My Favorite Roses

I always ask my brides which flowers they love, and which flowers they absolutely don’t love.  Roses are almost always mentioned.  Most brides see their lovable qualities- their gorgeous spiraled petals, the insane variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, their sturdiness in all kinds of weather, and their relative affordability (I can’t think of a more bang-for-your-buck flower out there.)  But there are some brides who consider roses to be a little “same-old”,”traditional”, or “bleh”.  Perhaps they just want to explore the hundreds of other more unique flower possibilities before they settle on the old stand-by.  I totally get it.

These are the roses that excite me every time I pick them up from the mart.  These are the varieties that have reignited my love for roses and have converted my most anti-rose brides into rose lovers.

1.  Polo:

A creamy white rose.  Love their cup-like shape and ruffly texture.

(Photo by Tony Florez Photography)

2.  Pink Intuition:

How funky are these fuchsia zebra striped beauties?

3.  Faith:

These lush roses have a color that’s hard to define: where lavender meets dusty rose meets silver.  They are so much more beautiful in person.

(Photo by Viera Photographics)

4.  Amnesia:

There is something mysterious and a little haunting about these greenish-greyish-purplish roses.

5.  Black baccara:

My love for this rose is probably obvious, since I use it whever I can. You can’t fully appreciate it until you feel it’s velvety soft petals.

(Photo by Trista Lerit)

6. Abraham Darby garden rose. Scratch that, any garden rose!!!

(Photo by Jasmine Star)

7. Mimi Eden Spray Rose:

A million tiny petals that burst open in shades of intense pink and cream.  Their mini blooms are the size of quarters.

(Photo found here)

8.  Sahara:

Soft beige with a touch of pink on the outside of the petals.  Adds a hint of color to neutral white arrangements.

(Photo by Jonilyn Photography)

9. Supergreen:

My go-to green rose.  While green tea, jade and limbo roses can look a little washed out and yellowish (depending on the bunch), supergreen is reliably a vibrant shade of chartreuse.

(Photo by Michael Norwood Photography)

10.  Circus:

No rose opens as beautifully as this orange and yellow bi-color lovely.  It just pops in this bouquet!

(Photo by The Image Is Found)

There are so many others I could list, I may need to do a part 2 🙂  With so many rose varieties coming out all the time, there are still many more to discover.  Also, R.I.P. to my favorite rose varieties that are no longer available in L.A. (like sterling silver and candy bianca!)

Are you a “rose person?” What are your favorites? Also, if you’re a florist, are you mourning the loss of a favorite rose that is no longer being produced?  I feel you!