Photos from the Gardens of the American Rose Society

We spent today at the Gardens of the American Rose Society in Shreveport, LA, today. The gardens are beautiful, though we missed peak bloom by about one week. Next week at this time all the hybrid musk roses and many others will be in full bloom. Here are some of the photos. Many of the roses in the gardens were not labelled, so I don't know what they are. This post has tons of pictures, but I couldn't leave these out. Enjoy!

Above, an un-labelled yellow rose that was captivating.

Next, an un-labelled pink that was posing for a picture.

This next looks like one of the David Austin reds, but I don't know which.

This one was labelled, plus I would have recognized it anyway. It is the fabulous David Austin rose, The Prince. Look at this deep red / purple color! One of the most beautiful blooms I've ever seen. Not a very strong growing rose though - at least I'm told. This plant was not very big and lush, so what I've been told may be true.

This next brightly colored rose is Shreveport. There was a whole row of these at the ARS - must be because it's in the city of Shreveport. This rose is garishly showy, but I think it would make a fabulous specimen if you planted a group of them alone in the middle of a yard.

If you love striped roses, then this has to be on your list. It's called Scentimental. It's a little floribunda rose with great fragrance. The blooms really look like peppermint candy. I've heard it gets blackspot easily. My mom really liked this one.

This next was an unknown, but voluptuous red that I had to share.

Now we come to a rose that really captured my interest at the gardens. I've never had the desire to get the hybrid musk rose Prosperity until I saw all of them at these gardens. They were FANTASTIC. The smell would waft to you long before you came up to the HUGE bushes, and they were loaded with blooms. This one is definitely on my wish list now.

I wish you could see just how huge this Monsieur Tillier tea rose was. The blooms had a salmon-shaded color that really stood out. I love big, bushy tea roses!

Nestled in among all the roses was a nice bed of Louisiana irises. They weren't labelled, but I feel sure this is the very common Louisiana Gamecock. It was deeper purple than this photo shows.

Of course I had to include a picture of my favorite floribunda that I don't have - Lavaglut. This rose never disappoints me when I see it.

This was a fabulous and huge rose that was not labelled. I don't know what it is, but I liked it. Could it be Safrano? Any readers are invited to enlighten me if you know what it is.

This was the David Austin rose Graham Thomas, which grows as a climber in the South. It's similar to Golden Celebration, which I have.

This is another striped rose. It's called Fourth of July. It's a popular climber.

This is a curious little rose called the Chestnut rose. It's a species ("wild") rose. Has very small, cute leaves and a small, but full flower.

Last, I had to include a picture of the most fabulous rose of all - at least to me and my wife. This picture does not do it justice at all - I should have deadheaded the plant before taking the shot. It's the delightful Buff Beauty. There were quite a few of these located in one section of the gardens, and they were breathtaking. I want one!!

I hope you enjoy all the pics.