. Bright purple, striped white.

Dometile Becard. Flesh, striped rose.

Oeillet Parfait. Pure white, broad stripes, rosy crimson.

Perle des Panachees. _Vibert_, 1845. White, striped lilac.

Rosa Mundi. Red, striped white.

Old Red, the "Apothecary's Rose," often called "Red Damask."

Tuscany. Deep claret red.

Village Maid. White, striped rose or purple.

THE DAMASK ROSE, _R. Damascena_.

Kazanlik. Silver rose.

La Ville de Bruxelles. Light rose, blush margin.

Lady Curzon. _Turner_, 1902. Large, single pink.

Lady Sarah Wilson. _Turner_, 1902. Semi-double, creamy blush.

Lady White. _Turner_, 1902. Semi-double, white tinted pink.

Leda, or painted Damask. Blush, edged lake.

Madame Hardy. _Hardy_, 1832. White.

" Zoetmans. Creamy white.

Mrs. O. G. Orpen. _Orpen_, 1906. Climbing, large single, in trusses, rosy pink.

Single Crimson Damask. _Turner_, 1901.

York and Lancaster (true). Red and white, in patches.

THE WHITE ROSE, _R. Alba_.

Blanche Belgique. White.

Celestial. Flesh colour, tinted delicate pink.

Felicite. Rosy flesh, margin blush.

Mme. Audot. Glossy flesh.

" Legras. Creamy white.

Maiden's Blush. _Kew_, 1797. Soft blush.

AUSTRIAN BRIAR ROSES, _R. lutea_.

Austrian Copper, or Capucine. _J. Gerard_, 1596. Single, petals lined copper-red.

Austrian Yellow. _J. Gerard_, 1596.

Harrisonii. _Harrison_, 1830. Golden yellow.

Persian Yellow. _Willock_, 1838. Deep golden yellow.

HYBRIDS.

Gottfried Keller. _Dr. Mueller_, 1902. Semi-double, apricot with golden yellow centre.

Parkfeuer. Single, vivid scarlet.

Soleil d'Or. _Pernet-Ducher_, 1900. Orange yellow, gold and nasturtium red, large, double.

The Lyon Rose. _Pernet-Ducher_, 1907. Coral-red tinted chrome yellow, new and distinct, double.

Les Rosati. _Gravereaux_, 1907. Bright carmine, yellow base.

These three last are perpetual-flowering, and known as Pernetiana roses.

SWEET BRIARS, _R. rubiginosa_.

Common Sweet briar. Pale pink.

Double Scarlet. Bright rosy red.

Hebe's Lip. White, with picotee edge of purple.

Janet's Pride. White, shaded and tipped with crimson.

LORD PENZANCE'S HYBRIDS, 1894, 1895.

Amy Robsart. Deep rose.

Anne of Geirstein. Deep crimson rose.

Catherine Seyton. Rosy-pink, bright golden anthers.

Flora McIvor. Blush rose, white centre.

Lady Penzance. Soft copper, base of petals bright yellow.

Lord Penzance. Fawn, passing to emerald yellow.

Lucy Bertram. Rich crimson, pure white centre.

Meg Merrilies. Deep brilliant crimson.

SCOTCH BRIAR ROSES, _R. spinossima_.

Shades of pink, rose, crimson, white, yellow.

Pimpinellifolia. Blush.

Stanwell Perpetual. Semi-double rosy blush.

RUGOSA OR RAMANAS ROSES, _R. rugosa_.

America. _Paul & Son_, 1895. Crimson lake.

Atropurpurea. _Paul & Son_, 1899. Deep crimson, turning maroon.

Belle Poitevin. _Bruant_, 1896. Rose, double, very sweet.

[A]Blanc double de Coubert. _Cochet-Cochet_, 1894. Double white.

Calocarpa. _Bruant_, 1896. Rose, single, fine tinted autumn foliage.

[A]Conrad F. Meyer. _Froebel_, 1900. Clear silvery rose, double, large, very fragrant.

[A]Delicata. _Cooling_, 1898. Soft rose, double.

Madame C. F. Worth. _Schwartz_, 1890. Rosy carmine, semi-double.

[A]Madame Georges Bruant. _Bruant_, 1888. Clear white, nearly double.

Madame Henri Gravereaux. _Gravereaux_, 1905. White, salmon centre.

Mrs. Anthony Waterer. _Waterer_, 1898. Deep crimson, semi-double, large clusters.

[A]Nova Zembla. _Mees_, 1907. White sport from _Conrad Meyer_, fine.

Repens Alba. _Paul & Son_, 1903. Weeping form of Alba.

[A]Rose a parfum de l'Hay. _Gravereaux_, 1904. Carmine cerise, double, fine.

Rugosa alba. _Thunberg_, 1784. Single, pure white.

Rugosa rubra. _Cels_, 1802. Pinkish red.

Rugosa rubra, fl. pl. _Regel._ Purple red. [A] Rose Apples. _Paul & Son_, 1896. Pale carmine rose, large clusters.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] Perpetual flowering.