About Face

One of the most beautiful roses I grow, in my opinion, is the rose shown above, "About Face." Classified as a grandiflora, "About Face" features lovely, high-centered blooms shaped like the roses you'll get in a typical florist bouquet. Generally the blooms are larger than those of floribunda roses, a class of tough roses that produces continuous clusters of flowers. I added "About Face" to the garden because of her unusual coloring. The bloom above is actually past its prime, if you can believe that. The closed buds are fiery red, leaning to orange. As they open, you see the top of the petals are golden. They are the largest blooms of the 20 or so roses I grow now, and they are the most exquisitely shaped. The first flush of bloom produces abundant blossoms, then there is a brief pause before more are produced. From then on until frost there are constant flowers coming on. Although afterward there are not as many flowers on the plant at one time as with the first flush, there is almost always something on the plant to cut for bouquets. Oddly, these absolutely delicious blooms produce no scent. I keep sniffing at them in disbelief. Oh well. I'm enthralled with the beauty of "About Face." I think she's a keeper! "About Face" photo by JulenaJo.