My rose selection philosophy: what earns a place in the collection

Every rose in my collection has been chosen with care. A variety that dazzles in its first June flush can disappoint by September, and one that looks perfect in a photo can just sulk, so I rely on what I've seen in my own test garden before I'm willing to offer it to anyone else.

I gravitate toward English garden roses with high petal counts. The kind of blooms that open slowly, layer by layer, into something generous and full. The reason I love romantic English roses is because of the way they make me feel. I see them and I'm captivated.

But form alone is not enough. A rose must bloom prolifically from late spring through the first frost. I look for repeat-flowering varieties that produce not just one breathtaking wave, but three or four distinct flushes across the season.

Fragrance matters to me, though I'm not strict about intensity. Some of my favorites carry a quiet, honeyed scent you only notice when the air is still and warm. Others announce themselves from five feet away, rich and myrrh-like and unmistakably old-rose. Either way, I want a scent that draws you in close to the bloom.

I select from a small circle of breeders whose work has earned my trust over many seasons. Kordes, the German house behind the Parfuma® and Sunbelt® series in my collection (Parfuma® Bliss, Parfuma® Earth Angel, Sunbelt® Plum Perfect), is one of the most respected names in modern rose breeding, known for fragrance-forward varieties, exceptional disease resistance, and roses that hold up to hotter, drier summers and wetter springs. They've quietly built some of the healthiest plants in commerce. Meilland, the storied French breeder, gives me Princesse Charlene de Monaco®, Sweet Mademoiselle™, and Rouge Royale®: roses with painterly color, classic form, and the kind of fragrance the French houses have spent generations perfecting. Star Roses & Plants (and the Weeks Roses program under their umbrella) is responsible for many of the North American introductions I carry, including Koko Loko®, Bolero®, Easy Does It®, Forever Amber®, Fashion Forward®, Uptown Girl®, All Dressed Up®, Martha Stewart™, Celestial Nights®, and Queen of Elegance®. Their program is celebrated for unusual colors, garden performance trialed across diverse North American climates, and a long track record of AARS and other industry awards.

When I bring in a rose from one of these houses, I'm buying into decades of intention, not just a pretty picture in a catalog.

Disease resistance and climate resilience have become more important to me with every passing season. A rose that needs constant spraying to keep its leaves is a rose I won't offer. I watch for varieties that shrug off humidity, hold their foliage through a dry August, and bounce back from an early frost with basal breaks instead of dieback. Climate change isn't an abstract concern in my test garden; it's the weather I'm gardening in, and the roses I select have to meet that reality.

I also pay attention to what most people overlook: the foliage. A rose with beautiful blooms and ratty leaves is a rose that quits early. I want glossy, healthy, abundant leaves that stay presentable from bud break to leaf fall.

Growth habit matters too. I need to know how a rose wants to live in space, whether it stays compact and bushy for the front of a border, or arches gracefully to four or five feet for the middle ground. I note how it responds to pruning, whether it suckers, how quickly it sizes up from a bare root. These are the details that decide whether a rose is a good plant or merely a good flower.

Finally, I think about the difference between garden performance and vase life. Some roses are breathtaking on the bush but collapse the moment you cut them. Others are modest in the garden but hold for a week in water. I prefer varieties that do both: stems long and straight enough for the vase, blooms that open slowly enough to last, but plants generous enough to spare a few stems without stripping the garden.

The roses I offer aren't the widest selection available. They're the ones I've lived with, watched through seasons, and come to trust. Each one has earned its place by being genuinely excellent in color, form, fragrance, and resilience. You can browse the full rose collection here.