By Rosalinda Morgan

A sepal, a petal, and a thorn

Upon a common summer’s morn-

A flash of Dew – A Bee or two –

A Breeze – a caper in the trees –

And I’m a Rose!

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

I’ve been growing roses since 1971 and joined the American Rose Society the following year when they were still in Columbus, Ohio. I started with five modern roses because that was the only thing I knew about roses. But as I began to love the history of anything and everything, I read about Old Garden Roses and began to explore its fascinating history. I started to plant some old garden roses after I moved to our third home in the ‘80s. I still had some modern roses in the garden because it seemed like everyone who visited my garden was looking for hybrid teas. But Old Garden Roses have…