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By Melva Wheeler (melvatoo)
I live in a house that is on an average-size lot. Luckily, it is on a corner that provides a little more room because there are roses planted everywhere I can fit them. Early spring is the time when they are the prettiest. Many are roses that just bloom in the spring or early summer. The flowers last six weeks on those that are the one-time bloomers. These tend to make up for the fact that they do not repeat by being stunning when they are in bloom. I like to propagate my roses. I sell some on eBay and others are given as gifts to friends, so I have very few modern roses that are patented. This way there is no need to ask for permission to start a new rose from a cutting. It is one of the advantages of growing antique roses. When a rose is hybridized, it is usually patented by the breeder. Most rosarians do not get rich by introducing new roses. but as long as the rose is protected by a patent, they are entitled to collect royalties from those who propagate them. The two roses pictured below are a couple that I have propagated. One of them is a gallica that has adapted to the climate of Texas. Usually gallica roses need a colder winter than what we have here. 'Crimson Gallica' is a rose that was found in Texas and Antique Rose Emporium sells it. The other rose is a china rose; it is one of the classes of roses that are recommended for Texas. Its name is 'Morey's Pink China'. There are three rose classes that love the heat of the summer and they thrive where there is not much of a winter: the teas, noisettes, and chinas.
I adore roses that smell good and I have very few that do not have a delicious fragrance. However, 'Ballerina' is one of the few exceptions. It has no scent that I can detect, but it is so beautiful I just have to grow it! I have often thought if it had a scent, it would be perfect. Rose fragrance differs depending on the class. The most famous is the damask; their distilled essence is used in rose perfume. The damask roses have a heady, intoxicating fragrance. I personally believe they smell the way a rose should smell, and their scent evokes childhood memories. Tea roses have a scent that eludes my nose. It is a very subtle scent. China roses do not have much fragrance as a rule. There are exceptions to the rule, such as the noisettes. They are a cross of the musk rose, which is very fragrant, and the china. But they have kept the marvelous scent of the musk rose. Their fragrance is known to waft, so it can be enjoyed at a distance.
One of my most fragrant roses is the noisette 'Nastarana', and it is gorgeous too. This is a picture of it with another noisette, 'Camilla Rose'. This spring is a bittersweet time for me; it will be my first year without my garden "supervisor." I lost Horsie, my beloved supervisor last July. Disguised as a cat, he was my companion outside when I worked with the roses. We referred to Horsie as the "equine feline". I have another cat, Corky, but he is still a kitten and isn't yet interested in being a supervisor. He is too busy chasing leaves and eating bugs. Horsie was invaluable in the summer, as he reminded me to take a break when it was hot.
I find comfort in plants--especially my roses. I like to plant certain plants as a memorial to people (and cats). I have wanted a 'Comtesse de Rocquigny' rose for years. I was finally able to obtain one, and I planted it on Horsie's grave. I expect great things from that rose and I talk to it all the time.
My neighborhood is one where a lot of people walk, and my roses receive frequent compliments from passersby. A friend once told me that her husband, a runner, loved to go by my house so he could see the roses; he said he could smell them from a block away. When I was working on my first rose bed years ago, a woman walking by told me, "Dear, I tried growing roses and they are just too much work. They get too many diseases." I wonder what she would think if she were to see them now. To me, there is no such thing as too many roses. Collecting them has become an obsession to me. My husband thinks I have way too many, but he is not a rose fan. He enjoys the compliments however, and he does admit our yard is the prettiest one in the neighborhood.
All pictures were taken by the author.
Discussion about this article:
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'Crimson Gallica'
'Morey's Pink China'
'Ballerina' 
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Horsie
Corky
Another pink rose, known as "Chestnut Rose"
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I have many pink roses, and I have been accused of having too many pink roses. I obviously do not agree with that assessment. 
