Monday, August 26, 2013

By Any Other Name, Would Marilyn Smell as Sweet?

There have been many highlights to my trip to the Pacific Northwest - the expected, like seeing Daughter Jessy and her S.O. David, and hiking at Mt. Rainier, and the unexpected, like The Garages, the Glass Bridge, and lemongrass chicken lumpia at the Lumpia World food truck at the Tacoma Farmers Market.
Another unexpected pleasure was the lush Rose Garden at Point Defiance Park. You're thinking, of course you should have expected to like a rose garden, they're pretty, but the unexpected fun was seeing the names assigned to each kind of bloom. Shakespeare says a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but maybe he would not have thought so if he had seen some of the names of these blooms.
Some names were perfectly apt. This bright and jazzy beauty is Brass Band.
Brass Band

This neon orange/gold winner has the perfect name. After seeing it, I can't imagine it called anything else.
Las Vegas

Just before I checked the name of this lush and curvy beauty, Hubby told me he thought it had a beautiful shape.
Marilyn Monroe

I kid you not.
This light yellow is something I'd like to see every morning.
Sunshine Daydream

The Namers of the Rose are not above a pun, as Scent from Above for a tall climber and Scentimental for a baby pink sweetie prove.
Mostly, I was impressed by how well the qualities of the flower were captured in the name.
Writers, what are your thoughts when you name a character? Gardeners, do you know the name of your favorite bloom?


9 comments:

  1. It's been years since I had roses in my gardens. One of my favorites was an old creation: Mr. Lincoln, a hybrid tea. I enjoyed the deep red color and its fragrance.

    ~ Jim

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  2. Beautiful photos, Shari. Each rose seems aptly named. I’ve often wondered who is in charge of naming things like flowers, designer colors, and nail polish.

    I love roses! My favorite is the Double Delight. It is a hybrid tea rose with white flowers edged in red and smells like lemons.

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  3. Shari, I've visited that same park and it's rose garden several times. My siblings visit gardens on every vacation we go on, and my youngest daughter makes sure at least one garden is included on every visit I make to California. I have many, many roses in my garden and sometimes I buy them for the name like Brother Cadfael, because I love those mysteries. Another one I bought for the name was Just Joey, because that's the name of my son. I also have Hot Cocoa and Be Bop as well as Ballerina, and yes, I, too, love reading the names in rose gardens. Shari, I enjoyed my 2nd visit to the Seattle/Tacoma area this month through your blog. Nice pictures.

    Jim, Mr. Lincoln is wonderfully scented, not true with all roses.

    Kara, I've had Double Delight, but both times it didn't last long here in NE Ohio. It may not do well in zone 5, but it is a beautiful rose.
    Roses are patented so each breeder needs to come up with a name never before used. If you think there are a lot of rose names, you should read a daylily catalog some time. Sometimes I can't resist buying a daylily simply because of the name. All daylilies are gorgeous anyway and thrive almost anywhere they're planted as long as they get at least some sun.

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  4. Shari, how lovely. Thank you for sharing your beautiful vacation with us. Hope you can get some rest before returning to work.

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  5. Hi Jim,
    A classic choice! I, too, tend to go for the roses with a great fragrance. Seems that a lot of the hybrids don't have the scent of the older types.
    Hi Kara,
    The rose breeders name the roses, from what I can find out via the Internet (I may research some if it is not busy at work tonight). It's fun to see all the names of various roses. The All American Roses site has a list of winners and their names - some are very creative and it's fun to see who's gotten roses named for them: I saw Julia Child and Princess Diana, Victor Borge and Barbra Streisand.

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  6. Hi Gloria - I think you are our resident rose expert! Daylilies are my loves too, but I really fell hard for dahlias when I was in the Pacific Northwest. Plus, I think you can grow anything there - everything is so lushly beautiful. Great climate. Then I come home to temps in the 90s and thundestorms....
    I had no idea daylillies are named too! I will have to check that out.

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  7. Hi Paula, thanks, I hope I can rest up before work tonight! You know how vacations go, so much to do, not enough time. And then add the red eye at the end. Ouch. Do not like the red eye.

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  8. Hi Shari. My husband and I are heading to the Seattle area for a month to meet and greet our new grandson, and to enjoy a couple of book signings. Where is that food truck in Tacoma? My thanks.

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  9. Hi Rebecca,
    Congratulations on the new grandson! What a lovely reason to travel. I saw Lumpia World at the Thursday Tacoma Farmer's Market (Tacoma Broadway Farmers Market, S. 9th St. & Broadway Tacoma, WA, 98402) and Lumpia World is supposed to be there through the fall. You can check out Lumpia World's Facebook page, because they post their daily locations. They are from Seattle, so you may catch them there. Have a great time and best wishes with your signing!

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