Rose Profile: Julie Andrews

I know I am not alone when I say that Julie Andrews was my childhood hero.  I can still sing all of the songs from The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins.  When I was in college, I sang the lead in a musical and one of my friends, who was a music major, said my voice sounded sort of like Julie Andrews.  That was one of the biggest complements of my life!!!  So when the UK bred rose JULIE ANDREWS became available in the United States, I snapped it up. 


JULIE ANDREWS



She is a sherbet orange rose with a lighter yellow reverse.  I think the color is fitting.  The hybridizer Gareth Fryer had to get permission from Julie Andrews in order to sell such a rose, so she must like that color.  The blooms are on the small side, even for a floribunda.  The plant, however, is a great galloping thing with long floppy branches.  I think she was happy to move from foggy England to sunny California. 

I grew her for a number of years, but I ultimately gave her away since she was straining out of her pot and, at the time, and I didn't have room for her in the ground.  Plus, it looked odd to have a great big octopus with little miniflora sized flowers.

Even though the JULIE ANDREWS rose doesn't have a spot in my garden, Julie Andrews will always have a place in my heart.