Summer is the season of color in Colorado! At Hudson Gardens, one of our guests’ favorite places to enjoy nature’s abundance of color and fragrance is our Rose Garden. As stated so eloquently by Matshona Dhilwayo, roses do not bloom hurriedly but like all great works or art, take time to blossom. We have waited patiently through the dull days of winter, when the roses appeared to be nothing more than clusters of brown branches, and sleepy days of spring, for the first eruptions of leafy green growth for this season of summer.
The Rose Garden at Hudson Gardens features over 150 spectacular “Modern” rose varieties plantings, which are known for their vibrant colors and intense fragrances and is maintained by a team of dedicated volunteers.
The Rose Garden at Hudson Gardens is home to a selection of hybrid tea roses, floribundas, grandifloras, and climbing roses which were planted with the intention of inviting guests to “stop and smell the roses”. The most common fragrance associated with roses is the “damask” rose smell, attributed to pink and red roses, but roses can also mimic the fragrance of spices, citrus, herbs, fruits and other flowers. A general rule of thumb is, the deeper shade of color, the more fragrant the rose. Roses are most fragrant on warm, sunny days, in the early to mid-morning.
Speaking of colors, what do the different colored roses symbolize?
- Red: Love, Respect
- Pink: Appreciation, Gratitude
- Light Pink: Admiration, Grace
- White: Purity, Innocence
- Yellow: Joy, Friendship
- Orange: Desire, Enthusiasm
- Purple: Love at First Sight
- Red & Yellow: Cheer
We hope you’ll take some time to stop by the Rose Garden and “smell the roses” this summer and pick out your favorite rose!