For several years my sweetheart has been growing a white rose that has been very reliable in his Mississippi garden. I have my fingers crossed as I write. He’s due back home this week and will find out how many plants have survived the summer’s drought, which is reported to have killed even well-established plants.
If the rose has survived unscathed it will have been thoroughly tested. A couple of cold spells last winter put paid to a fine rosemary bush that had been growing beside it and bit off star jasmine below ground level.
I’m sorry I can’t give you the rose’s name as we have forgotten it. Suggestions are very welcome! Always on the lookout for low-maintenance plants, my sweetheart often grows heritage roses, but I suspect this one may be a modern introduction as we got it from a local landscaping company.
As with many ‘white’ roses, the blooms inhabit a spectrum between pale yellow, cream and white. Small and fully double, they cluster on the ends of arching stems. While the rose grows beside a pillar it shows little inclination to climb. It needs quite a lot of dead-heading if you want to keep on top of it and repeats in flushes.
Our nickname, The Lizard’s Rose, comes because an anole lives in it. Anoles are curious and are more keen to carry on with their business than to take evasive action, so our rose’s lizard can often be discovered hanging over one of the flowers…
or lounging on the reptilian version of a porch.
I’ll end with two nostalgic pictures of the rose and Trachelospermum jasminoides in full bloom in the summer before the freeze. I don’t think the rose is particularly fragrant, but the powerful, sweet, heady scent of the star jasmine more than compensated. Unusually the jasmine was a form with soft yellow coloured flowers – almost a perfect match for the emerging roses, although those quickly pale to white.
Last time I was there, the jasmine was showing signs of shooting back out from the base. I hope it managed to get through the summer too as together they made such a pretty scene.
Shared for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
Susan Rushton 
You’re the best story teller observer and photographer Susan. Let’s rename the rose to ‘Anole’s Avalanche’? I do love those lizards… and the rose /jasmine combination is the ticket. Please report back asap about the status of this pretty rose. Xoxo grace 😊🤍🌹
The rose is not looking great, but it is just about hanging on in there. The jasmine is doing fine.
Oh yikes! Thank you for the rose/jasmine update. Jasmine is pretty bulletproof. Hope the rose pulls through. Saw the latest garden pic from MS and the garden looked crispy. We’ve had a season… a real barnburner. 🔥 whew!
I hope the garden has done alright with the lack of rain. My garden is crispy. Those are my favorite lizards.
I hear ‘pretty crispy’ describes my sweetheart’s experience too, but nothing a couple of tarps full of debris can’t set to rights!
The lizard’s rose and the lizard’s porch! What a lucky little being he is! And I bet he knows it. A rose by any other name, etc. That top image is glorious in its budness! That half-open bud on the right is perfection. What a lovely gathering of blossoms leading to the house — I will be hoping everything is safe.
Well, quite a lot did die, it seems. The rose is just about hanging on. My favourite oregano and basil did fine, but my favourite geranium has frazzled.
So sad about your favorite geranium. I’m glad to hear about the rose, though, and I hope it will perk up.
Do you split your time between Mississippi and the UK, Susan? I get confused sometimes. Love the roses. I never met a rose I didn’t like.
I do, Covid permitting. I’m in the UK though at the moment. I try not to make it too clear, so am not surprised it seems confusing!
The roses persuade me UK but I don’t want to give the game away 🤔🩷
These are all taken in Mississippi, to add to the confusion.
😗🩷
Fingers crossed! 🤞🏼
They’re hanging on, although the rose looks a bit pitiful.
Hope there is a house-sitter/garden-sitter keeping an eye on the plants while he’s gone, and hope the rose and jasmine (and the lizard) are all healthy.
He generally chooses plants that can look after themselves, but it has been a very big ask this year.
I love the cobalt bottle tree — so very perfectly Southern, and a wonderful accent to the garden.
And the bottle tree does fine whatever the weather… tornadoes excepted, that is.
A lovely flower and Anole to boot. I do hope the garden made it as I am entering what looks like being a dry Summer and hope I don’t loose plants like I did a couple of years ago.
I hope so too. It did struggle quite a bit, but is looking better after a few days of tidying up. The truck garden was particularly bad.
Amazing what a day or two of work can reveal 🙂
Beautiful garden and blooms, and I’m rooting for the beautiful rose bush.
Thanks, Judy. Several stems died, but at least one good one remains. It will be a good test of pruning technique!