Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Antique Rose Festival at Lynchburg's Old City Cemetery

The Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia, is an amazing place.  It's much more than just a place for those who have passed on ... it has historic buildings, museum exhibits, loads of special events throughout the year, a very busy chapel, and more.  (Weddings at the cemetery?  Lots of people do.)  Let's not forget, they have roses!



This past weekend was the cemetery's annual Antique Rose Festival.  My husband and I drove down on Saturday.  The weather was perfect!



The roses were just starting to flower.  (This spring, things are all a little bit late.)  I spent most of my time admiring the roses, and visiting with the folks that I know there.  It's been at least four years since I last visited, and it was good to catch up and hear what's been going on.  I did take time to snap a few photos for you.











This 'Harison's Yellow' was a fountain of gorgeous yellow flowers.





My favorite rose was this one ... sadly, it had lost its tag and no one was sure of its identity.  The plant was large (5' high and about 6-or-more feet wide), the white flowers are about an inch and a half in diameter, and the incredible fragrance was perfuming that entire end of the garden.  Any ideas?





The icing on top of this event for me is that there are dozens of varieties of heritage roses for sale!





I was tempted by so many of them!  In the end, I followed my heart and only brought home one ... "Polk Street Noisette".  It's a rose that was found at an old house in the neighborhood beside the cemetery.  No one working the sale could tell me anything about it, but I didn't care.  I have a fondness for found roses, with their stories of survival and discovery.  This new rose is already planted in my garden, in the front yard rose border.  I can't wait to see what it does as it grows!



In addition to the cemetery, we made two other stops in Lynchburg while we were there.  More to come, later in the week.

13 comments:

  1. "I have a fondness for found roses, with their stories of survival and discovery.". There's poetry in that line, my friend. <3

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  2. These are gorgeous roses. Weddings at the cemetery? I have never seen one. That seems strange to me.

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    1. If you saw the beautiful chapel in its garden setting, on a hill with roses and huge trees, I think a cemetery wedding in THIS cemetery would seem more normal to you. This is a place that is WAY more than a resting place for the dearly departed.

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  3. Oh my gosh, a beautiful countryside drive, wonderful roses to see and smell and then all of those choices to buy. I can hardly believe you came home with only one. :-) I look forward to seeing this one grow and bloom.

    Enjoy the rest of your week ~ FlowerLady

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    1. We had such a great day! The dogs came along with us, since we were gone all day (and the cemetery is dog friendly). Lots of people at the festival, and most everyone was carrying roses back to their cars. I'm still amazed that I only bought one ... so is my husband. I'm really excited about it, and I can't wait to see what it grows up to be.

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  4. Oh! Sounds like a perfect day!
    I love that you were able to take the dogs with you.
    :)
    All the roses are beautiful.
    I especially loved Harison's Yellow.
    Can't wait to see more photos of your trip!
    xo

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    1. Winnie always likes going on car rides ... Ruby, not so much. Winnie rides in her tiny crate in the car, then in her shoulder bag while we are out and about. Most of the time, it takes people a minute to realize that there's a little dog in that colorful bag. I get a kick out of it.

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  5. Connie, sounds like a wonderful day. I think the white rose is ALBA SEMI PLENA. Mine up here in the Puget Sound area hasn't started blooming yet so it is a treat to see one. I've wanted to visit that cemetery garden so very glad to hear about yours. Gean

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    1. Good guess based on the photo of the flowers, but I don't think is an Alba. Wrong leaves, and the flowers are much smaller than Alba Semi Plena that I have seen.

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  6. Sounds like a perfect day out. I enjoyed joining you for this brief visit.
    Amalia
    xo

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  7. I think the rose might be Blanc Double de Coubert

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    1. Good guess, but I'm fairly certain that it's not Blanc. These flowers are much smaller ... only about an inch and a half across.

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