Each spring, when WalMart has hybrid tea roses for sale in the milk carton sized pots, we buy at least one. When we get home we re-pot them and nurture them in the greenhouse until they can be planted safely outside – the first week of June. This spring we bought three for several reasons. The first one we saw (going by the picture on the carton) was a bicolor red and white rose called ‘Love’, so how could you resist that. Then we saw a beautiful pink rose called ‘Queen Elizabeth’, and since it’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year we had to have one of those. Finally, we came across a deep red rose called ‘Olympiad’. Well, it’s the summer Olympics in London this year, so why not?
What a treat when ‘Olympiad’ bloomed recently. The photo below doesn’t really do the colour justice because digital cameras seem to have difficulty rendering the colour red, but this is not a bad representation. The form is absolutely flawless, and the fragrance is lovely – not an overwhelming scent like we get from our rugosas, but more subtle. By the way, don’t mind the accompanying leaves in the vase, it’s just a small sprig from our red-leafed rose (rosa rubrifolia).
Presenting ‘Olympiad’ …
And here is the ‘Love’ rose. Again, a bit of trouble with getting the red colour to match what the eye sees, but pretty nice.
And, here’s ‘Queen Elizabeth’,
