A Walk Through The Garden, 2008

"Fort Pella White Merlot"

Found Rose, before 1955

For a long time I thought this rose was R. centifolia, as it answers to all the descriptions I've found, and is a perfect match for a painting by Rédouté. A couple of experts have told me, however, that this is definitely not centifolia because of its leaves and thorns. Doing a bit more research, I found that the type of growth and leaves it's got, it is more likely an alba or an alba X centifolia/damask cross. So, since it's kind of dark for an Alba, I give it the study name of "Fort Pella White Merlot." White Merlot is rather dark for a white wine...

From what the local old-timers tell me, this rose has been growing in its spot on my driveway since the house was remodelled in 1955 and perhaps since the house was built in 1939. When I put the garden in, in 2005, I pulled up a sucker that had been growing by the wall. It had flowered once, several years ago, so I was sure which rose it was. She spent the rest of that year growing roots. In 2006 she bloomed profusely, so much that the three canes she had lay on the ground under the weight of their flowers. The exceptionally strong Old Rose fragrance pervaded the garden and could be detected at quite a distance. After the flowers, the rose went on to make a number of two-meter canes. In the fall, her leaves turned wine-red on the upper side and silvery on the reverse. She held onto them until midwinter, when I finally removed them with scissors.

She is a splendid and wonderful thing in the garden. She has remarkably tomentose leaves, with the down on the underside of the leaves colored a pale pink. When she has broken and is just about to unfurl that first leaf, "Fort Pella White Merlot" looks just like a pussy-willow. A delightful rose all year long.

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