Well I guess it's high time I update my parade with this year's blooms. This is one of the earliest blooming seasons we've ever had in New York. Usually my garden doesn't go into full bloom until the second week of June, but many of the roses were already blooming the third and fourth week of May this year. Here are a few pictures of some of them.

This is America, a climber which grows on the western facing wall of the house. Actually, I have five Americas growing against that wall, all supported by a trellis (or more like a scaffold) made from exceptionally long canes I harvested from a bamboo grove that grows wild in the woods near my home. Purple clematis vines weave their way in between the blooms to create a nice complement of color.

Two enormous Bouquet Parfaits grow in the partial shade of the opposite side of the house, but that doesn't stop these hybrid musks from producing a profusion of clustered blooms with a light but heady fragrance.

Here's a closer shot of one of its bouquets. There are probably a hundred of these clumps of flowers covering both plants.

Golden Celebration sits across the garden from America, where it is supported by an iron trellis.

This is one of the Circus series of roses that I got from Palatine. They're rather unusual in that its takes many days for the buds to slowly, gradually open up. And yet, once they do finally open, they last an exceptionally long time on the bush, and stand up to rain and wind particularly well.

Here's Burgundy Iceberg, with a nice example of its lighter reverse.

This is English Garden - a tall, upright plant whose blooms often remind me of Dahlias - less so in this photo, but more so in others I've posted.

I have two Christopher Marlowes that grow beneath a Mandarin Honeysuckle vine.

Believe it or not, this is Oranges 'n' Lemons -- after it has faded to pink grapefruit, which it always does in my garden.

Here's a trio of Peace, the best selling rose in history - or so I've read.

Paloma Blanca is a Buck rose; I purchased mine from Roses Unlimited several years ago, and really enjoy its unique form and substance. It produces what I call "gobs" of blossoms, all pushed together.

Here's Scentimental, whose deeply cupped shape is almost, but not quite, cabbage like. I only wish its blooms lasted longer on the bush.

Berries 'n' Cream is sort of similarly striped but has a different structure; and it's also a climber (and nearly thornless).

Once Berries 'n' Cream opens up it shows off very pretty stamens.

Red Ribbons is a terrific ground cover rose for slopes and rock gardens, which is where I grow mine. It's almost always in bloom throughout the summer.

Ballerina is situated right next to Red Ribbons, and serves as a nice foil due to the contrast in colors and size. Ballerina's blossoms are small - no bigger than a quarter, but they are profuse, as shown here.

Here's Ebb Tide.

A closer shot of Ebb Tide

Here's Miami Moon, which is a shorty. It does best in the front of the border - which means I need to move it since I planted two other roses in front of it last year.

Rose de Rescht is a sweet, evenly formed bush that produces many of these half-dollar sized blooms. They never last long, and they have to compete with the dense foliage to be seen, but there are so many of them that it's usually not a problem.