My roses have started blooming with gusto - at least 3 weeks earlier than normal. I thought I'd post some pictures from this year. A few of these are from a few weeks ago when the earliest were blooming, but most are within the last few days. I have a lot more pictures to download from the camera.

First to bloom:
Father Hugo's Rose, Mary Rose, The Herbalist

Austrian Copper, Harison's Yellow, Frulingsgold

Tracy Wickham (mini), Shooting Star (really old mini), Scentsational (mini)

Love that Tracy Wickham! I really need to stop by & steal.. er, see your roses!

So lovely! What kind of camera are you using? Your camera angles really are perfect, too.
Can't wait to see the rest!

Some real beauties there Tabby!

Toni, Tracy Wickham is one of my favorites. It does these small perfectly formed blooms that hold their centers and the leaves and plant are quite proportional. It was a good little show rose for me in the old days.

I use a Canon Rebel XTi - the digital version of my old Canon Rebel X.

I spent the later part of the day doing "rose rescue", where we try and rescue some less vigorous roses from those that sucker like crazy. It's been two years since that was last done and some roses traveled 20 feet into others. Leda is a problem that way and so are many of my gallica seedlings.

Some more...
Ralph's Creeper - I grow it as a mini here, Rainbow's End, Marie Pavie - polyantha

Jeanne Kenneally - almost always perfect form, Rose Gilardi - a moss mini, Galaxy

Fruhlingsgold bush, Centifolia Variegata, Bit O' Magic - a really old mini,

I love Tracy Wickham, Tabby. I've never seen it before. My Ralph's Creeper is also growing as a mini, but that's more its choice than mine. It's been a fragile little thing in my garden.

zuzu said:My Ralph's Creeper is also growing as a mini, but that's more its choice than mine. It's been a fragile little thing in my garden.

I'm surprised since the only thing that keeps it from getting large here is winter kill. I would have though it would have gotten huge in a warmer climate.

Never any winter kill here, but never any appreciable new growth either. Maybe it's a slow starter. I've only had it for two or three years.

I don't remember if it was a slow starter - I got it when it was introduced.

More:
An unknown deep pink once bloomer and another shot of it - was a graveyard cutting.

Teddy Bear, Rose de Rescht, Madame Hardy

Little Jackie, Leda, a small chunk of a large Gertrude Jekyll

love that Teddy Bear! *swoon!*

Lovely old-fashioned roses, I have always liked the blooms with buttons.
You have the same camera I do but I think we posted about that once.

Some more photos with lots of cottonwood fluff. The cottonwoods always spew cotton when my once blooming roses are blooming.

William Lobb - moss, it starts out purplish pink and fades to more purple. Spotty - a seedling mine, Perfume Delight


A lovely pink lost tag, Rene d'Anjou - a moss, Orange Honey - mini


Mr. Nash - a study name for a large buff yellow climber that's most likely Dubloons. It's hard to tell from the photo but it's as tall as the 7 foot high grape arbor. It would throw 15 foot canes if I let it, but then it would grab me as I mow.

Who are Spotty's parents? She is a very striking rose.

Spotty is a seedling of Alain Blanchard which is also spotted, although not quite as much as Spotty. I have other Alain Blanchard seedlings with varying amounts of spotting.

Alain Blanchard is a real beauty so it's nice to see a seedling of it too!
Rose (Rosa 'Alain Blanchard')

Some more, with more cottonwood fluff and an aphid explosion. But the lady bugs and lady bug larva are exploding in numbers too, plus some other interesting predators.

A seedling of Tuscany, Galaxy again, Fortune Cookie - a mini


A cherry red Eglantine hybrid from a cemetery:


Celsiana, Black Jade, The Alexandra Rose:


This rose has been sold as Banshee, but it's definitely not the same as the Banshee described by Leonie Bell. I believe it is now sold as High Country Banshee. It's a very common graveyard rose here:

Lovely additions to the parade. (I need to find a more interesting cemetery...)

porkpal said:Lovely additions to the parade. (I need to find a more interesting cemetery...)

It has to be an old cemetery that's not being much looked after. The new ones are all perpetual care with everything flush with the ground so they can be mowed easily. Some times the roses get removed from the older cemeteries to make it easier to take care of them. The Eglantine hybrid has since been removed from the cemetery I found it in, which was a shame since it was 10 feet across. But, I gave a large plant of it to a local nursery that sells local own root found roses. I do my very best to take cuttings that won't be noticed and won't take one from a struggling rose.

I used to know a lot of rose rustlers from Texas - there's some good places to rustle from somewhere down there.