Is there anything more beautiful than a fragrant, romantic old fashioned rose arranged en masse? Danielle Hahn of Rose Story Farm pictured below, turned her avocado and lemon orchids into thousands of old..antiquey...old world roses. Not far from where we live right in Southern California...Carpinteria, CA to be exact. Her Belle Story Farm named for a David Austin rose...is a blanket of peaches and pinks and blushes and whites and reds and oranges...scents of citrus...honey...apple...licorice and myrrh flow through the air. It's pure beauty to behold. All the roses are awakening in California right now...after a long winter nap they are unfolding their captivating beauty for all to behold.
Rose Story Farm
(805) 566-4885 ~ Call to arrange a tour.
Rose clubs travel from afar to visit here. It's a gem of a farm as the owners put it, the magic and grace of roses. Some roses grown here are not typically seen by the public-they are a test site for new varieties. Most of Rose Story's roses are European, pre-1950's roses, with unusual shapes and heady scents. A perfect spot to spend Mother's Day, have a wedding, or just stroll the grounds with friends.
The Huntington Library ~ Art collections and Botanical Gardens
Many a Mother's Day we have spent, having tea in the Huntington Tea Room, wandering around the Botanical Gardens...We love the Shakespeare and the Rose Gardens..the statuary...amazing! It's really hard to say what our favorite spot is. The library is crammed full of historical documents for the public to view. The mansion is a bulging collection of art, rare objects and furniture. We are great fans of Lawrence, Gainsborough, Reynolds, and John Singer Sargent of which many make their home here. It's splendid to behold all the wonderful paintings. The Huntington employs one of the most acclaimed rosarians in the world to keep their roses in prime blossom.
Otto and Sons and California Rose Country
We first learned of Otto and Sons, the largest seller of bareroot roses in California from a local rose show. Sandy Gaal a well known rosarian, residing in Santa Paula, CA, held a rose show every May. Magazines such as Romantic Homes and publications like the LA Times picked up on her event and began to publish articles about "Gaal's Little Acres" as their home is known as. Held in May, lines would go on and on...everyone eager to get in and wander the grounds. Not just locals, but from everywhere. Sandy and her surgeon husband, have an English country estate..way before it was as popular as it is today to be into urban farming..cute chickens and all...they had a grand duck folly amongst thick, lush foliage, exotic varieties of chickens in their charming chicken coop, billie goats and Dutch lop earred bunnies and farm dogs~they had it all. Idiliac would describe their charmed surroundings. Set amongst their Shakespeare garden was a petite guest cottage..the French doors opening onto the garden...to stay there would be a dream! Light floral scents making for a good nights sleep.
At this event you could attend rose lectures by noted experts, find unique items at their boutique such as heirloom sweet pea seeds gleened from Sandy's garden or buy unique, rare and hard to find roses. Otto and Sons was there and that's were our next story begins.
Otto and Sons, 1835 Guiberson Road, Fillmore, CA 93015 is holding their annual rose sale on April 24 and 25, 2011. Doors open at 9:00 am. Their roses are gorgeous...really well cared for...and will make a statement wherever they are planted. Serious rose aficionado's come out to this event. Guest speakers from the big growers are there, Weeks, Jackson & Perkins, Star, and David Austen all lending their expertise to this event. Check Otto and Sons website for more details: www.ottandsons-nursery.com. Be careful though, you might just get bitten by the rose bug!
California Rose Country
Located close to Bakersfield, California, you will find the growers of the largest crop of bare root roses in the United States. A 38 million annual cash crop! Bareroots are any variety of rose budded onto old world rose root stock. It takes 2 years from the beginning until each rose is ready for sale. Locations such as Wasco, Shafter and McFarland all in (Bakersfield area) Kern County are riddled with big growers. Perkins began there in 1908. A large rose festival is held annually in this area around Labor Day. In April and May cars wind their way along the roads to get a glimpse of the colorful splendor of the roses. It is the dreaded Tule fog that lends itself to the success of roses here, keeping their roots constantly moist during a time in the growing season that could otherwise compromise their quality.
Did you know that thanks to Ronald Reagan, the rose is our national floral emblem? Did you know that Oprah commissioned her own Legacy rose just for her eyes only and that she has a rose garden with a collection of 3 dozen rare roses? It's an obsession~the rose...it goes back to the beginning of civilization. War of the roses anyone? Confucius and the Peking Garden? Homer?
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