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Back Porch
tree roses and climbers of many sizes, shapes and colors.
Each variety of rose has a name and a story behind it. Richard has one flower bed, for example, that she calls the "Garden of Famous Ladies." A grower who develops a new variety of rose is allowed to name his new flower, and there are a number of roses named for famous women. Richard has roses named for Empress Josephine, Queen Elizabeth, and several actresses.
"They're all ladies except that one in the middle," she explains about this garden. "That one's Carey Grant. I thought he'd feel at home being surrounded by beautiful ladies."
"Behind every rose there is a story, not just the story of the rose variety itself but the story of where the grower got the cutting that started the plant. You get these from the people you love," she added.
Several of the plants she has acquired possess special meaning for her. One little pink rose, for example, came the garden of an elderly friend who passed away shortly after giving Richard several cuttings from her rose bushes. The plants which rooted from those cuttings are very special to her.
Another person from whom she has obtained a number of cuttings is Gulfport resident Donald L. Caudill, who is retired from both military and real estate careers. He has been growing roses for about 10 years and now has about 500 of the plants in his yard.
"It's just a hobby, something I love doing," Caudill says. "The rose society came out here to meet me because they knew I grew roses, but I would grow roses even if I weren't a member of the Society." He is a member of both Mississippi Gulf Coast Rose Society and Gather Ye Rosebuds.
His favorite roses are a large-bloomed variety called White Iceberg. Usually, they grow higher than the roof of his house, but sometimes he trims them back. He also has plants that he moved from his yard in downtown Gulfport to the site of his present home, which sits on a seven-acre plot where he used to grow vegetables.
Caudill is especially proud of some red roses he calls "Grandmother's roses" instead of their variety name. "I say I've been doing this for 10 years, but as kids we used to help my mother grow roses. These are some roses my grandmother had."
He once went to visit a nationally known rose garden in Tyler, Texas, and came back so enthusiastic he was ordering many new plants, about 150 at a time. He also enjoys sharing his roses with friends.
It is easy to follow his advice for rooting roses. "The best way is to cut
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them under water, which protects the stem," he explains. "Then root them in soil. I've done whole bucketsful at a time."
Fussing over his roses provides a constant adventure. One time he trimmed them all back, some so far he worried that they might not bloom again. Now Caudill has the tallest roses in the neighborhood.
Only part of his garden is visible from the road in front of his house because the house blocks the view of his garden. The building is completely surrounded by roses. "From every window I raise in my house, I can see roses," Caudill said. "Any way the wind blows, I can smell the perfume of roses."
Besides the splendor of the rose blooms, the size of his garden attracts attention. Nearly every day, someone stops to ask him for advice about the flowers.
"Anybody can grow roses, if you follow the books. It takes dedication and hard work. With seven acres of ground and all these roses, it fills my time."
Caudill jokes that he will stop growing so many roses “some day” because he is, as he says, "pushing 80 years old." Despite that, he still prefers the more modern varieties of
Melinda Richard of Gather Ye Rosebuds, the newest local chapter of the American Rose Society, located in Bay St. Louis, MS, delights in the roses growing in her garden. Her garden includes bush roses, tree roses and climbers of many sizes and colors