Rose Foliage? I Must Be Mad!

I have been surprised with my growing interest in the leaves on the roses I grow.  Of course the first thing that draws us to roses are the beautiful flowers.  Then after some time of tending the plants these beautiful flowers grow on, I began to pay more attention to the plant's form and architecture.  Now I find myself looking deeper into the rose and noticing beauty and differences in the foliage of the roses I grow.  This fall I have found myself taking pictures of rose leaves.  They can change color and give a display in union with the trees.  And have you ever noticed the different textures these leaves can have.  Below are a few pictures of Moore's Striped Rugosa with its crinkly leaves in typical rugosa fashion.  

I currently only grow two hybrid rugosas (Moore's Striped Rugosa and Linda Campbell).  The more familiar I become with the class (which frankly very few are grown in Oklahoma) the more I am drawn to them.  Both show a true hybrid leaf that is somewhere between the more crinkled rugosas and the smooth leaves of the modern roses they have been crossed with.

Below is my Climbing Rainbow's End sporting some gorgeously colored fall foliage.  The smooth shiny leaves are just about as different from the rugosa leaves above as they could be.  Both offer nice color to the garden even after the flowers quit blooming.

The final picture shows some bright red leaves on the young growth of Lavender Lassie.  As new growth I think the sugar content must have been high and caused the richer color than normal.

If you find yourself uninterested in this post - don't worry.  It will always be the flower that draws us to roses.  However, if you find yourself more and more interested in things like plant structure, leaves, thorns, and who knows what else - don't worry.  You have just fallen hopelessly in love with the whole rose.