‘JP Connel’.
‘John Davis’.
‘Marie-Victorin’.
high-pointed buds are clear yellow and poised at the top of smooth thornless canes. They open wide into creamy, semi-double, flat blooms surmounted by a large boss of golden tan stamens. Unlike most Explorers, which seem to set buds almost before they break ground, ‘JP Connell’ takes its time. Edge a front driveway with ‘Henry Hudson’. This low-
growing ground spreader covers itself with pale lavender- tinted buds and fragrant white semidouble blossoms. Flowers repeat until fall. If you haven’t deadheaded, the rose will set large scarlet hips, bright against its brilliant late fall leaves. Like most rugosas, ‘Henry Hudson’ is hardy to zone 2. The shiny wrinkled leaves (the name ‘rugosa’ means wrinkled), set among the bristly grey canes, are supremely healthy. This rose in particular tolerates the salt and sand debris of winter street cleaning. Later development in the Explorer series led to superb
70 • Fall 2016
‘George Vancouver’.
bedding roses. Deep red ‘Champlain’ and deep pink ‘Frontenac’ are two of these, with non-stop prolific blooms spring to fall. The colours and flower output of these 30-inch (76-centimetre) mounding shrubs would rival petunias. ‘John Davis’ could mingle with the 12-inch (30-centi-
metre) tall graceful ‘Karl Foerster’ (Calamagrostis x acute- flora). This slender column of grass blooms silky pale green and cream in early summer. Its texture and movement perfectly complement the bright mass of the roses and the solidity of evergreens. As summer becomes fall and the grass turns tawny, the colour shift gives new dimension to the continued rosiness of ‘John Davis’. If you prefer the naturalness of flowery meadows,
consider ‘Marie-Victorin’, which has the sweet simplicity of the wild rose. The silvery pink petals have a reverse of gold. The effect is a shimmery peach glow. Old-fashioned
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