|
|
I come from a long line of gardeners, and my intense love of roses dates from my earliest childhood. This photograph was taken in my Grandfather Evans's garden. He specialised in Hybrid Teas. For as long as I can remember, my mother has tended an extensive rose garden. She prefers Old Garden Roses—simply defined, the ones grown prior to the 20th century. From an early age I was familiar with these many-petalled, richly scented varieties. On moving to New England, where the climate is so different, I did plenty of research to learn what types of roses would do well in my own garden. Other than surrounding woods and a large area of grass around our house, there was no landscaping. Within days of closing on the house, and weeks before we took possession of it, I began planting rose bushes. My roses were at home here before I was! I'm partial to "antique" roses. I grow the earliest types, which would have been familiar to Chaucer and Shakespeare. I am especially attracted to the ones dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, the Regency, and the Victorian era. Thus, when writing historical fiction I'm often referring to plants in my own garden. My appreciation of old roses has certainly influenced my novels, most notably The Proposal, about a female landscape designer who is a rose enthusiast. Part of my research for this novel involved the study of late 18th century nursery catalogues, and I found myself adding her favourite roses to my garden! In addition to historic roses, my collection contains many of David Austin's remarkable English Roses, which mimic old garden roses in form and fragrance but have the advantage of re-blooming. My rose pages feature a carefully chosen selection of my most dearly-loved and beautiful specimens of Old Garden and English Roses. I didn't include pictures of everything I grow, and I've left out entire categories (climbers, floribundas, hybrid perpetuals).
All Rights Reserved. |