"Just looking at your rose photos gives me the feeling that you have been, and will continue to be successful growing roses."
In reality, I was not successful until recently. I was introduced to roses as a child. My Dad and I were always fighting black spot. When I bought my first home on the south shore of Long Island I attempted to grow the same roses that were in my childhood garden. The results were disappointing. 23 years later, I moved to the north shore of Long Island hoping the results of my labor would lead to beautiful roses that one admires and dreams about in catalogs. Again I ordered, planted, cared for various roses and ended up with what I call "one cane wonders" (sarcastic). Many of the roses survived but they did not thrive - there's a difference. In 2012, I came across the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden list of roses. I thought to myself, if they flourished there, perhaps they will do well here after all it's only 60 miles from my home.
http://www.nybg.org/gardens/ro...
I selected several roses from the list and ordered from a nursery where the roses were grown in a cold climate. Palatine Roses in Canada offers some of the roses in the book, as well as, from the Peggy Rockefeller Rose List. It's been a long journey - I don't look back now, only forward. As frustrating as it was at times , I was determined to live the dream my Dad and I had.
