This rose which is said to be a hybrid perpetual, has really surprised me where winter hardiness is concerned. Whereas its company, a gigantic Alberic Barbier, suffered considerably from the last harsh winter, this one showed practically no freezing back at all. The plant has now reached almost 2meters. The large, double to densely filled flowers have a strong scent.They have a peculiar sort of fairytalelike beauty which is hard to discribe and even harder to capture with a digital camera. They look a bit like Mme Isaac Pereire. The plant however seems to be of a more easy to grow variety so far. (My Mme Isaac Pereire died some years ago.) Urdh seems to have the necessary qualities to become one of my favourites. Time will show.

I planted this rose in last year`s spring. The flowers are of the beautiful dark red to blood red colour I favour. They even have a light scent which is a rare quality in a dark red climber. Unfortunately the growth has so far not been a vigorous one. The plant had been cut drastically back when I got it which left me a bit uncertain as to what would become of it. However it started out pretty good under the circumstances. Unfortunately last year`s growth withered down and it didn`t start afresh until around midsummer, and then only slowly. The first flowers started to appear in late August/early September. I am still keeping my hopes high though as I like the rose very much inspite of the shortcomings so far. This rose is listed as bred in the Netherlands, and the Norwegian climate might be a reason, although the climate here at Lista is not all too different from the one in the Netherlands. Perhaps with the winters a bit more on the chillier side. I guess I will have to do my best and wait and see.

This has for many years been one of the most popular roses in Norway and consequently widely planted. The main reason for which is probably that she appears to be a hybrid tea, even though she in fact is a floribunda. This makes her a bit more hardy and easier to grow in our Norwegian climate than most of the hybrid teas. The flowers are beautiful and tend to appear one by one like on a hybrid tea, thus making them suitable for cutting. Some years ago I took some "Rose Friends" of mine from the Oslo aerea to visit the village of Korshavn on the coast east of Lista. Here we came across a plant of Queen Elizabeth up a wall of an old wooden house almost reaching the top of the gable. Really a sight. The owner, an elderly lady, came out to greet us and we complemented her on the impressing rose. She complained about not having had the time to cut it back that spring, and of course we asked - why cut back? Yes why indeed. Most people here seem to have a strange notion that all roses should always be cut back in spring - period. I think the lady decided to heed our advice. And yes - a Queen Elizabeth of almost 3 meters in full flush covering about half of a wall is indeed a spectacular sight not soon to be forgotten. My neighbour also had a beautiful Queen Elizabeth once up his garage wall ,which he cut back to almost nothing every spring. I pitied the poor plant and told him he was likely to lose it if he kept on doing so. And he did - both - keep on doing so, and lose the plant.
So what about my own plant then? Well that is a totally different story, and like my neighbour`s , quite a sad one too at that - till now. She has never been one to flower much, sending up canes and twigs ending at best in two or three flowers per season. I pinched the shoots, cut back the plant and did everything I was supposed to do according to the books. To no avail. I had given up the plant entirely when I this spring bought a clematis "The Vagabond" and told my Queen Elizabeth that I would leave her be if she could serve as a good support for the clematis. And what do you know! The plant has flowered almost continuously and is still now in September showing off many beautiful flowers. This is not the only time I have experienced this. I have many times wondered: Do the plants have a way of perceiving things? Other gardeners have had the same experience. Very strange indeed. But then again, plants are living beings not things, and this really makes my heart go out to them, and I love them for it.

Oh yes, I know there is a Bourbon Rose named Bourbon Queen, but in my opinion this is definitely the Queen of the Bourbons. In fact a Queen of the old/historical garden roses in general. Ever since she was introduced on the market in 1851 she has never really been out of popularity, and no wonder. The rose pink flowers with a slight touch of mauve are of the good oldfashioned kind, as is the heavy scent, and she is never without flowers and or buds throughtout the entire season. I know many of you will say she can be a bit difficult like a genuine primadonna. In my garden she has been quite easy to grow, the only defect being that she is madly in love - with blackspot. But the best thing to do about that as I see it, is to find an efficient fungicide and spray. Simple as that. She was one of the first roses I planted in my garden. I was smitten by her then, and I am still in love with her after all these years, even though she ,as said, is apparently in love with "someone" else. To keep her as a shrub, she will need regular cutting back. Else you have to give her support. I have planted her in front of my house up the wall between two dining room windows, where she is reaching for the sky ,only stopped by the eaves of the roof. Very beautiful indeed and spectacular too. The only tricky thing is that I have problems reaching the flowers to smell the scent. The roses planted in front of her now fully grown, are blocking my access. I have been thinking of planting another one. My mother who could never remember the name of this rose, used to call her Louise Eau de Vie (water of life) which is the name of a grape liquor that has been sold in Norway for as long as I can remember, and used in the old days to make the long drink "pjolter" mixed with soda. Well that is of course a different story. I say if you want to grow oldfashioned garden roses, this should be one of your choices. This was the favourite rose of the now long diseased Norwegian Nobel Price winning author Sigrid Undseth and which she grew in her garden in Lillehammer (venue of the Olympic Winter games in 1994). Which proves that this is also quite a hardy rose.