My first Austin rose. ::sniffs::

Crushed in Body but not Spirit: David Austin English Rose "Jude The Obscure.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

This morning I ran down to the bottom-of-the-hill garden, (which I've dubbed the Long Garden) to bear witness to "Jude the Obscure"'s first bloom. This flower was being molested by at least five different members of the insect kingdom, most of which I've never seen before in my life. I cried, "Hell naw!" and beat the bugs off the blossom with a plant stake. The only one I managed to kill was the Japanese beetle.

So here it is, bruised and beaten but not destroyed. It smells like grapefruit. I think that if the bugs ever let up on this one it's going to be fabulous.

That's really orange!

Griffith Buck Grandiflora Rose "Enchanted Autumn.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

It's Griffith Buck Grandiflora Rose "Enchanted Autumn!"

I think this is about as orange as you can get in a rose. I guess it depends on your tastes, but I think that it's pretty gorgeous. It has a pleasant, fruity fragrance, too.

Speaking of gorgeous Buck roses, "Polonaise" has been putting out the most perfect exhibition-shaped flowers. Unfortunately, that rose is pretty much impossible to photograph. You'll have to take my word for it--if you like red-pink roses, "Polonaise" is spectacular.

Kneel before "Polonaise!"

The Gorgeous "Polonaise.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I finally managed to snap a decent picture of "Polonaise." The flowers are really extraordinary. They unfortunately have no fragrance, but that's probably why the beetles are leaving them alone.