Last summer, during the worst of the drought, I purchased a Marilyn Monroe rose at a local nursery. I knew that I couldn’t plant the bush then; but since it was on sale, and looked gorgeous in the photo on the tag, I decided to buy it and do my best to keep it alive in a pot until I could plant it in cooler weather. It took some t.l.c., but my chance paid off.  In the autumn, I planted Marilyn next to my Mr. Lincoln rose, which is a tall magenta red, and that is a lovely pairing. (Unfortunately, this morning I wasn’t able to get just the shot that I wanted to demonstrate this point, but I’ll keep trying.) 

This gorgeous, apricot-colored, hybrid tea rose has sturdy, substantial blooms reaching 5 to 7 inches across and is a variety known for tolerance of heat and humidity and for its disease-resistance. Its only drawbacks as far as I can tell are that its fragrance it quite light and it is rather thorny … but what a beauty!