Jacques Amyot

This is my favourite rose.  I first encountered it while visiting Vintage Gardens in Sebastopol, Calif. during one of their rare open-house days.  These folks had 5 acres of roses.  As I was wandering around I came across a low bush in a corner of the property.  They had let the rose grow to its natural abundance, a low mushroom-shaped mound about 5 feet across and 3 feet high.  There was a great profusion of antique looking pink flowers, since it was early May at the time.  They weren't the usual big and bold hybrid tea roses that we are used to seeing at the local nursery.  The pink mound of roses looked somehow more French, ruffled and petite.  So, being the kind of guy I am, (hey, you should always take time,) I bent down and smelled the roses.

Oh WOW.  You know that mens' cologne called Old Spice?  It was like that, but a hundred times better, and in a rose.  This was what they were going for back at the Procter & Gamble labs.  The scent was fantastic!  It really stuck with me, as you can tell.

So, back in March I ordered a pair of Jacques Amyot roses before I even arrived in Ireland.  They're hard to find since not many people are interested in growing Noisette roses from the 19th century for the nursery trade but I located a French grower, Roseraie Fabien Ducher who stocks them.  My other half was kind enough to plant them for me when they arrived and now we have lovely smelling flowers.  She tends to like the blue roses, like Blue For You and Blue Moon, while I am partial to old roses myself.  (My other favourites are Lady Hillingdon and Gertrude Jekyll.)

I highly recommend Fabien Ducher if you live in the E.U.  Their customer service is fantastic, they ship quickly and the quality of the stock is excellent.  They can be found at:  http://www.roseraie-fabien-ducher.com/