Strong growth even during hot 100F weather; sadly no blooms so far this year, hungry deer.

May 3, 2012
This rose seems to be a tough one, even in hot weather last year the plant held up well, and has set lots of buds this year. The blooms seem to open one at a time, but only one or two are open at any time. We have had too much rain, and the blooms ball and turn light brown on the edges. In cool weather the blooms are about 2 inches, maybe more. (I missed the perfect bloom a day or two before.)

It has a light to medium rose scent, and in cooler weather the blooms have a slight two-toned effect that you can see in some of the photos. It starts out with a pink and lilac-pink coloring, and fades to flat light pink. In warm weather it is a medium flat pink, and the scent is slightly stronger.

The leaves are small and matte as for a Hybrid Perpetual, but the overall plant is shaped more like a Hybrid Tea; the blooms are slightly nodding in rainy weather, but not heavy. In warm weather the blooms face upward, and are smaller about 1-2 inches.

The rose was named for a character "Lisette" who was a subject of numerous books, songs, and monologues in France in the mid-1800's. She was originally an idea of Pierre-Jean de Beranger (1780-1857) a writer of poetry, books, and songs inspired by his experiences in life, and French culture.

In particular, a lifetime friend and household caretaker, Mademoiselle Judith Frere (1777-1857) prompted the writing of "La Bonne Vieille" and "Maudit Printemps". Some sources say that Judith Frere was more than just a companion and capitalized on the situation writing questionable books and music, but both remained single all of their lives trying to help each other, and their circle of friends through severe economic times-she had a very small inheritance that she shared as she liked. The original thoughts Jean Beranger tried to capture in his work were the passage of time, remembering the freshness of youth, romantic love, and wishing for better days. Coming out of the French Revolution, with it's social chaos, remembering the past glories became a large part of the public's sentiment and this resulted in the melancholy and wistfulness expressed in French arts.

Frederic Berat (1801-1855) another French songwriter, wrote "La Lisette de Beranger" in 1843 based on Beranger's previous work.

"Lisette" was Virginie Dejazet's signature piece; born in 1798, she sang Frederic Berat's work for over 30 years until her death in 1875. Seated in a rocking chair on a darkened stage with only a lit candle on a small table next to her, she finished each of her productions with the sung monologue. She was France's version of Madonna or Lady Gaga, managing her own theater, wearing pants, and 'smoking' a cigar on stage; and in the end her funeral was a national day of mourning that stopped traffic for hours.

All of these are well documented online, in the French and English wiki articles, and in Google online book previews.