Why we garden, why we wait

Back in the spring of 2010, I received a gift from a fellow gardener. Well - truth be told - it was a gift I solicited myself.

I had taken a garden tour and was entranced by a beautiful rose I'd seen. After a bit of thought, I decided to write a note to the gardener, thanking her for her hospitality, and asked if I could have a cutting off that rose. Clara graciously invited me to her garden, and by October of the same year, I had a tiny rooted slip.

This spring, it just bloomed for me for the first time.

My little slip has turned into a healthy, sprawling, climbing rose that is covered with clusters of buds opening to cool pink pompon-like flowers, with a delicate scent. Clara told me her mother had brought the rose from Colombia, and that it's name is "Silva Madre." I have never found a reference to it online.

Healthy rose on its own roots

So, now, in addition to Clara's vigorously blooming plant in her historic Hancock Park garden, there's one in  Topanga.

Flowers are just 1 1/2 inch across

And if you want one....you can have one too. Only you might have to wait a couple of years for the flowers. Just call me. This is how we save lost roses.