Darlow’s Enigma
Though I’ve often talked to you about native and water-wise plants, I am still referred to as ‘the Rose Lady’ at
Harlequin’s. I still love roses, and still grow some choice favorites for their fragrance, beauty and ease. Some of them, Banshee and Desiree Parmentier, have been in my garden for 34 years – far longer than I have.
‘Golden Gate’
And I’ve kept a few others that are particularly fragrant and thrive with little care – Darlow’s Enigma, Stanwell Perpetual, Alba Semi-Plena, Scotsbriar, Sharifa Asma and The Prince. They are all on their own roots – not grafted – and that’s a big reason they are still alive, robust and beautiful!
We currently have an excellent selection of many dozens of rose varieties. The selection ranges from super-cold-hardy modern varieties bred in Canada to wonderfully fragrant historic, heirloom roses, and roses of all proportions from climbers and ramblers to compact ‘patio’ and miniature selections. Our roses are all cold hardy in the Denver metro area, and many are hardy to 8,000’, and being grown on their own roots, ensures their survival, even after exceptionally cold weather. Our climbing roses are tough and durable, and include hard-to find colors like true yellow ‘Golden Gate’, which is also fragrant!
‘Abraham Darby’
Oh, but what about Japanese beetles? Yes, they are a pain (though not at higher elevations).
‘Desiree Parmentier’
But there are strategies for keeping them at bay. We have a big improvement over the standard Japanese beetle traps, and can show you how to lure the beetles to soapy water in a 5-gallon bucket, where they will drown. The best placement for these traps is upwind of the rose garden. Roses that bloom only in the spring escape the beetle invasion by blooming before the beetles arrive. So many of these ‘once-bloomers’ are fabulously fragrant and floriferous heirloom varieties you can enjoy for a month or more prior to the beetle invasion. Repeat-blooming roses can be allowed to flower in spring until the pests arrive, ‘dead-headed’ while still in bud during ‘beetle season’, then allowed to bloom again from late summer to late autumn’s hard frosts.
‘Morden Sunrise’
Alba semi-plena