Plant an Old Garden Rose for Earth Day

Earth-friendly garden roses -- do such things exist? After all, roses have the reputation of being fussy plants. We’ve all heard that to grow healthy roses requires chemicals and hard work. Might it be possible to grow roses organically and without too much ado?

Fortunately, yes. With Old Garden Roses, also known as OGRs. 

Thousands of varieties of Old Garden Roses have been grown without chemicals for centuries. Empress Josephine filled her French garden with a selection of her favorite Old Garden Roses at Chateau de Malmaison, and Pierre Redouté created his famous paintings of them.

Unlike the demanding modern-day Hybrid Tea roses, Old Garden Roses often survive for many years in the garden without much attention at all.

Most OGRs predate the 20th-century Hybrid Tea and have been in cultivation a hundred or more years (some date back to biblical times). Alternately called “antique roses,” OGRs have a rich history and can come from faraway times and places and in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Prolific bloomers, Old Garden Roses offer masses of hundreds to thousands of blooms with rich, intoxicating scents during the glorious spring bloom season. Like lilacs, camellias, and forsythias, most OGRs bloom - profusely and without abandon - for several weeks in the spring. I fill bowls and bowls of Old Garden Roses for the home from May through June and cannot ever tell that any are missing from the bushes in my garden! 

As you browse the accompanying slideshow's images of these beautiful roses that grow organically and happily in my North Fork garden, consult the sources below for more information, and consider ordering or planting an Old Garden Rose for Earth Day.

Several local garden centers typically carry at least a few OGRs: try Ornamental Plantings in Southold, Trimble's in Cutchogue, and Peconic River Herb Farm in Calverton. Some well-known mail-order vendors for Googling are Vintage Gardens, Chamblee's Rose Nursery, and Antique Rose Emporium. 

Information Sources

HelpMeFind Rose Database: Includes a wealth of information about roses, including photos and where to buy

Heritage Rose Foundation: Dedicated to the preservation of Old Garden Roses

Old Garden Roses and Beyond: Offers a comprehensive introduction to OGRs