Hollywood Cemetery in the Pink, and Yellow, and White

If you enjoyed yesterday's photos of the red roses in Hollywood Cemetery, sit back and get comfortable for today's edition ... featuring some drop-dead gorgeous roses in soft shades of pink, yellow, and white.

This is 'Duchesse de Brabant', a medium-sized pink Tea rose in the Armstead plot that overlooks the James River.  I know of at least two other places in the cemetery where this rose grows, but the one in this plot looked the nicest on the day I was there.

I have been told that Duchesse de Brabant's flowers fragrance is fruity ... but I can't smell it.

Let's look at 'Madame Joseph Schwartz', in the Snead plot. 

This rose is a sport (mutation) of Duchesse de Brabant ... identical in every way except for the color of the flowers, which begin as blush colored buds and finish as soft white flowers.

At one of the intersections in the cemetery, in the Howe plot, is a Tea rose that I love.  I have no idea which one it is, but this doesn't dimish its appeal one bit.

This bush is taller than I am, by quite a bit.

Tea roses like this begin as graceful buds, look a bit like florist roses when they are opening, and they finish in a delightful riot of petals.  These flowers are more than four inches across!

While we are on the subject of Tea roses, let's look at Safrano.  There are many plants of Safrano in Hollywood Cemetery, and it's weird to walk through there, spot a rose in the distance and think, "Oh, nevermind, it's just another Safrano", as if Safrano is less of a rose because of it.  If I were anywhere else, I would be thrilled to see such great examples of this rose. 

Safrano has the most beautiful, graceful buds!  Look at this soft apricot color, accented by the darker petal reverse.

'Isabella Sprunt' is a sport of 'Safrano', with flowers that are soft lemon yellow instead of apricot.

Look at all the beautiful red new growth!

I stood quietly, watching the bees at work in the open blossoms.

The Noisette roses I saw were putting on a spectacular show!  This one, one of a pair in this plot that look like 'Champneys' Pink Cluster', was full of open flowers and hundreds of buds, and it smelled heavenly.

Here is another Noisette.  This one looks a lot like my "Natchitoches Noisette", a found rose that was discovered in a cemetery in Louisiana.

Finally, here is a beautiful white rose, and I have no idea which one it could be.  The shrub form and the flowers (and the blackspot) suggest Hybrid Tea, but this is only an educated guess.  It doesn't matter what this beauty's true identity may be ... it's still gorgeous.

Shaded pink buds, creamy white flowers ... I wonder what it is?

In the final installment of my series of posts on this week's visit to Hollywood Cemetery, I will show you some things that are not quite as beautiful and peaceful.  It's the 'circle of life' in action, which applies to the Cemetery or to our own gardens, and there are things that happen that we must all accept and deal with. 

I will be back on Sunday, because I have to be up and out before the sun rises tomorrow.  If you're local and want to come visit, you can find me at the Hanover County Master Gardeners' Plant Sale in Ashland from 8am to noon.

(This post is partying with Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday.  It's appropriate, don't you think?)

Rockin' the Red (Roses) in Hollywood Cemetery

In yesterday's post with photos of monuments and sculptures in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery, I promised to be back today with photos of the roses.  As I sat here on the couch yesterday afternoon with my laptop, and a cat, I realized as I was formatting photos that I have THREE posts worth of rose photos to share. 

Today's subject is .... RED.

This is a China rose, in the Dorsey/Cosby plot overlooking the James River.  I'm fairly certain that it is 'Louis Philippe'.

This bush is taller than I am ... and look how many flowers are on it!!

Here is 'Louis Philippe', marked with a tag, in another part of the cemetery.

This is what the whole bush looked like this week.

and this is the same bush, three years ago, after it was blown over in a storm.

'Mrs. B. R. Cant' is one of my very favorite Tea roses.  She is not fussy, loves hot weather, and she blooms her butt off in the cemetery, and in my garden, from spring until late fall. 

Technically, this rose isn't red ... but I put it here anyway, because dark pink is almost red.

(Besides, this is my blog and I can do whatever I like.)

This bush is beside President Monroe's grave in President's Circle (President Tyler is there, too.)  You can see the tag that the cemetery puts beside some of their roses.  Most of the roses, however, are unmarked.

There is an Old Blush also in President's Circle.  It was full of hips, and I pinched a few to see what the seeds will do.  (If you missed the post about my winter project of growing roses from seeds, click HERE to go to the post where I show you how to get started.)

This red China rose is in one of the Williams plots.  I don't know which rose it is, but it was incredibly photogenic ... soft, cloudy light is PERFECT for photographing red flowers.

This was probably my favorite shot of the whole day!

Do you see how many buds are still on this rose??

I'm fairly certain that this large bush is 'Radiance'.

The rounded flower form and darker petal reverse is a classic characteristic of 'Radiance'.

I'll finish today's ode to RED with a China rose whose flowers start pink and age to a beautiful red.  This rose is in the Reuter plot, and I'm fairly certain that it is 'Archduke Charles'.  Whatever it is, it loves where it lives and it was a beacon in the landscape.

Wait, maybe THIS one was my favorite photo.

Today's lesson is this:  if you want to get the best photographs of RED flowers, wait for a day with bright, high overcast skies.  Now get out there with your camera and see what you can do.

The title of today's post is a reference to the fact that it is now my favorite time of year ... HOCKEY SEASON!!!  It is tradition for Washington Capitals fans to wear red to home games  ... which is referred to as (you guessed it)  Rockin' the Red!  So far, my Capitals are 2 - 0 (having beaten Carolina and Tampa), and we are playing the Penguins, in Pittsburgh, this evening. 

LET'S GO CAPS!!