Photo courtesy of Weeks Roses

If you looking for roses that are easy to care for, you may want to look at the roses hybridized by the late Dr. Griffith Buck.  He spent his life researching and hybridizing cultivars that were disease resistant, pest tolerant and cold hardy. I’m growing five of his cultivars and my favorite is Distant Drums.

Distant Drums is an easy-to-grow shrub rose with very unusual coloration.  The buds start out a dark mulberry hue and when they open, the center is a golden-tan.  My favorite stage of this rose is when it is fully open.  The stamens are a rich golden yellow which enhances the beauty of the rose.  As the bloom ages, the color lightens and finally ends up a light lavender/tan.  I usually deadhead at this point because the color isn’t very attractive.

The double flowers have 30+ petals that form in large clusters of beautiful and often ruffled blooms.  This will be one of the first roses to bloom in the spring and the last to stop in the fall.  The medium-large foliage is a dark green.  The plant is vigorous and bushy and grows to over five feet in the southern California area.  Distant Drums is tolerant of the heat and doesn’t shrivel when the temps soar over 100 degrees.  Then there is the fragrance; it smells of myrrh with a touch of anise.  You will either love it or hate it.  

For exhibitors, Distant Drums is very competitive in the Modern Shrub category.  For arrangers, it is a must have rose as its unusual coloration can produce eye-catching entries. For rose gardeners, this rose will give you a colorful garden display all year long.  What more can you ask for?