Since we moved into our tiny apartment in Brooklyn Heights two years ago, I’ve been enjoying a love affair with my neighbors’ roses. Beginning in early June and cropping up again in September, this neighborhood has the most glorious display of roses I’ve seen anywhere.
What’s blooming in your neighborhood? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
Photography by Erin Boyle.
Above: Last Saturday, I took a walk around the neighborhood in the evening as the sun was setting and snapped photographs of some of my favorites.
If you’re looking for a classic blush-pink climber, New Dawn is hardy and a fast grower that can reach heights of 12 feet. It ships for fall planting from White Flower Farm, where it is $25.95 apiece.
See Justine’s step-by-step directions for arranging roses in a vase in DIY Climbing Roses: From Trellis to Vase on Cape Cod.
Above: I started out on my street where this bright pink pair climbs the brick walls of a home on the corner.
One of our favorite deep pink climbers is Zepherine Drouhin, which is thornless and a hardy double bloomer; its fragrance is to die for. It is $21.95 from David Austin.
Above: A few houses down I found these pale white garden roses with loose, soft petals.
A White Iceberg Climbing Rose will produce more flowers every year; $21.95 apiece from Jackson and Perkins.
Above: And around the corner, I spotted this sweet pink variety with yellow centers. They remind me of a land-lubbing version of pink beach roses.
If you love the combination of shell-pink petals and lemony yellow centers, an old-fashioned hybrid musk shrub rose called Rose Penelope is a longtime favorite of ours; $19.95 from Antique Rose Emporium.
Above: Just a few more blocks and I found these bright yellow roses popping through a wrought iron fence.
If you’re craving a yellow rose, a Graham Thomas Climber has a strong perfume; it’s $27.95 from David Austin.
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Above: Pale pink roses are my very favorite. This large variety was practically covering the stoop of a particularly impressive brownstone near my house. What’s your favorite rose?
Many varieties of rose have been “lost” over the years; rose historians are dedicated to tracking them down. Read more about the mystery at Endangered Roses: Are Any Hiding in Your Garden?
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Above: And finally, I found my way to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, where the sun setting on the East River illuminated a garden that is full to brimming with bright red roses.
One of our favorite deep-red flowering climbers is Don Juan; it’s available seasonally for $19.95 apiece from the Antique Rose Emporium.
A beautiful evening in the neighborhood, don’t you think?
For more ways to use roses in a garden, see:
- Garden Visit: The Last Word on Roses, from the Royal Horticultural Society.
- Taking ‘Bread and Roses’ Literally in Brooklyn.
- A Riot in Berkeley: Roses Gone Wild.
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