Day 4: Fragrant Rose Advent Calendar

It's finally time for the first non-hybrid tea. Okay, but first let's do one more. The 1974 winner.

Papa Meilland.

Papa is a Beauty and the Beast style rose and a perennially contender for “Best of Show”. Of course, any rose bearing the Meilland name is bound to be impressive. Hybridized in 1963 by Alain Meilland, papa’s mama is also a Gamble medal winner, Chrysler Imperial. Not only does it make a great cut flower but it’s also a whopper with the average bloom size being 5.5”.

Damask to the core. The fragrance is pure and perfect. Essence No. 1 by Elie Saab makes a great pair for Papa.

---

Sunsprite.

It’s the first floribunda to win the Gamble Award! Up to this point all the roses have belonged to the same class, hybrid tea. But this little baby is a gatecrasher. It’s a compact cultivar rarely growing over three feet. It was hybridized in 1973 by Reimer Kordes, the son of Wilhelm Kordes II. The happy yellow blossoms never stop throughout the season, and it does pretty well in part shade. It is number #3 in my top ten favorite roses.

The fragrance is a mixture of centifolia and honey. Eglantine by Fragonard is a complimentary scent.

---