A Walk Through The Garden, 2007

"Belle Organdy" (2005-7)

Moss, 2005, F. Shimbo

I can't tell you how much of a surprise this rose was last year! "Belle Organdy" (née Robin, 2005-7) was a treat in many respects: she was the first of my seedlings to produce buds; the first moss-rose I ever grew, and then there are these outstanding flowers!

The spots on "Belle Organdy's" parent, "Fa's Marbled Moss," are textural as well as lighter in color. This isn't visible on the live flower but quite obvious if a flower is cut and dried. Not only does "Belle Organdy" have spots, she has enormous spots, and this textural component seems to have been spread throughout the whole petal. "Belle Organdy" opens from a crinkled bud, as do her parents and most of her siblings, but she alone remains crinkled when the flower is fully mature. The petals are delightfully translucent.

"Belle Organdy" produced over a dozen flowers in her debut season last year. I kept expecting that as the season went on, more "normal" flowers would, alas, appear. To my absolute delight, they did not; even the very last flowers were crinkled and crumpled and a delight to the eye.

Now comes the clincher. "Belle Organdy" and her siblings grew a lot last year; "Belle Organdy" is now a meter-tall, gangly, rangy plant. Will the flowers still be crinkled like this when she blooms again this year? If so, I may go ahead and officially name and introduce her.

Apart from her other appealing properties, "Belle Organdy" last year showed plenty of moss on the buds, hips, stems and leaves, and there was a slight, pleasing Old Rose fragrance to the flower.

"Organdy" appeared to try to set hips last year, but alas the hips dried out and fell off before any seeds could grow. This is a shame because I am really interested in the genetics of spotting and I believe that "Organdy" might be homozygous for spots (that is, she may breed true). Oh, well, there's always this year...

18 June: Organdy's first flower opened today, two weeks or so late because of the long, dark, damp spring: but she is still crinkly and dappled!... Hmmm... maybe Dappled Organdy would be a better name? Right-click the photo at left to see an enlarged version. This flower grew in almost total shade on the very bottom of the plant, so I expect those that grew in sunlight to be a bit bigger and better.

One thing I did notice though. Last year I tied her canes to stakes to keep her from being blown about in the winter winds (and me from leaning over with a bad back). Buds only formed on the tops of the canes, so she would definitely be happier with her canes left to droop. They are not flexible enough to self-peg.

"Belle Organdy" had just begun suckering by the end of last season and this spring I was able to get one sucker off the plant and into a pot in the greenhouse. This flower is too good to lose!

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