Oh, Rick, your roses look glorious! I love your garden style. Your VM looks so happy there. Mine in Alaska was happier than mine here. The Austins look wonderful too. You are going to have some converts.

Absolutely wonderful! Thanks for sharing these photos. The rarer Austins like Lordly Oberon were great to see, as your amazing bush of Isabella Skinner. For some reason I haven't been able to get that one established in my yard but your photos have spurred me to try it again.

Cynthia

Beautiful pics! I especially enjoyed seeing a mature Victorian Memory since I planted that 2 years ago. This was her yesterday but most of the buds aren't open yet. She is almost 7 feet tall and a beautiful bush.

We had two rounds of freeze that killed off alot of buds and I wasn't sure if I would get a spring flush but the Canadians just shook it off and started pumping out buds. Winnipeg Parks managed to squeeze in the beginning of a flush prior to the first spring freeze.

Pic is from April 24th and all the blooms soon froze.

But she is covered in buds again. The first bloom of this round was back to being large (the ones in April were much smaller than normal - probably due to our drought).

I had to look up where Summerland was in British Colombia. I would love to visit and see all the Canadian Roses. Perhaps you could do a post with full bush pictures that focuses on mature Canadian Roses? Thanks!

"I had to look up where Summerland was in British Colombia. I would love to visit and see all the Canadian Roses. Perhaps you could do a post with full bush pictures that focuses on mature Canadian Roses? Thanks!"

In front, on the right is the orange shrub - Quartet, rare and hard to find in commerce, but gorgeous. The rose to the right is Chinook Sunrise, this one a rampant shrub in this location. We have two others elsewhere that are older but half the size, go figure, location, location, location!

Looking east over the Canadian Heritage Rose Garden, "Bill Reid" and "Morden Sunrise" intermingled in front, the yellow and peach cultivars.

A very rare Brad Jalbert creation called Saint Benedict, lovely, lovely, lovely, floriferous and mannerly. This one is on the propagation list this spring.

AC Navy Lady, can you say red?

An older image of Morden Bluxh, pink and Cuthbert Grant, red, side by side.

Dragon Heart, another Jalbert variety that has survived two zone 5 polar vortex winters without protection, planted deep, comes back strong. This rose is actually a russet red, but the colour is to "hot" for photography. A lot of Brad's varieties will do just fine in a zone 5b winter, expecially when planted deep and mulched or covered with snow. Lots to choose from in Canadian rose cultivars.

Cheers, Rick

Thanks! Quartet is one I would love!!!

Well, I couldn't find 'Quartet' on HMF, but I did find this: https://www.bgss.ca/rose-database/quartet. Zone 3! But no mention of who the breeder was or lineage....

I just love the look of your 'Isabella Skinner', though I get a sense, reading about it further, that it would likely not appreciate my climate. A lot of hybrid perpetuals do not particularly like it here.

But, all the roses in your photos look so lovely, Rick -- it really must be a great year!

These are just beautiful.p

Rick, the garden is beautiful and I loved all the pictures. But my favorite is one that I know you’ve posted before, the one of Morden Blush and Cuthbert Grant. I’m quite smitten with the glowing crimson color of Cuthbert Grant and the way the blooms nod so prettily. I must look that one up. It would probably hate my climate, but I can dream. Oh, I also love, love, Clare Rose! I have that one in my garden and it makes the most perfect blooms.

Rick, I always enjoy your updates, and these are all gorgeous!

Quartet is very rare, there is one wholesaler in BC that has it in their catalogue, they also have Olds College Centenial and other little known hardy varieties. The Breeder of Quartet is a fellow named Rick Durand, he was a hybridizer for the Canadian hardy rose breeding program at Vineland Research and Development Centre ( click on the name at left for link ), and still sits on their selection committee.

The name of the Wholesale Nursery that has Quartet in their catalogue "Bylands" ( - link ) in Kelowna BC. They may in fact ship plants to some of the northwestern states, I'm not sure, But you might enquire if they do and who to.

Bylands in fact donated the plants of Quartet, as well plants of another sister rose to "Winnipeg Parks" called "Empowerment" that I have planted up close and personal to "The Dark Lady" and they complement each other wonderfully.

Cheers, Rick

Wonderful, Rick!

Judi, I have Cuthbert Grant here and he looks great here! He was also great in Alaska.

Isabella Skinner (VM) OTH gets BS here and stem girdlers badly. This one was much better in Alaska and is not doing well here, sadly.

Lovely!. What a fine project, and what a joy and resource for cold climate gardeners

Lots of serendipitous goings on in #Canada's Secret (Rose) Garden this past week. Rick Durand, the hybridizer of "Quartet" dropped by last Friday. I spent some time with him talking hardy roses, coming new introduction, etc. And he took many, many photos in the Gardens.

I told him that some of you had shown interest in Quartet, but that it isn't readily available, especially in the US as of yet. He was very pleasantly sruprised that you were interested in this rose. Here is an image he sent me this morning:

As I mentioned in my earlier post, "Bylands" is a wholesale nursery here in the Okanagan that distributes "Quartette". In his email this morning, Mr. Durand went on to tell me the following:

I asked the sales manager about Quartet. 2,000 available by end of October. Great supply for 2027. Photo attached.

Bylands will be attending both the Montana and Colorado trade shows in January, so we will look to feature. We currently have Empowerment in stock with 1885 units in production.

We have 1224 units of Olds College in production for 2027.

Sounds like there will be a good supply of all three roses in 2027. These roses would be available at retail centres.

So for those of you in the Western States, you might ask your local nurerys and suppliers if they might source it for next spring.

Rick also left me 4 plants of two new unreleased Canadian Hardy Roses at the Gardens yesterday. They are called:

Caregiver – is a dwarf plant with large yellowish-white flowers. Bred by Rick Durand, Bylands Nurseries. Available in 3 years.

And;

Coral Canary – produces a bouquet of coral flowers. Bred by Rumen Conev, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, available in small numbers in 2027.

I have not seen them yet, but have a Grounds Committee Meeting this afternoon, so can have a look then. The next question will be where to plant them.

And Finally, I was sent the link below this morning. Another professional photographer was up at the rose gardens this past weekend and sent some of his lovely images of the rose gardens in full bloom. There is a slide show option that will play them in full screen if you wish..

Link - A rose is a rose, more and more of them

Cheers, Rick

Thanks for the info and pic of Quartet. I love the picture, especially if that is only one plant. Any idea how old that plant is?

Hopefully High Country Roses here in Colorado will pick it up since it is coming to a trade show here. I'm not usually an early adopter but I love this combination of colors.

Do you have any full bush pictures of the other new Canadians?

Maybe Rick Durand could populate the Helpmefind page with info and pictures.

Great new photos, Rick!