A Walk Through The Garden, 2007

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'Kordes Perfecta'

Large Flowered/Hybrid Tea, 1957, W. Kordes

I have never seen a rose as lovely as this, not from the first time I saw her in Nonna's garden to today. Just looking at that picture, I can feel the texture of the petals and imagine her fragrance—the strongest and best in my garden. 'Kordes Perfecta's' scent is pure Rose (a friend of mine, encountering her for the first time, said, "You don't smell this rose—it smells you!"), and her coloring and form pure joy. The color deepens depending on many factors, so each flower is unique. I do so love this rose!

'Kordes Perfecta' is said by many to be a difficult rose to grow, and this is quite true. She likes a bit of shade and appreciates good culture. She dies back quite a bit in winter, but she is not the worst by far. She requires a stern pruning each spring. But the results are so spectacularly worth it that I have not one, but two clones of her in my garden, an honor otherwise reserved only for the Marbled Moss.

'Kordes Perfecta' is a very upright grower, with shiny, emerald-green leaves which are, in my garden, perfectly disease free. New growth is a magnificent mulberry color. She is a thorny bush, and sometimes I clip the tips off the lower thorns to make caring for her easier (a dog claw trimmer works great—it also works great for pruning minis, I've found!).

The only real problem I've encountered is that, for some reason, 'Kordes Perfecta' is a magnet for aphids. At least aphids are easy to get rid of!

A Year In Pictures:

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