found this rose just a literal "stone's throw" from my mailbox. In the spring of 1996 while driving to work, I noticed this mass of pink at the edge of a woods on my neighbor's property. The next Sunday, I meandered over to this corner to discover this rose. It was growing in tall grass and weeds, and had obviously been there a few years having spread by suckers. The strong scent hit me before I reached the rose and thus made this find all the more thrilling. My neighbor said she planted the rose a while back and forgot about it. She called it "Martha Washington" and shared that her grandmother grew it and claimed it came from Mt. Vernon. I got permission to take cuttings and this rose became the first rose I ever rooted. Good thing too, because this summer my neighbors put a city water line in right through where this rose was. Notice I say was, as there is not a trace of it left. This rose has grown to over six foot high and about as wide in three years. The leaves are a dull, matte green that show little tendency towards black spot, but will show a little mildew later in the season. Starting the later part of May and lasting four weeks, this rose produces a constant display of small 2" light pink, quartered blooms that are very fragrant- ffff in my book! The flowers do not produce hips and need deadheading since the petals don't fall, but just shrivel and turn brown. There is almost a hint of moss on the buds, and when rubbed smells a bit like a moss rose would. It's a very hardy rose in my zone 6a garden with no dieback whatever. The intense fragrance is more than enough reason to keep "Martha Washington", or whoever she is. This is one of my most visited roses during the spring bloom time. I hope to someday have a positive identification- any help would be appreciated. It likely is a Damask or Centifolia.
kbk 2000

*In May of 2001 I took cuttings of this rose to the annual Open House at Tufton Farms of Monticello where it was identified by the Rev. Douglas Seidel, very quickly I might add, as the Damask rose 'Bella Donna' . He shared that it was a very commonly planted rose in the Pennsylvania area, and its flat-topped buds are a distinguishing feature. I am thrilled to have identified this rose as it has always been a favorite of mine.
kbk 2002

"Rose-growing is a delightful adventure.  It is full of surprises, most of them pleasant, and all of them instructive.  There is reason for the world-love for the rose. It appeals to all ages, all climates, all conditions. It blooms as beautifully for the cottager as for the millionaire. From the earliest written records we learn that it was loved and grown many centureies before the Christian era."

American Rose Society, 1931