The Roses of 2012

This is a very strange year. The weather was unusually warm in the spring and we didn't get our usual freezes in May. Because of this the roses, which usually peak around summer solstice, peaked around June 1.
They started around May 10. The first to bloom were Father Hugo's Rose, a once bloomer with lovely tiny ferny foliage:

Also blooming this early was Austrian Copper, another once bloomer:

Fruhlingsgold has these lovely large soft yellow blooms with a unusual fragrance.

Harison's Yellow is another early once bloomer. Here it is, totally unpruned, with all the winter killed canes still there.

The Herbalist started blooming a little later. It's a nice fragrant English Rose.

Mary Rose, another English Rose, was planted up near the house which gives it an early start.

Here's a nice branch of Mary Rose:

That's enough for one post. I'll start the next post with roses blooming nearer the end of May.