When we bought the little house on the road in New Jersey, I wanted a rose to climb across the front fence. I had seen a climbing variety at The Brooklyn Botanic Garden that I thought be just right. It was a vigorous rambler with flowers that were kind of like ultra-vivid apple blossoms.
The label read ‘Peggy Anne Lipton’. I couldn’t find that rose to buy anywhere. At one point, I ran into the rosarian and asked where I could find that rose. He said that he had been trying to find it as well, for years. “What? It’s in the garden.” He told me that was just a label and not the rose in front of where Peggy Anne Lipton had been, and in fact, it was the old standby, ‘American Pillar’.
American Pillar is a Dr. Walter Van Fleet rose form 1902 and named and introduced in 1908. Dr. Walter Van Fleet bred many exceptional roses including one extremely vigorous, gorgeous eponymous pale pink climber. That rose, Dr. Van Fleet blooms once, but a descendant, ‘New Dawn’, is a repeat bloomer.
The leaves are dark and glossy and disease free on the fence where it has good air circulation. It blooms late – at the beginning of summer, here, but only once. The flowers are rose-pink with a white center and yellow stamens. It has a mild fragrance and is hardy to Zone 4.
Once I knew what that rose was, I purchased two that had been propagated on their own roots and planted them in the nursery bed in about the sunniest spot where everything went in the early days. When they had grown a bit, they were moved to the fence out front where they took off.
Six years later, I came back from giving a lecture, I cannot remember where, and at 10:00 PM on a Friday night, I plopped down on the couch and heard a crash. I ran out front and the fence and the roses were gone – completely gone. There wasn’t even any fence or rose parts, just a couple of shiny car bits. It was a hit and run. The fence had been hit on end and the pickets flew up in the air like in a cartoon.
I called the State Police and two officers showed up 45 minutes later. They took a few notes. I handed one the largest piece of car. He looked at it and tossed it back on the ground.
The next day, we read in the local newspaper that a brand-new Lincoln was picked up for a DUI in a town about ten miles away with fence parts and rose canes in its grill.
It took years, but as you can see, the roses came back.
Here’s a link to listen to my latest visit to Margaret Roach’s podcast, https://awaytogarden.com/a-garden-of-surprises-with-ken-druse/
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