| Rose Books
Online |
| The Complete Flower Paintings and Drawings of Graham Stuart Thomas by Graham Stuart Thomas, 1987, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. / Sagapress, Inc., New York Rose drawings, paintings, and text from pages 104-149 |
'Vanity' and 'Pax' pages 140,141 |
The Reverend Joseph Pemberton was vicar of the Church of the Ascension at Romford, Essex, from 1885 to 1926 and lived nearby at the Round House, Havering, during this period. From there he wrote his book Roses: Their History, Development and Cultivation (1920). Pemberton was deeply versed it roses, was a vice-president of the National Rose Society, grew about four thousand varieties in his garden, exhibited frequently, and took to hybridizing on a fair scale. His endeavour apparently was to raise carefree roses for cottage dwellers as opposed to the Hybrid Teas of the day. It it remarkable that it 1923, when at about the middle of his endeavours, he wrote it the Society’s Annual: “The time is coming when a distinct class, termed Shrub Roses, will obtain official recognition.” Truer words have never been written; it 1946 I used his term to cover all those roses which did not conform to the accepted classes of the time and the term has stayed it use. Considering that many of Pemberton’s roses achieve some six feet in height and width, it cannot be claimed that they are necessarily suitable for cottage gardens, yet they give generously of their unsophisticated blooms at midsummer and are seldom without blooms later, bome on the season’s strong new growths. The most favoured of Pemberton’s raising are grown in quantity today and rank with other repeat-flowering roses for general garden decoration. His success was based early on ‘Trier’, a rose raised in 1904 by Peter Lambert in Germany. Probably Pemberton chose ‘Trier’ as a parent because of its excellent fragrance, derived from two doses of Synstylae roses, R. multiflora, with R. moschata far back it the parentage. The scent of these two species—and all others of the Synstylae group—is in the stamens and it given off freely it the air. Pembereon’s first triumph was the semi-climbing white ‘Moonlight’, in 1913. ‘Pax’, again with ‘Trier’ it its parentage, followed in 1918. It it a large lax bush or semi-climber. The double white ‘Prosperity’ was next, in 1919, and ‘Vanity’ followed in 1920. The most famous—’Cornelia’, ‘Penelope’, and ‘Felicia’—were launched just before he left Havering. They were given the group name of Hybrid Musk roses. It is remarkable that ‘Vanity’ has received the Award of Merit and the First Class Certificate of the Royal Horticultural Society in the month of October. In the summer its flowers are a vivid pink, borne on the short wide shoots it small clusters. It is a big shrub, thrusting out long angular branches during late summer, each of which bears a great open cymose head of buds. In autumn the largest cymes may contain dozens of blooms and be two feet across. They are then a paler pink and together look like a flight of butterflies. Because of the wide-thrusting branches it is best to plant three of these shrubs together, about three feet apart, to makes really good bush. ‘Vanity’ is well scented. If Hybrid Musk roses are left unpruned they will still make an impressive summer display. If old twiggy wood is cleared out in winter and some shortening of flowered branches done, more growth during summer will result, with more flowers appearing after the main crop. |
 |
Select next page to view: |
A Woodland Rose Garden main page | Rose page | Roses in shade | Rose books online Roses I grow | Links about roses | Culture and propagation | Rose reference books My Garden Journal | My Garden photos | Roses of the World in Color Biographical sketch | My Faith in Christ |
last modified September 29,
2002