My dear Charlotte


Do you know anyone named Charlotte? I don’t, nor have I ever. The name Charlotte is one I find frequently in the novels of Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope, but never among my acquaintance. I like it, though. If I’d had kids, I definitely would have considered it.


My David Austin rose, Charlotte, has definitely earned my fondness over the years; it has endured, struggled forth from obscurity, and is now one of the most beautiful plants I have. It was purchased from Wayside at least 7 years ago—I know it must have been that long because I only ordered from them once, on the recommendation of one of my gardening mentors. It came as a bare root and just kind of sat there, languishing in the shade of some other stronger roses, for at least 3 years. I figured it was a goner, but it wasn’t hurting anything, so I let it be.


A couple years ago, it actually started growing. A few blooms appeared. Last year was better; a sunny spring strengthened the rather scrawny canes. And now, this year, the heavy blooms are well-supported, on canes that are nearly without thorns. They start out as gold buds and then fade to a buttery yellow as the blooms develop. As you can see, they have the classic quartered old-rose shape when fully open.


Charlotte is bred from a truly great David Austin classic, Graham Thomas. I’m not sure if it’s as good a rose, but it’s proven its worth to me.

Comments

The Super Goop said…
Hello Elizabeth,
I just love your blog! The photographs of the roses are beautiful and I look forward to more to come.
Take Care
Gina said…
Hi Elizabeth - I have an aunt named Charlotte. This rose is really a beauty!
Megan Coyle said…
I loved looking at the beautiful pictures of your roses.
Claire Uncorked said…
I just discovered your blog & love it! I'm an amusing "gardener" at best, but I want to be better. I'm a fabulous wine drinker with great intentions, but then I get distracted. =)

I love the David Austen roses, although I've never gotten one. We need to do some serious work on our landscaping, & even then I need to decide if I want to deal with roses (other than Knockout) again. I would love to have at least a few Austen roses, but we'll see.

Oh, & my friend's dog is named Charlotte. She's every inch a refined lady.
Lauren said…
I knew a Charlotte in grade school, she wanted to be called Charlie. I think she's a phys ed teacher now. Hmmm....

Love the roses!!!!
Gail said…
Lovely rose Elizabeth...are you gearing up for the Big Walk?
dlyn said…
Congrats on being a "Blog of Note"! I will defintely put you on my feeds now. We aren't too far away from one another and while my blog is not wholly devoted to gardening, there is quite a bit of it in there. I am sure I will enjoy roaming around your pages!
Anonymous said…
I like the colour on that rose! I think David Austin roses are great!
My Grandma was named Charlotte. Charlotte Eleanor. She was as classy as her name suggested, and she would have loved that rose! :-)
EAL, I had a great friend that I have lost track of that was named Charlotte. Reading about your lovely rose broughtback several fond memories of her. Beautiful rose too.
Anonymous said…
Charlotte as a rose and Charlotte as my friend are both steadfast and true, always blooming, easy to care for and share. We just planted a Charlotte rose in our Rose Garden at Church and it is getting ready to bloom for the 2nd time this year
Claude said…
hello... just sotpped by and I am haveing a great time reading through your blog... My store started out about my store, but ended up primarily about my plants... Off to look at more of your pics... Later...
Pretty rose. If we actually meet during Garden Walk this year you will be able to say you've met someone named Charlotte.
EAL said…
We better meet this time, Charlotte!!
jane said…
Is this what they call a heritage rose?
Anyway, I love the classic style roses like this one.

I just don't have the patience or tenacity to get my roses (or indeed my garden) growing like yours does. :)
kate smudges said…
That is a beautiful rose. I like its name - I have a good friend named Charlotte, so I associate the name with her.
Carolyn said…
Those Rose are Beautiful.

Nice Blog!
Tim Lewis said…
Living in Dartmouth, England,a very close friend of my wife is named Charlotte - but she would not consider herself a rose!

Wonderful and inspiring photographs!
sduck said…
my dearest sister is named Charlotte, and I know 5 others. Must be common in my area! nice roses, there is a lovely rose called the Sophie Rose too...:)
M. Spencer said…
I have a friend named Charlotte. She's a lovely British woman. Love her to death.
chuck b. said…
Oh, I have Charlotte too. (In a pot, no less.) I got it this year--just a couple of months ago--from davidaustinroses.com. They take a long time to deliver too, and everything comes from Texas. Lots of good-looking foliage, but no sign of buds as yet.

Thank you very, very much for the books. They came today. I missed the lecture on palms last month at the Calif. Hort. Soc. meeting, and now I regret not going even more. Even better, the Beverley Nichols book was on my Amazon.com wish list. (How did you know?)
Anonymous said…
I am in New Zealand and bought the rose as my Grandmother was Charlotte. She was a remarkable woman, mother of ten children, and the first owner of one fo the high country stations in the Mackenzie Country- Mount John.

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