I gladly accede to the request of your editor to write a short essay on the subject of roses, for I know, full well, that if I am successful in stimulating present or new interest in rose growing, my time will have been well spent.
Gardening of any kind, from the growing of vegetables to the culture of orchids, is, I am convinced, one of the finest hobbies there is.
With a long and very full life experience behind me, I can emphatically say that no occupation will bring more pleasure, add more to one’s health and physical well-being and bring more spiritual refreshment than contact with mother earth and the partnership with nature in extracting from the soil the beauty which is there to be so freely yielded.
Love For Roses
I have many loves in my garden, but, though she was not my first love, the rose has become the greatest love in my more mature years. If I had to be a garden monogamist, the rose would most certainly be the wife of my choice.
I find that year by year, my love for the rose grows stronger and stronger. Last year, I got far more joy and satisfaction from growing my roses than ever before and certainly far more than from any other flower in my garden.
I am sure the same tiling will happen again this year; my days of philandering are over, and I shall now be faithful unto death.
The World Is In Turmoil
Man is denying himself the peace which could so easily be his for the taking, yet there is discord, strife, and confusion on every hand.
Business conditions in my country are more difficult, confusing, and frustrating than at any time in my 50 years of experience, far more so than at any period through the war.
I am one of those fortunate individuals who have enjoyed work; it has brought me great pleasure and satisfaction, together with a commensurate reward enabling me to enjoy a certain amount of leisure.
But, today, there is no pleasure in business, and I am not the only one being driven more and more to find pleasure in other things; in my case, it drives me to my garden, where I find solace and satisfaction in my spirit craves.
I always look forward to June, for it is this month when our roses are at their best, but never before have I looked forward to June as I have this year, and never have I watched and fussed over my roses more tenderly for the blackness ahead and the dreariness around me makes my desire for them stronger than ever.
I have met many noted American rose growers and raisers on my numerous visits to the United States. However, I have always found here, as everywhere else in my travels, that the common bond of a love of roses quickly leads to a real and lasting friendship.
Miniature Roses
It is outside my province now to talk about the wide varieties of roses now available. However, I could write a great deal about a few of the new varieties which have been introduced into your country since the war, some of which are of outstanding merit.
However, I would like to mention a class of roses that is gaining much popularity in England. These are the miniature roses that I know are available in the United States, though I do not know their appeal.
I am not referring, of course, to the miniature blooms of some varieties of bush roses, but to the true miniature roses which grow to 4” or 5” inches in height and which we have, in this country, some eight or 10 distinct varieties.
They have been used mostly in rock gardens but have lately been used more and more for miniature gardens, either with other plants or entirely by themselves.
Miniature Rose Garden
In our local flower shows, we try to encourage non-competitive entries of an interesting nature; last year, I made and exhibited at several small shows miniature rose garden.
This followed more or less a stereotyped rose garden design of four beds, with concrete paths dividing them and a stone dial in the center. In each of the four beds were 20 miniature roses, white, dark red, lighter red, and pink.
The hole measured 4’ by 2’ feet, and with each one of the 80 plants carrying blooms, it made a sight that cheered many a beauty-hungry soul. These miniature roses are great fun and real joy.
44659 by Theo. A. Stephens