NAMING RIGHTS
We have just passed the Winter Solstice, which in many ways is the most important event in the gardening year. The light begins to return and even though the addition of a few extra minutes of daylight each afternoon is imperceptible at first, we know that it is happening and it gives us hope. All of those plant vendors out there know this as well, hence the carefully timed delivery of the first print catalogs of the new gardening season.
My mailbox absolutely glowed the other day with the arrival of the David Austin Handbook of Roses for 2011. Rose lovers know David Austin as the father the “English Roses,” a new rose class developed by crossing old garden roses with modern varieties, including hybrid teas. The resulting varieties–and there are scores of them now–are not uniform in configuration or growth habit, but in style. Most are strongly fragrant, with blooms that resemble the old fashioned roses that dominated gardens from the sixteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, when the modern hybrid tea rose reached the zenith of its popularity.
I grabbed the Austin catalog out of the mailbox and opened directly to the new varieties. As befits shrubs in a category labeled “English Roses,” all have names with English associations. ‘Lady of Shallot’ recalls the Tennyson poem of that name; ‘The Wedgewood Rose’ celebrates the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the famous pottery company; ‘Susan Williams Ellis’ commemorates the co-founder of the Portmeirion Pottery; ‘Tam o’Shanter’ recalls Robert Burns’ poem and celebrates his two hundred fiftieth birthday; and ‘Kew Gardens’ celebrates another two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, this time of the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew.
Austin has followed tradition in naming roses after literary characters, authors, family members and prominent figures–living and dead. He has broken some new ground by honoring various charities. Going through the Austin catalog made me think about the difficulties of finding rose names.
The biggest problem is that there are so many named varieties out there already. If you want to register the name of a new rose, you must do so by applying to the American Rose Society, which maintains the international registry for the genus Rosa. Suppose for example, you want to name a new rose in honor of a grand idea like “liberty.” A quick search reveals that there are already three roses named ‘Liberty’ and nine more with “liberty” in their names. You might or might not get permission to put the name on your rose, but the large number of similarly named competitors might make you want to rethink the grand idea.
Historically, major rose breeders have been male and, in fact, that is still most often the case. It is traditional to name an exceptional rose after a spouse, as in 1832, when French breeder Julien Alexandre Hardy named a new white rose ‘Madame Hardy’ after his wife, Félicité. More recently, David Austin named an orange-toned English Rose, ‘Pat Austin’ after his wife of many years.
At least spousal and family names tend to be unique–unless the family member is named Jane Smith.
Celebrities and American first ladies are frequent recipients of rose namesakes. It is interesting to note that in the last fifty years, only two presidents have merited such an honor–Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. In general, men seem much more likely to name flowers after women than other men, though exceptions have been made for notables including Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Napoleon.
I am partial to old fashioned roses and the newer varieties that have old-fashioned traits, especially scent. As far as names go, I like the old fashioned-sounding ones. Give me a ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’ over a ‘Knock Out’ every time.
As the light returns, you may be in search of a rose-related gift for yourself or someone else. If that is the case, I recommend “A Rose By Any Other Name,” by Douglas Brenner and Stephen Scanniello. Brenner is a veteran garden writer and Scanniello is the former curator of the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Their book is full of rose facts and stories about the naming of specific varieties. It is not a long book, but it is a fascinating read for gardeners who must wait another few months before scent and color return to the landscape.