Rose Gardening 101

The wedding is booked, it’s time to start the arrangements, and when you think of the flowers, what’s the first flower that springs to mind? More often than not, it will be the rose. There’s a good reason for this - they work at weddings! Let’s take a look at why the rose is so popular for weddings.

Keep in mind that the rose is a classic flower. Whatever the occasion, the rose almost shouts that it is a ‘proper’ flower. Folks who only deal with flowers for the big events in their life find roses are good choice because they are familiar but also have a complex design. Roses are an easy choice but their beauty suggests thought and effort has gone into the arranging flower for your big event.

That may sound simplistic, but it’s true - you could have a wedding flower which is full of meaning for you, picked out carefully and colour co-ordinated, but if it’s an unusual flower, some guests will invariably think ’should have gone with roses.’

Speaking of colour, this is another advantage the rose has for weddings. The first colour most people associate with a rose is red, and a red rose is the classic colour of love - so how can you go wrong at a wedding with that? A white rose speaks of virginity and purity, so mix red and white together, and you’ll always have a great combination!

The rose comes in all sorts of colours, pretty much any colour in the spectrum. This means that you can start with the basic white, and then use coloured roses which match the bridesmaids dresses for example.

If you don’t go for the rose as the main wedding flower, don’t worry, you can always use roses as the table settings — again it’s a classic winner.

Some people say that the rose is ‘too’ traditional for weddings, to the extent that it’s a boring choice showing a lack of imagination. While I can see that point of view, I disagree - I think it’s a sign of traditional values attached to a traditional ceremony. In our ever-changing times of today, there’s a lot to be said for old values and traditions, and the rose does the job just fine!

The Easy Elegance® collections available from Nature Hills are the work of Bailey Nurseries’ master rose hybridizer, Ping Lim. Ping Lim oversees the development and breeding of roses in Oregon, Arizona, and Minnesota.

Bailey Nurseries is a fourth-generation family-owned nursery and one of the leading wholesalers in the United States. I take pride in the fact that Bailey’s headquarters is in my home state of Minnesota.

The American Rose Societies convention will be held in St. Paul, MN - June 28 to July 2. Ping Lim is already on the the program and a tour of Bailey Nursery is scheduled.

Back to the roses: Easy Elegance roses are perfect for both beginners and experienced gardeners. They are easy to plant and maintain and hardy enough to grow in zones 4-9.

Easy Elegance® Lifestyle Garden®

Great Wall Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Easy Elegance Lifestyle Gardenr Great Wall rose, Rosa ‘BAIall’ (PPAF), is as vigorous and hardy as the name implies. This shrub rose literally l… more	My Hero Zone: ‘5 - 9′ “The Easy Elegance Lifestyle Gardenr My Hero rose, Rosa ‘BAIhero’ (PP15,400), is a self-cleaning rose that has bright red blooms, which turn to deep … more
Snowdrift Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Easy Elegance Lifestyle Gardenr Snowdrift rose, Rosa ‘BAIrift’ (PPAF), like a snowdrift in summer, has a habit that is upright and amazingly uni… more

Easy Elegance® Garden Path®

Easy Elegance Garden Path roses are low-height shrub roses that are hardy and beautiful.

Little Mischief Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Little Mischief rose, Rosa ‘BAIief’ (PP17,196), will reign in your garden with it’s compact everblooming qualities. N… more	Mystic Fairyr Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Mystic Fairy rose, Rosa ‘BAIfairy’ (PP16,131), has irresistible blooms of rich red with pink undertones that carpet t… more
Pink Gnome Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Pink Gnome rose, Rosa ‘BAIpome’ (PP16,602), as the name suggests, is a tough rose that is small and compact, with a w… more	Pink Pearls Zone: ‘5 - 9′ “The Pink Pearls rose, Rosa ‘BAIrls’ (PPAF), is a blooming machine that looks as if it were strewn with multitudes of litt… more
Sunrise Sunset Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Sunrise Sunset rose, Rosa ‘BAIset’ (PP16,770), is a stunning blend, with bright fuchsia-pink petals, blending to apri… more	Yellow Brick Road Zone: ‘5 - 9′ “The Yellow Brick Road rose, Rosa ‘BAIoad’ (PPAF), is a neat, round, compact shrub rose that covers itself with clusters o… more

Easy Elegance® Garden Wall®

Showtime Zone: ‘5 - 9′ “The Showtime rose, Rosa ‘BAItime’ (PPAF), has show stopping, clear red blooms which have golden stamens that give the centers… more

Tahitian Moon Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Tahitian Moon rose, Rosa ‘BAIoon’ (PP16,994), is a hardy yellow shrub rose which is rare among shrub roses.The Tahitin… more

Vibrant bi-color roses are part of the Garden Jubilee Series as well as surprisingly rich color blends.

Easy Elegance® Garden Jubilee®

Fiesta Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Fiesta rose, Rosa ‘BAIsta’ (PPAF), will be the life of the party as each bloom explodes in an array of dark pink a… more	Firecracker Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Firecracker rose, Rosa ‘BAIcker’ (PP15,737), like fireworks, has red blossoms with rich, pink tones and a white eye… more
Funny Facer Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Funny Facer rose, Rosa ‘BAIface’ (PP15,753), has pink and white painted blooms which make this rose stand out from… more	Golden Eye Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Golden Eye rose, Rosa ‘BAIeye’ (PP16,612), will catch your eye from afar. The petals are a luminescent reddish-orange… more
Hot Wonder Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Hot Wonder rose, Rosa ‘BAInder’ (PP15,740), has hot pink, florescent blossoms which cover this rose all season long… more	Island Dancer Zone: ‘4 - 9′ “The Island Dancer rose, Rosa ‘BAIcer’ (PPAF), has ruffled deep pink petals on the top which almost hide the pure white… more