146 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



R. IViclniraiaihi 



Single Roses in English Gardens 



ARTHUR T. JOHNSON, F. R. H. S. 



RECEXT Summers liave marked at least one notable 

 change in our English gardens. I refer to the great 

 increase that has taken place in the jxjpularity of the 

 single rose. Some of us had always loved the wild rose, 

 Init it was not until a comparatively few years ago that 

 we began .seriously to cultivate it, not only by hybridizing 

 but by rescuing' some of our fine old standard kinds from 

 oblivion and by introducing new species. America gave 

 us an inspiring encouragement in this direction ; Lord 

 Penzance demonstrated the w-onderful beauty and adapta- 

 bility for hybridizmg of our wild Briar and then came 

 the glorious R. moyesii and the scarcely less lovely R. 

 hugonis. These seemed to give the final stimulus to the 

 cuit of the single bush rose which is gaining ground with 

 every recurring season. 



The peculiar attributes of the single rose, its natural 

 untamed elegance and freedom of growth, together with 

 its comparatively short blossoming season, may not 

 alwavs commend it for use in the formal rosarv'. But it is 

 often just those very attributes which render it so charm- 

 ing a subject for the semi-wild garden, the border, shrub- 

 l)ery. woodland and many other such places wherein it is 

 witiiout a i>€er. Moreover, these roses, or most of them, 

 do not demand the careful cultivation of the decorative, 

 or bedding, varieties. They will do almost anywhere, sel- 

 dom need pruning and, being the real "Roses of Jime" — 

 the "Month of Roses" — they are the first to herald the 

 advent of Summer. 



The earliest of them to bloom in my own garden are 

 R. hugonis, just mentioned, with its tall, arching growths 

 wreathed with a multitude of sulphur-yellow blooms, and 

 the brilliant Carmine Pillar. The flowers on this latter 

 are .3 to 4 inches across and of an intense carmine with a 

 white base to the petals. Though nominally a climber, 

 tliis old variety will do as a bush and is admirable for 

 hanging over a bank. Another early one is the ne^v 

 Glowworm, a verv- fragrant single in a flaming orange- 

 scarlet which at once suggests a relationship with what 

 is perhaps the most gorgeous single rose in e.xistencc, the 

 Austrian Copper. This is a form of R. lutea, whose flow- 

 ers are like goblets of old gold. The Penzance Briars owe 

 much of their beauty to this rare old liastcrn species and 

 the well-known double, Soleil d'Or, has also borrowed its 

 fine color frf)m the same source. 



The Wichuraiana singles naturally come under another 

 class, one in which American hybridists have done won- 

 ders, but I must reluctantly pass these by with the men- 

 tion of one and that is R. Wichuraiana itself. This de- 

 lightful little single white is not perhaps as showy as 

 manv, but it is one whose creeping habit and fresh ever- 

 green foliage make it so useful as a carjiet for rough 



banks, for covering the ground at the margins of shrub- 

 beries or associating with Heaths and other subjects. 



Our native Sweet Briar (R. rubiginosa), often more 

 appreciated in American gardens than with us, must al- 

 ways rank high among the wild roses. The best forms 

 are almost as bright in color as American Pillar and, in 

 addition to this and the deliciously scented foliage, the 

 scarlet hips are very attratctive. R. villosus comes near 

 to the above, but it is of rather shorter stature and the 

 leafage has a greyish tint. R. arvensis, in ivory-white, of 

 our \voods is one of the few species which does well in 

 shade and it is the wild parent of the well-known Ayr- 

 shire roses and others. 



R, lucida is a typical bush rose of about 4 feet in height 

 with handsome, glossy leafage which assumes fine autum- 

 nal tints. The blooiiis of R. lucida are some 3 to 4 inches 

 across. They open flat and are of a cool silver-pink. 

 Another delighttul species, also deciduous, is R. alpina 

 whose branches are perfectly smooth, bearing no thorns. 

 Tlie emerald foliage of this bush is adorned with bright 

 rosy-red flowers in early Summer. R. Pyrenaica. dwarf 

 and with prickly branches, is a form of the above and 

 this makes a good companion for the charming little R. 

 nitida and R. berberifolia Hardyii whose yellow flowers 

 have a crimson blotch at the base of each i>etal like a 

 Cistiis. 'ibis needs a warm, sunny place, as also does that 

 curious and pretty garden form of the same species, 

 Hebe's Lij). whose crcrimy-whitc flowers have a Picotee- 

 edge of red. 



\\'e grow the Burnet rose largely on dr_\- banks of ijorous 

 soil where few subjects do well and some of the Califor- 

 nian species also pros]jer in such conditions. The former 

 is of course R. spinosissima, a native of our sandy wastes 

 and parent of the Scotch Briars. Some of the creamy- 

 white and yellow forms of this s]>ecies are exquisite little 

 shrubs, very hardy and content, and there are a few choice 

 kinds in jiink. one of which is the bronzv^foliaged. very 

 dwarf. William TH. 



R. macrophylla is a fine, hearty s]>ecies allied to the 

 Ramanas (Rugosas). Like the latter the foliage is hand- 

 some, the blossoms very large and followed by conspicu- 

 ous fruits which ranain on the bushes well into the Win- 

 ter. Of Chinese introduction, however. R. moyesii must 

 claim premier place. This makes a vigorous, thin-habited, 

 sturdy bush of some (i to 7 feet in height, and soon after 

 the pale emerald foliage has ai>])eared the gorgeous flow- 

 ers unfold. In colf)r these are a dee]) and velvety blood 

 crim.soii with a bold mass of stamens in a rich yellow, the 

 petals are of remarkable texture and these flowers, pro- 



Thc illustrations arc through the courtesy of Bobbink & Atkins, in who.sc 

 catalog many of the varieties named are listed. 



