May 24, 2007

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME .....

A WITNESS TO GENERATIONS OF HISTORY


My great , great Irish Grandfather was one of a kind. The way I figure it he was either very brave, or very stupid. Who in the world would declare themselves for the Union in Alabama, the capitol of the Confederate States of America ? He would and did, that's who!

And, for his troubles, his barn was torched and burned to the ground. It's a wonder he survived at all in the midst of this hotbed of rebels. But survive he did and lived to present a bill to the Union for war damages to his property, for which he was compensated in the amount of several hundred U.S. dollars, a lot of money in those days.

I mention the above story because of the rose that grows in my garden , a passalong, from the Civil War era that is a survivor just like my great, great Grandfather was . Not only is the rose a beautiful yellow, it's very fragrant as well. If only it could talk what tales it could tell !

9 comments:

  1. Hi there, I found you from 'May Dreams' and since I have never been to Chicago, I thought it would be nice to visit. That is a nice story concerning your grandfather's rose. I have one also although the rose is pink and the grandfather didn't have to make a stand!

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  2. Great story Carolyn and I would love to smell those beautiful roses! I love roses on a backdrop of a beautiful fence.
    Your post on blue flowers I totally agree with. I am drawn to blue also. Lavender and blue are my favorites in the garden. If I had my choice, blue would be my theme for the garden in our backyard. My husband loves red, which I have to agree, spices up areas that are no longer blooming.

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  3. Hi Layanee and thanks for stopping by. I returned your visit and found your blog to be very interesting and creative.

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  4. Wow, Carolyn - that's a fantastic passalong... I also cherish plants that have come down to us over the years.

    Do you have any idea what rose this could be? There are a lot of yellow ones listed at the Antique Rose Emporium so maybe this is one of them.

    Annie in Austin

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  5. I wish I knew, Annie. It has the most wonderful fragrance.

    Plants that come to us over the years always carry a lot of meaning, don't they ? Friends of mine have peonies or roses from their grandparent's gardens and one has a garden of only plants from friends and family.

    Happy Memorial Day to you.

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  6. Great story! You are so vortunate to have that kind of istorical connection. The rose looks like a Harrison's Yellow, bred in the early 19th century in Philadelphia. I did a post on mine here. It is very thorny with small leaves and bright yellow flowers. They color doesn't really come through well on my camera.

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  7. Glad you liked the rose story, Old roses. It certainly looks very much like the one in your post, except mine seem to be taller.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Carolyn... I'm going to include this in the Garden Bloggers' Book Club post about Passalong Plants. After all, you were sick... check back later for the link to be added. (I am up wayyy too late watching NBA basketball!)

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  9. Hi Carol and thanks so much for your generosity.

    Enjoy the NBA basketball game !

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