If you read last week's blog about the GWA Region III "Cleveland Grows" event, you remember that I mentioned the "Meet the Trade Editors" panel discussion with representatives from the green industry press. They suggested that we create videos to go with articles we send to them and I just happened to be getting ready to send a press release about an award one of our lovely little roses had earned. Well it has been picked up and it's one more fun way we tell the stories about the plants we love.
See the video here, on the Floral Daily website.
We talked about this rose in June, but I think it deserves another look in the context of the Biltmore International Rose Trials:
You might wonder why it's called Urban Legend? Well, the story is this beautiful, bright little rose is the perfect addition to urban gardens because its prickly thorns will discourage burglars and other undesirables when planted under windows and in hedgerows.
It reminds me of my mother-in-law, who has planted a large barberry hedge by her house to keep unwanted visitors away from side windows. I have to say, the last place I'd want to find myself is in the middle of a barberry hedge!
But my guess is the rose is also named for its prolific blooms and ease of growth, even in urban settings where conditions are not typically as cushy as in home gardens.
On Sat, Sept. 29 the 2018 Biltmore International Rose Trials took place at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. Oso Easy Urban Legend Rosa was awarded the Lord Burleigh Award for Best Disease Resistance, plus the Chauncey Beadle Award for Best Shrub Rose.
The Biltmore’s Lord Burleigh Award for Best Disease Resistance is named after a descendant of George Vanderbilt, Biltmore’s builder/visionary. I asked LeeAnn Donnelly, the Biltmore's senior PR manager, about the origin of the award name and here's what she had to say about it:
"Lord Burleigh was the original Cecil ancestor (William Cecil, Lord Burghley) who was related to and served as an advisor to Queen Elizabeth 1.
How does that relate to Biltmore? George Vanderbilt, Biltmore’s builder/visionary, and his wife, Edith, had one child, daughter Cornelia. Cornelia married British diplomat the Honorable John Francis Amherst Cecil in 1924. He was the third son of Lord Cecil and the Baroness Amherst of Hackney, making him a descendant of William Cecil, Lord Burghley."
The Biltmore's museum curators say the spelling of Lord Burghley’s sir name is often spelled “Burleigh” hence, the award spelling.
With more information on the Biltmore's website to go on, I discovered that Chauncey Beadle, the namesake for the award for best shrub rose, was an avid azalea collector and horticulturist hired at Biltmore in 1890, who later became the estate superintendent.
I listened in to the Biltmore International Rose Trials on the Rose Chat podcast and I have to say, this is an event I'm now eager to attend! More information, including a full list of award-winning roses at the trials, can be found here.
These two additional awards bring Oso Easy Urban Legend's total to three awards announced this year, having been honored with the 2019 Award of Excellence by the American Rose Society in June.
Oso Easy Urban Legend is a tough, landscape rose with true-red, semi-double flowers that bloom in early summer and continue through the first hard frost. A crown of lush yellow stamens in the center adds interest and contrast. Like all of the roses in the Oso Easy series, the dark green glossy foliage resists powdery mildew and black spot.
Bred by Christopher Hugh Warner in the United Kingdom and released by Spring Meadow Nursery/Proven Winners ColorChoice, Oso Easy Urban Legend Rosa is one of 12 varieties in the Oso Easy rose line.
And that's a wrap! Until next week, never stop growing. - Natalie
