For some reason I’ve had this photo waiting to be published since July.  Here are the top five reasons why I love this rose:

1.The smooth and creamy buttery yellow color, that changes with time and seasons. Sometimes rich and full, other times translucent and light. Yellow is not my favorite color, it’s closer to the bottom of the list, but this yellow just makes me stare. There must be something in my genetic code that attracts me to this rose. Maybe it’s not the rose, maybe it all comes back to butter.
2. The compact size of this floribunda. It doesn’t get big and gangly, but grows to about three feet. A tidy shrub of perfect proportion.
3. The innumerable blossoms. It started flowering early and just kept on going.  In mid-summer I counted 48 buds on Julia Child, which seemed a lot for this compact plant.  In December there were two modest flowers, struggling to fully open, yet stubbornly present.
4.  The sweet and light rose fragrance.  It’s described in the catalogs as spicy, sweet and licorice. I agree with the first two, haven’t detected the licorice yet. A hint of butter, perhaps…
5. Disease resistance. My rose stayed in a container, moved around too much and never had full sun. It did suffer from aphids and black spot, but after a few treatments with neem oil, it rebounded beautifully and sported dark, glossy green leaves most of the year.  Truly one of the best.

Which rose is your favorite?