Article (newspaper)  (Nov 2011)  Page(s) 2.  Includes photo(s).
 
Patricia Routley: .....In another lovely season in the late nineties, a group of Northcliffe women came together to do some gardening work for Sheila Gravett at Rooney’s Bridge. I vividly recall her making us afternoon tea and serving it in the very best tiny china cups and after our hard work, we were all pretty desperate for a whacking great mug of tea. However, we minded our manners and sipped and took another biscuit. We also took cuttings of the old roses there and most of us got some to grow. June Kiel took cuttings of Mirandy as did I, and hers grew and mine died. A year or so later when her plant bloomed, June decided she didn’t like the rose and gave it to me. ‘Mirandy’ is a rose that you either like, or you don’t and I was pleased to have anything at all of Sheila’s. In 1999 I planted ‘Mirandy’ in the Great Southern garden where I was putting the pink and purple roses. ‘Mirandy’ was bred in 1945 by Walter Lammerts and named after Mrs. Fred Bauersfield who had a radio and television show on gardening in California. It likes hot weather and was simply superb in Queensland where it was a midsummer night’s dream. It was not recommended for Melbourne or Hobart and in a cool, damp climate it balls, browns and black spots. This was one of the old red roses that also had the tendency to “blue” (turn purple) as it aged, a trait which many people loathed. I don’t mind it at all as that colouring seems rather rich to me. The colour of dull dark red with a hint of purple was cleverly described by some catalogues as “deep garnet red”, which sounds a whole lot more sophisticated and attractive and the rose can still be found in some nurseries. One of its parents was ‘Night’ (syn ‘Lady Sackville’) 1921 which was also blackish crimson and the blueing no doubt came from this parent. ‘Night’s blooms were said to be damaged by heat. The other parent was the 1940 deep pink ‘Charlotte Armstrong’ which loves cool conditions. (How odd that these parents produced a descendent that loves heat). Sometimes the parentage is reversed in the literature and I have not been able to find the truth there. The rose has about 40-50 petals and these make up a large bloom of 5 inches. The bush is upright to about 1.5m high and 1m wide and the large blooms are borne singly. This means there is a fairly long wait between blooming, as the bush has to produce those long stems to bear flowers. The parent ‘Night’ also passed on its incredible damask fragrance and when the weather is right and the days are long and dry, ‘Mirandy’ is a sumptuous rose.

Book  (2006)  Page(s) 211.  
 
‘Mirandy’ HT. rrr fff 4 Lammerts, 1945. [Provenance:] Davis. Deep crimson lightening to deep red cast with bungundy, with a Damask fragrance. We wonder why this long-popular variety is disappearing from commerce.

Book  (1999)  Page(s) 413.  
 
'Mirandy' Modern. Large-flowered/Hybrid Tea. Dark red, Repeat flowering. ‘Mirandy’ which was bred from ‘Charlotte Armstrong’, has dark red, double flowers with 45 petals. They are large, up to 5 in. (12cm) across, and have a strong Damask perfume inherited from ‘Night’. Flower production is a little sparse with long intervals between flushes. This rose is still grown today after 50 years in commerce because of its dark red color and wonderful perfume. Zones 5-11.

Book  (Dec 1998)  Page(s) 413.  
 
Mirandy Large-flowered/Hybrid Tea. Lammerts 1945... dark red, double flowers...

Book  (Apr 1993)  Page(s) 381.  
 
Hybrid Tea, dark red, 1945, 'Night' x 'Charlotte Armstrong'; Lammerts; Armstrong Nursery. Flowers garnet-red, aging darker, double (45 petals), globular, large (5-6 in.); very fragrant (damask); foliage leathery; vigorous, upright, bushy growth.

Book  (1989)  Page(s) 39.  
 
Mirandy was the nickname of Mrs. Fred Bauersfield, a woman who had a radio and TV show on gardening in California.

Book  (Jun 1986)  Page(s) 425.  
 
Mirandy Description... Its velvety, dark red petals tend to hold their color instead of developing purple tones... Disease resistant and winter hardy...

(1961)  Page(s) 10.  
 
‘Mirandy’ Deep garnet red, very large fully double blooms. Fruity fragrance. Large foliage, good growth.

Book  (1959)  Includes photo(s).
 
p110 ‘Mirandy’ Lammerts, 1945. ‘Night’ x ‘Charlotte Armstrong’. Deep purplish-red; very large blooms, well formed, 40 petals, fragrant and free-flowering; very vigorous. A unique colour but liable to damage by wet, and the heavy blooms are inclined to hang down. A.A.R.S., A.R.S. rating 7.5.

p232 ‘Mirandy’, a huge flower of perfect form, but is easily damaged by wet, and is a distinct purplish colour sometimes difficult to harmonise with others.

plate 56.

Book  (1957)  Page(s) 202.  
 
‘Mirandy (HT) (‘Night’ x ‘Charlotte Armstrong’) Richest red. Huge, very double flowers with sweet damask fragrance. Medium plant, vigorous and free-branching. Does best in warm weather. Good in the garden or as a cut flower. AARS, 1945. Pat 632. (Lammerts, Armstrong, 1945).