I've always loved the idea of Vintage Gardens roses. There are so many roses that, it seems to me, deserve preservation and distribution. But as Zuzu pointed out recently, too frequently their advantages are hypothetical. Only rarely does a rose from VG survive the first year in my garden. And only a small portion of those survivors actually grows. So it would seem we are supporting more of a dream than a reality. It's a compelling dream, though, isn't it?
I understand why their clever use of alternates works great for them, but it really doesn't work to well for me. I need to know what I'm going to be planting in the garden. A 30 ft tall violet rambler is not interchangeable with a 2 ft tall yellow floribunda. I wish them luck, and hope they survive. Meanwhile, I have a large order of climbers and floribundas with them that should ship at the end of April. I'm planning to give those roses exceptional care (by my standards, at least). And I'm planning to mourn the passing of another very rich sources of roses. And I plan to be ready to move on.
