I am always amazed this time of year by how many roses I see in the city. I am less intrigued by the ones in well kept yards than by the tenacious ones that are growing in empty lots and on properties that have been abandoned for years. This seems to be a particularily good year for abundant fat blooms– maybe because of the regular rain and the alternateing cool and hot days.

In my own garden we have six thriving climbing roses that we planted about 13 years ago. Once half of them had to be temporarily transplanted into pots when the wall they were growing on got knocked down by a truck– when replanted they continued to grow un-phased. I can see the blooms from my kitchen and I pick buckets of them every year...I must admit that I did not intentionally plant pink roses. The variety we chose was Madame Alfred Carriere and we were under the impression that they would be a creamy white. Even though I am not generally drawn to pink the plethora of gorgeous roses these vines produce every year are impossible not to love.