'Hardii' rose photos

The Gardeners' Chronicle 24: 468-469 (10 Oct 1885) Rosa Hardii. — This beautiful Rose is supposed to be a hybrid between R. berberifolia and R. involucrata, Roxburgh {R. clinophylla, Thory). In the Kew herbarium there is a specimen gathered in the Luxembourg garden on June 20, 1836, with the information in Gay's handwriting that the plant had originated from the seed of R. clinophylla planted near a bush of R. berberifolia. That the cross was not artificially made is proved by the followiiig note from the Bon Jardinier for 1S42, also in Gay's handwriting: — "Mons. Hardy obtained in 1836 from a sowing of R. clinophylla, the seeds of which are presumed to have been fertilised by R. berberifolia, a new Rose which bears his name." . . . According to Mr. W. Paul (the Rose Garden, 1848), "The most splendid collection in France is that in the Jardin du Luxembourg, in Paris, which is under the superintendence of M. Hardy. Most of the plants there are of some age, and flower most profusely in the season. It is true they look rather drawn, but when we consider their proximity to the heart of the city, it is surprising that they flourish so well. M. Hardy is no stranger in the Rose world: one of his varieties alone would have sufficed to render his name popular, but he has been fortunate enough to raise many others of first-rate properties, some bearing the after-appellation of 'Du Luxembourg.' And how could it be otherwise, when he has devoted so many years to the cultivation of this flower, and raised so many thousands of seedlings? " R. Hardii is a much freer grower and flowerer than R. berberifolia; it has from five to seven leaflets and handsome flowers, the petals being sulphur-yellow, with a crimson blotch at the base of each petal. The accompanying illustration (fig. 101) was made from a specimen which flowered in a pot under glass in April in the garden of Mr. Herbst, at Richmond. Geo. Nicholson, Royal Gardens, Kew.