Earlier in the week I was intensely involved in making a rose order prior to the July 15th deadline for Spring of 2003.  Have you started Christmas shopping yet!  Time just passes us by and I try to avoid ever doing anything before its time.  Ellen is a patient woman.

    In the mid 1980's Roxbury became intensely involved in roses at the encouragement of a few of our customers. I always blamed the passion on my eye doctor, which made him nervous the first year, since 2,000 roses is a lot to take responsibility for if they don't sell.  Another good friend (and regular reader) led us to a great source for true antique roses in Ontario, Pickering Nurseries.  Thanks, Roy.

    In 1987 we carried about 40 varieties of truly old roses.  An idea before its time, we did fairly well, though the masses wanted modern roses and the old rose fans were partial to different varieties.  So we settled into the top selling line of roses over the years.  From one vendor we have always bought and sold between 1500 to 200 roses per year.

    Times change, and many older varieties of modern roses must be discarded to make room for the new stuff.  The second largest supplier of roses dawns our doorstep once a year knowing that rejection is imminent, but one must always ask.  I decided to split our order between the two suppliers this year for the sake of variety, plus I would really like to see what the competition looks like after all of these 15 years.  Sometimes change is good.

    I did not return to the antiques of Ontario, though they are a fine source, because the two suppliers seemed to have some older roses and the Ontario source prefers fall shipping, which just doesn't suit our set up at this point.

    Some of the older modern varieties returning this spring will include "Electron", a pink hybrid tea; "Christian Dior", a red hybrid tea; "Just Joey", an apricot hybrid tea; "New Dawn", a pink climber; "Paradise", a purple hybrid tea; and "Angel Face", a purple floribunda.  "Sterling Silver", a lavender hybrid tea, will return.  Unlike the previously mentioned varieties, "Sterling Silver" never received good marks for sow performance, but the color is intriguing.

    Some new varieties will include "Marilyn Monroe", an apricot hybrid tea; "Stairway To Heaven" a red climber; "Distant Drums, an unusual tan washing to orchid pink Shrub rose; and "What A Peach, a peachy apricot rose known as a "Shrublet".  We will also feature an abundance of different tree roses including "Buff Beauty", an hybrid Musk in a cascading form.

    Some older plants will hopefully include the species rose "Harison's Yellow" (Rosa foetida); "Souvenir de la Malmaison", a pink Bourbon; and "China Doll" the pink forerunner of the modern tea rose.  Of course, all of these antiques are fragrant, but so are some of the modern roses.  I am currently researching my order list to establish an index of roses fragrances.

    We currently have 188 varieties of roses on order for Spring 2003, most of which do materialize.  For those of you who are local, the residual of our 2002 roses are on sale for 1/2 price until they are gone.  Don't forget to reference our Rose Care Brochure .   Christmas times' a comin'.   Until next week.

                                                                                    Andy Lynn