Julia Child Cook Off

I have one rose that beats all the contenders in my garden every time.  It's the Floribunda Rosa "Julia Child"  Registered by Carruth in 2006, it has everything I want in a rose.

It's one of the flowers that simply insists I take it's picture every time I'm in the garden.  With it's butter gold medium, very full, old-fashioned blooms and a petal count of 35 plus, it's beautiful.  It has medium glossy green foliage.

It has a strong licorice candy spice fragrance - often depending on the weather. 

It grows to about three foot in height and is rounded and bushy - more so in full sun. 

It's disease resistant and although the Japanese Beetles found it tasty, it bounced right back as soon as they stopped feeding. 

It is consistent, hardy and floriferous in our Zone 5.  Blooms continually from June through September.  Mine is currently putting on the biggest show of the season.

Plant in full sun (although it will take afternoon shade) and keep mulched.  It does not require extra winter protection in my yard although I do have them in a spot that gets plenty of winter cover.

The roses do not cause the stems to droop and it is vase worthy.  My little cat thinks the petals make the best dessert - lesson learned the hard way.

I've never had a rose that is more dependable and is still beautiful.  It's the perfect rose for someone who never quite takes care of roses well enough to keep anything but the extremely tough.

As Julia Child said, “Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”

I think that applies to gardening as-well-as cooking.  Apparently, this rose is as passionate about it's qualifications as Ms. Child was in her life.  No other rose could have handled the name "Julia Child" without being robust and interesting.