I don't mind the winter weather now. It's made a bit cheerier because I get to dig through my photo collection and bring you another Friday Flowers installment. This week, I'll introduce you to one of the first Old Garden Roses I ever bought.
Meet Amanda Patenaude.
At least that's ID that I was given when I bought this rose. There's quite a bit of discussion regarding its true identity.
This rose is exactly the same as the found rose "Portland from Glendora", which was discovered by Fred Boutin in San Marino, California. It has also been known as MacGregor's Damask. The American Rose Society currently says that it can be exhibited at rose shows as Joasine Hanet.
Whatever its name, this rose is beautiful! The flowers are a lovely shade of medium pink, with a quartered form and a button eye, and they smell heavenly.
The bush has an upright form and, once mature, will easily grow to be six feet high. It can be bothered by blackspot late in the season, and I spray fungicide to keep this under control.
Like other Portland roses, the flowers on Amanda Patenaude/Portland from Glendora (or simply 'Glendora') sit almost right on top of the first set of leaves on the stem. See how the flowers seem to nestle into the leaves?
There is some thought that Amanda Patenaude/Portland from Glendora may be a sister seedling to Sydonie, a light pink Portland rose hybridized by Vibert in 1826.
In my garden, these two roses grow side by side in the row of Portlands in the Rose Field. The bushes are virtually identical ... the only real difference is that Sydonie's flowers are Crayola Carnation Pink.
Sydonie (also spelled Sidonie) is very popular here, because visitors love the color and the fragrance.
I'm always facinated by this type of rose mystery. What is Glendora's true identity? Are she and Sydonie really sisters? Where did the rose originally come from? It's this curiousity that fuels my love for found roses, and drives my desire to collect as many of them as I can. Amanda Patenaude (or whoever you are), you will always have a place in my garden.
(This post is linked to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time. I'm going over there now to see what the others have blooming in their blogs today.)
(written by Hartwood Roses. Hartwood Roses blog)