Rosa 'Little White Pet' and companions

fresh cuts from the CGPs

a late September bouquet

Rosa 'Little White Pet' (l) and R. 'Meidiland White' (r)

A quick walk through my CGPs this afternoon provided the flowers you see above. The silvery foliage is that of Artemisia absinthium, the asters are Aster tataricus and Aster laevis (aka Symphiotrichum laeve). The roses are 'Awakening', 'Meidiland White' and 'Little White Pet'.

'Awakening' is from the same protean seedling which gave us 'Dr W. Van Fleet' and 'New Dawn'. These three roses came from the same seedling, and thus form a clone (in the original sense).

'Little White Pet' also has an interesting history. Early in the nineteenth century, when noisette roses were being raised in numbers, a cross between a noisette rose and Rosa sempervirens  resulted in the climbing rose 'Félicité et Perpétue'. Later in the nineteenth century the dwarf form now known as 'Little White Pet' was discovered on a plant of  'Félicité et Perpétue'.  So,  'Félicité et Perpétue' and 'Little White Pet' also form a clone.

The rose 'Meidiland White' was raised almost exactly a century after 'Little White Pet' was discovered. 'Meidiland White' lacks scent, while 'Little White Pet' is well scented. 'Meidiland White'  blooms profusely throughout the growing season. 'Little White Pet' also blooms throughout the season, but not as profusely. The sweet scent guarantees it a place in this garden.