Breathtakingly beautiful—and I just love the story to go with it. Had to look up Bishop Darlington; what a fascinating man! :-)

So many roses have stories. We just don't know them all. But I think that the rose takes on extra meaning, when you know what the introducer was thinking of, in naming it.

A lovely rose and interesting story. I'm glad the hybrid musks do well for you, Jeri. A little too hot for my plot, although I know your area has also warmed up considerably.

Yeah, it has, Ingrid.

You might consider this one, though. This is not one of the Pemberton HM's -- but bred by Capt. Thomas, and with a hefty dose of R. wichurana behind it.

I love the butter and cream colors on this one! Very classy looking.

Goodness! I loved reading about Bishop Darlington. In those days before the telephone, they were joiners, that's for sure. Brooklyn, at that time, was a virtual outpost of old New England, and its citizens were very community minded. They built the Academy of Music, which is a gorgeous performance space, not to mention the Brooklyn Museum. I guess, from reading the wikipedia article, that those were the days before the income tax.

My mother acquired the rose bush, Bishop Darlington, but it didn't flourish in her Pennsylvania garden. Perhaps she didn't plant it or nurture it in a way that set off its qualities. It was off in a corner somewhere, didn't grow very large, and I was a bit disappointed by what I seem to remember as its large, almost single flowers. Perhaps her garden was in too cold a zone.

Maybe. God knows, OUR conditions are almost too-mild for many roses. Another great thing about 'Bishop Darlington' is that the blooms are quite changeable.

And someone (maybe it was Michael Pollan) wrote about the way tiny petaloids curl inward, modestly protecting the sexual parts of the blooms.

I love that. Do they open and close -- like Golden Wings?

Maybe part way, but not all the way.