This would be more exciting if I had photos for all of them, but here's what was on the farm when we moved in.

"Sarah Van Fleet" aka the blasted rose because it tends to ball in wet years
"Maxima" R. alba maxima
"Spong"
"Common Moss"
"Dorothy Perkins"
"White Dorothy Perkins" which is occasionally half and half
"Excelsa" aka "Red Dorothy Perkins"
"Goldfinch" hybrid multiflora
"Harison's Yellow"
"Empress Josephine" R gallica
R. gallica officinallis, apothecary
R. gallica versicolor "Rosa Mundi"
"FJ Grootendorst"
"Reine Victoria"
"Seven Sisters"
Rosa pimpinellifolia 'flore rubro multiplici' double dark red burnet, although it is not red, but has dark stripes
"Tuscany"
"Hansa"
one unknown lovely old pink tea, one unknown red, and one scarlet that died.

What I've added:
"Linda Campbell"
"Adelaide Hoodless"
"Applejack"
Rosa glauca
"Golden Wings"
"America's Choice" aka "HC Anderson"
"Hot Cocoa"
Rosa viridifolia
"Graham Thomas"
"Othello"
"Robusta"
Rosa rugosa alba
"Sir Thomas Lipton"
Rosa palustris, plucked from Idora swamp

I'm working on getting cuttings of R. alba semi-plena and an old red that is almost as dark as Tuscany with a bright golden center.

Wow, your place must be GORGEOUS when they're in bloom! Nice!!!!!!!! :)

wow wish i could find a farm like that !!!!! very nice send pics when you can please
Gloria

I am so jealous: a farm with some history attached to it. Our farm has been occupied, at least sporadically, for 150 years (old for here), but there is virtually nothing to show for it except two old cisterns. Your roses are probably older than any living plant on our property.

Some of the roses came from England in the 1600s when the May family first came to Massachusetts. They brought the roses from there to here in western NY. The farm is probably the same age as yours, Porkpal, this part of the state was settled late as it belonged to the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederation.

I just wish I had had the opportunity to talk with someone who actually knew the history of the roses. By the time we had ferreted them all out of the weeds and rock piles, the one person who might have known anything was suffering from a quite severe dementia. The people who were left just didn't care and had never paid any attention to them.

I'll try to post some recent pictures. They are still in the camera.

how cool I'm leaveing on Saterday morning to go to N.Y. I'll be in Watertown area for a week to viset my son and family
Gloria

Gloria - Be prepared for rain, wet, & more rain. My father, who's FINALLY got his house up for sale through 1000 Island Realty, said that it's been raining all year and the whole of the area is just 1 giant swamp.

It has been a very wet year. We're in the far southwestern corner of the state and it has been a record setting year for rain.

here's a picture of Maxima from a few years ago:



and Rosa pimpinellifolia 'flore rubro multiplici'

Toni its been raining here as well so I'll be ready for it !!!!I'm just so excited to be going I don't even care I DON'T HAVE TO WORK FOR 12 WHOLE DAYS

Kathleen I am impressed that you have been able to identify so many of the old roses that came with the farm. That's a lovely picture of Maxima.

I'm still working on it, as you know from the post in the mystery rose forum. There are two that have me baffled, but most of them were fairly easy to find. I have the ARS rose encyclopedia and Peter Beales big book, along with some smaller books on gallicas and ogrs in general. The internet was a great deal of help, and falling in with the right people at the right time. I am allergic to roses, almost never have them in the house, but it has become a bit of a passion to find out who these charmers are and very interesting to find the history of each one. I am astounded that some of these go back 700 years.

a couple more old pics of the centifolias (and yes, I did count every petal on at leas two blossom of each of the roses).
Spong


Common Moss

Kathleen,
That's a great list of roses, and well suited to your area, I bet.

Nice photos, especially of Spong and Alba Maxima. I have fond memories of growing Maxima in NJ. When we had moist spring weather, the four of them would cover themselves in flowers which looked especially great against that rich, dark foliage. I loved the way they filled in and stood head high, a model shrub in and out of bloom.

Thanks, Steve. The person responsible for the original roses had a very good eye and understanding of what would grow here. Maxima is a beauty and really puts on a show. This year they have all bloomed for quite a long time as the weather has been cooler than normal. Oddly, Spong was one that took me a while to corner. They are good at running themselves up and down the fence. The only thing that seems to have bothered any of them is a black walnut that the past owners planted. I've had to readjust several placements on the fence nearest it and lost two Hansas and a Maxima, but they are abundant elsewhere.