Question
Hi
I live in England and am desperately trying to find Barbara's Rose.  I have a relation called Barbara and she is terminally ill and wants this rose planted before she dies.  I found a grower in the USA who grows this rose, and sent an e-mail asking if they could ship to England but received no reply.
Of course it may not be in season in the USA,  I am no expert. Or it may be illegal or impossible to ship to England.
Can you help?
Best Wishes
Sue Winter  

Answer
Sue, do you know someone named Janet from Birmingham who is also trying to find this Rose?

For future reference, you may find your Roses with the help of an interactive website (www.freedomgardens.com) posted by an enterprising gardener.

Freedom Gardens (www.freedomgardens.com), reachable at [email protected], appears to be the only nursery that can send you this Rose from the states.  It is described as a yellow-blend, Hybrid Bracteata (Old Garden Rose).

Their website indicates they would be able to ship this to you: "Orders from overseas are welcome; we send Combined Rose List to many countries of the world. Delivery outside North America is via Global Priority Mail (where available, otherwise by air mail). Add $8.00 per copy for delivery (total $30.00). All remittances must be in U.S. funds payable through a U.S. bank, payable to Peter Schneider. Bank drafts, American Express money orders, International Postal Money orders, and U.S. currency are all acceptable. Credit card payments can be processed online via PayPal. We do not accept Eurocheques or Western Union transfers."

To get this as quickly as possible, I would first email them, then wait 6 hours and call them, then call back.  We had a long Labor Day weekend and it is likely they were closed for the week.

Your English countrymen probably DO sell Barbara's Rose - but with a different name.  Find out what the name was at registration from the Anerican source, and the breeder, and you will find the English name.  They may sell it as "Camilla's Rose."  Which would mean that the Barbara's Rose you buy in the U.S. is "really" Camilla's rose.

You know what Shakespeare said about Roses... by any other name...

Bottom line brings to mind another old saying about Roses, something reminding us all to stop and smell them.  Made all the more poignant by your urgent message.

Let me know what else I can do to help.  Thanks for writing.