St. Swithun's Day

My favorite rose is St. Swithun, an English Rose introduced in 1993.  Its flowers are of the lightest pink, larger than most English Roses, hold 100+ petals, intricately quartered, and are heavily fragranced with a heady musk scent similar to Myrrh only sweeter.  A cluster of its flowers will fill a room with its fragrance and can be quite heavy.  Its flowers are held up on stems that are perfectly matched to not be too stiff as to lack grace or so limp that the flowers drag.

The bush is vigorous and somewhat spreading.  Below is a plant in its second year.  You can get a sense of its habit but know that in Oklahoma it will grow to be 5-6 feet tall and 6 feet wide.  This is by far one of the most healthy English Roses and is said to be very winter hardy (zone 4). Its one drawback is that Thrips love it and they are a bit hard on its Spring blooms. 

I didn't know anything about the person St. Swithun before growing the roses but he was born in 852 A.D. and is the patron saint of the Winchester Cathedral.  St. Swithun's Day is July 15 and it is said that whatever the weather on St. Swithun's Day it will continue for the next 40 days.  On a side note, anytime you come across the number 40 in the Bible it probably is not meant to be taken literally.  It really mean "a long time."  Think - Its been raining for a month of Sundays or its raining cats and dogs.  If I seem a bit focused on rain its because we really need it. 

The British folksinger Billy Bragg, has written a song full of nostalgic longing for a former love titled St. Swithun Day's.  Billy has often been compared to Woody Guthrie, a comparison I understand but their sounds are so different you have to listen deeper to get it.  Even so, I thoroughly enjoy both. You can hear a sample of the song on emusic at Billy Bragg St. Swithun's Day .  Several years ago Billy Bragg performed at the Woody Guthrie Festival in nearby Okemah, Oklahoma (the birthplace and childhood home of Woody Guthrie).  While at the festival he took several of Woody poems and lyrics that were not set to music and wrote tunes for them.  This has now become a project of many artist who come the the festivial.  This year's WoodyFest is July 13-17, 2011 and always takes place on his birthday.