8 Favourite Florist Roses

Of all the flowers, the bold, the spiky, the soft and delicate, robust, exotic and dramatic, I still love roses the best. I love the history of them, the scent, the colour, shape and smooth perfect texture, the frilly edges and the romance. I use them a lot in my floristry work. Rose season in Australia is generally November - March though they can flower outside that time, weather dependent. Rose season produces beautiful garden blooms like David Austins and hybrid tea roses bought by the bucket at market. Imported roses are year round and are grown in Kenya, Ecuador and Columbia. They arrive in the cargo hold of passenger planes so are a bit hit and miss at the moment though supply is increasing. These roses are robust and strong which I love, they have a vase life of 7 - 10 days depending on how well they are cared for - changing water and cleaning vase with a snip of the stems every 2 days or so. No need for floral preservative, just clean fresh water and keep them in a cool spot in the house, no breezes, no heat, no direct sun.

I have collected 8 of my favourites that I use constantly in the shop though there are many many more. Some of the images are from Rosaprima and others from Grandiflora. Let me know your favourite!

FREE SPIRIT - Orange with a touch of pink on edge of petal. Opens quickly and sits open for over a week

MOTHER OF PEARL - A beautiful vintage looking rose, soft pink with delicate peachy centre and fading to buff

WHITE MONDIAL - my all time favourite warm white rose, creamy in the centre and tinged green petals

FAITH - Soft vintage mauve coloured rose

SUMMER LOVE - Just to die for. A delicate pastel lemon centre with the softest pink toned outer petals

HERMOSA - Reminds me of strawberry ice-cream. Rich warm pink petals.

QUICKSAND - Forever popular with buff/nude/beige petals and a hint of pink. Gorgeous contrasted with deep burgundy and bright reds.