If you ask a grower of roses to name their favorite, many will declare this task to be impossible. If I had been asked this a few years ago, I too would not have been able to answer. However, over the years my climbing rose ‘Awakening’ has proven itself to be consistently reliable. ‘Awakening’ is a sport of the familiar ‘New Dawn’. I actually bought my first two ‘Awakening’ bushes when looking for ‘New Dawn’ at a local nursery. The crazy roseman that owns the place told me I didn’t want ‘New Dawn’, and he presented me with two small own root ‘Awakening’ bushes. It was an easy sale as I am a sucker for a high petal count and greater flushes of flowers. If it only had a strong scent it would truly be perfect.
Many roses in my New England garden have succumbed to black spot, the cold or various other ailments. Meanwhile, ‘Awakening’ has grown up and over my 8 foot arbor. Over the next few months the plan is to transfer ‘Awakening’ to a new larger copper arbor (courtesy of my future father in law).