Roses are a big part of our farm now. We will have over 100 in the rose garden this year and although I have loved all of them I am starting to figure out which ones do best for our climate and are best for cutting. For instance I think Queen of Sweden is one of the most beautiful roses but for me it is better to be enjoyed on the bush as they do not have as long a vase life as other roses I grow.

In my blog post for 2020 found here, my top rose was Francis Meilland. I still love this rose and I added a ton of them to my farm in 2021 because it was such an amazing rose for me in 2020. Sadly with the very hot summer we had and the late cold spell this spring our Francis roses are looking very sad and I didn’t get nearly the blooms I was hoping for in 2021. Farming can be really tough to predict how things will go for the year. luckily we had a unexpected winner for 2021-Tranquilty.

Tranquility is a white rose from David Austin. I planted 3 in 2020 and I don’t think it even bloomed once the whole year. But wow in 2021 it bloomed so much and the roses were perfect! I am now wishing the whole garden was just these because they are so hardy and healthy.

Although I say I wish I had all Tranquility that of course gets washed away when I have other amazing flowers blooming and I forget about how much trouble roses are. I think Ambridge rose is the most perfect apricot rose I have ever seen. Another David Austin and you really don’t get much prettier then this!

Lichfiled Angel was again at the top of my list for Creamy rose of the year. it’s just prefect and hardly has any thorns.

And my top favorite rose for scent for 2021 was the Alnwick Rose by David Austin. It is the most fruity yummy smell ever. Kind of smells like cherry’s and citrus. I can’t wait to do tours of the garden in the future just to force everyone to smell this rose.

So, how do we use our roses on the farm? I put them in our subscription bouquets and sell them to florists. This year we will also be doing a tea cup arranging class the first week of June when they will all be blooming like crazy.