Old Rose

Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin' (Zeff-e-REEN Drew-HEEN) thornless Bourbon rose


I seem to be enamored of roses this spring. Or maybe it’s a very good year for roses. Or maybe I’m just taking more time to stop and smell the roses.

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This pretty rose is on an arbor at Miller’s House Garden behind the Lukenbach Mill in Bethlehem’s Colonial Industrial Quarter. 'Zephirine Drouhin' was introduced in 1868.

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Jill M. Nicolaus on davesgarden.com wrote, “Sweetly scented, fluffy pink blooms, tough as nails, shade tolerant, and nearly thornless…does that sound like your average hybrid rose?” Jill explains her experience with this rose.

‘Kathleen Harrop’, another old Bourbon rose. grows on the opposite side of the arbor. It is also thornless and a sport of ‘Zepherine Drouhin’.
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Most of the plants at Miller’s House Garden are labeled. You can pick up a plant map in the little message box on the left side of the entrance path. The garden is maintained by the Bethlehem Garden Club.

(More info on 'Zephirine Drouhin' from NC State University here.)

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