Rose: “Love"

My favorite rose of all time is Beloved, also known as Cesar Chavez. I left it behind at my first home and, while it's grown to wild heights there (yay! although it's due to lack of any type of care...), I miss it terribly! Furthermore, I learned that Jackson Perkins appears to be the only folks growing it, and I'd have to pay a hefty shipping fee to get it delivered from them since JP isn't carried at any local nurseries. Oy! Not only is it gorgeous, it's name is the definition of my first name, so I've got a special connection :)

So with that, when planting the roses along the path I designed in our back garden, I wanted to include a few varieties I'd not yet tried. While I'd seen a white-tinged red rose called Ronald Reagan online, I was just too grossed out by the name to have it in our garden. However, I soon came upon Love, which had the similar vibe (albeit a bit more pinkish in hue), and she was the third of our eight new rose bushes to begin blooming this past week. A younger variety (well, it was 'born' in 1980), this is definitely one I got for its looks, as the fragrance is fairly minimal compared to the others. But boy is it a beaut - and so far one of the toughest of the rose bushes we've planted, much less affected by blackspot, aphids and rust. TOTALLY makes me want to put more varieties in the ground come next planting season...

PS - I learned the white on roses like this is referred to as 'reversed petals', so thought I'd share for other folks who might be curious.