Mother's Day is in a few days.
My mother, Marion, has been gone for almost 4 years.
I miss my mom and still think about her all the time.
The summer after my mom died, I started a rose garden in my backyard. I love gardening, but I was never particularly fond of roses. But my mother loved them. After she was gone, I just had to plant roses, and they have become one of my favorite flowers.
My father loved gardening too. He used to grow roses on the side of the house for my mother. You could see them from the kitchen table where my mother would sit. I remember the look on my father's face when he brought a spectacular rose into the house to give to my mother. It would be put in a vase in the center of the kitchen table and my mom would ooh and aah over it.
The week after my mother's funeral, I went to Woodland Gardens in Manchester to get some roses. As I was wandering around, I met Marci Martin. She worked at Woodland Gardens part-time. She is the President of the Connecticut Rose Society and the Rosarian at Elizabeth Park. She is also a warm, wonderful person.
Marci was just the person I needed to talk to that day. After my initial question asking if there were any roses named Marion, I proceeded to pour my heart out to her about my mother's passing. Marci listened and comforted me. She did not know of any roses with my mother's name, but she taught me everything I needed to know to start a wonderful rose garden. And she helped me load up my van with more rose bushes than I ever imagined I would own!
I would see Marci from time to time over the next few years, and every time I saw her there was a warm smile. And she would always tell me she was working on getting a Marion rose!
Last year, a mass email was sent out from Woodland Gardens entitled "Looking for Gayle". Marci was looking for me but she only knew my first name.
I replied to the email and she gave me the most wonderful news!
She had been in contact with David Austin, one of the finest breeders of English roses to try to get a rose named Marion for me. Marci had written to David Austin about the possibility of starting a "Sherwood Forest" series of roses ... Maid Marion, Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, etc...
After 3 years in the making, she succeeded!
"Maid Marion" was launched at the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show in England, complete with Robin Hood and Maid Marion in full dress!
Austobias
English Musk Hybrid
Maid Marion produces some of the most beautiful of flowers: they are fully double and very nicely quartered. The inner petals are an absolutely pure rose pink, fading to a very soft pink on the outer petals. The flowers are produced in small groups, the individual blooms just slightly nodding in the manner characteristic of many of the best-loved English Roses. It repeats well, the blooms becoming slightly less double later in the season. The growth is relatively upright but quite bushy and compact, making it ideal for formal rose beds or more informal borders. Like so many English Roses, this variety is a great choice for a large, decorative planter. Initially the fragrance is a soft myrrh, although as the flower ages, it become more fruity, with a distinct clove character. 3 x 3ft
"Maid Marion" will not be available in the USA until next summer and I can't wait!
My initial goal was to give a Marion rose to my father for his garden. My father has since passed away.
But I will place her in a prominent spot in my garden and always remember how she came to be!
Happy Mother's Day!
