Wedding Day Rose

I'm sorry, but in my humble lady gardener's opinion, the climbing rose with the most romantic name of all, Wedding Day, doesn't quite cut the mustard. Not that roses are ever expected to cut mustard...

There are definite positives for this rose with the most evocative of names. Its creamy flower clusters are very beautiful while they last, and given enough space (that's both width and height) and lots of fresh air Wedding Day will always put on a great show. But there's an agressive side to its nature.

Wedding Day has certain characteristics which one would never, ever wish on a real wedding day! For one, its flower beauty is quite short lived. Two, it's very thorny, and canes seem to spring from nowhere to grab and trap the unwary passerby. Hmm... There seems to be a bit of a cynical attitude emerging here...

Moonlight and Roses

OK - I'll be honest! I'm biased. I grow my Wedding Day rose in the Driveway Garden, and the wind seems to easily dislodge its long vicious canes. This is bad news for the unwary cyclist (me) fiddling with her cycle helmet, or the moonlit night walker (again me, many times). Ouch!

It's also odd that the rose Wedding Day has single flowers. Oops - there's that attitude again! But even if I have reservations about the rose, do I chop it down and remove it? No! And each December I look eagerly for the summer flowers. It's a pity I don't look as eagerly for those thorny canes...