The only one of those I have in my garden is Lady Bird, and it's a truly stunning rose. The rose bush, however, is weak and scraggly and I fear for its longevity. The more recent first lady roses -- Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, and Nancy Reagan -- are more vigorous and might stay around longer than the earlier ones.
So, did Sam McGredy have to pay Picasso? If so, I wish he hadn't. I have a couple of Picasso bushes in my garden and I would have been just as eager to buy them under any other name.
Sometimes these marketing tactics backfire. I still haven't bought Barbra Streisand, although it is a beautiful rose, and I avoided buying Rosie O'Donnell for a long time, until I learned that it was also named New Era and I could happily have it growing in my garden with that name.
