More Blooming Roses

Today the Fair Bianca in the front yard bloomed and the one on the deck is about to bloom! Oh glorious fragrance!

The scent is soooo extraordinary. It has a distinct sweet anise tone to it. Fair Bianca is described as having a strong Old Rose scent with "an unusual heliotrope note" so maybe that's the anise I smell.

I don't think I'll ever tire of that fragrance. Fair Bianca is the rose I kept in a vase by my bed all last summer while visiting my mom. My dad was in the nursing home so each day was filled with sadness and anxiety and we clung to hope. But at night, in the dark in my bed, I would hold that rose to my nose and let the fragrance cover me like a soft blanket. It was the last thing I smelled each night before drifting to sleep and oh so comforting.

I'm glad I planted three Fair Biancas this year and I plan on getting three more next year. They're just too gorgeous, too white, too pure and perfect. I want to be surrounded with them and have enough to give away. The folds of the petals all ruffled together remind me of crumpled fresh, white sheets. I could just get lost in all that fragrant whiteness.

It's mid May and Fair Bianca is sold out. I haven't checked the David Austin website lately so I don't know how long it's been sold out. My mom says lots of places sell out of popular flowers or plants so you have to order early if you want something. I'll put my order in next January too, just like I did this year.





The Blush Noisette got its first bloom today too! It's a delicate pale pink with a mild, sweet candy fragrance. David Austin describes Blush Noisette as having a rich clove scent but perhaps it will get stronger as the plant grows.
I can't wait to see this rose in full bloom! If it gets over 100 blossoms this year, it can only get better next year.



Also today, another Pat Austin bud bloomed. This photo shows the difference in color between the new rose on the right and the two on the left that are three days old. When this rose is older and more established, I'll bet it's splendid, covered with all shades of coppers and peaches with touches of shell pink. I really like how the colors change on this rose. Every time I look out the window at Pat, she's changed her outfit again. She just can't make up her mind what to wear! Cute!