THE SUMMER ROSE GARDEN. THE PROVENCE, OR CABBAGE, ROSE. (ROSA CENTIFOLIA.) 1596 is given by THIS rose has long and deservedly been the favourite ornament of English gardens; and if, as seems very probable, it was the hundred-leaved rose of Pliny, and the favourite flower of the Romans, contributing in no small degree to the luxurious enjoyments of that great people, it claims attention as much for its high antiquity, as for its intrinsic beauty. botanists as the date of its introduction to our gardens. That "prince of gardeners," Miller, says that it is the prettiest of all roses; and this idea still prevails to a great extent in the agricultural districts of England, where, in the farm and cottage gardens, the Cabbage Rose and the Double Wall-Flower are the most esteemed inmates; forming in their turns, with a sprig of rosemary, the B Sunday bouquet of the respectable farm-servant and cottager. The groves of Mount Caucasus are said to be its native places of growth, and also Languedoc and Provence; but the claims of these latter have been disputed. I lately wrote to a very old rose amateur in France for information on this point. He informs me that the species with single flowers is found in a wild state in the southern provinces; it is therefore very probable that it was called the Provence Rose from growing more abundantly in that province it has now, however, quite a different name in France, for it is called the "Rose à Cent Feuilles," from the botanical name, Rosa centifolia, or Hundred-leaved Rose. I must here confess that, when I was a young rose-fancier, this name often misled me, as I was very apt to think that it referred to the Scotch and other small and thickly-leaved roses, not for a moment supposing that the term was applied to the petals or flower-leaves. Hybrid roses, between this and Rosa gallica, are called Provence Roses by the French amateurs of the present day. Our Provence, or Cabbage, Rose is exceedingly varied in the form and disposition of its petals: the first in the catalogue, Anemoniflora, has those in the centre of the flower imperfect and partially fimbriated, giving it something the appearance of a semi-double anemone ; whence its name. The Celery-leaved Rose, or Rosa apiifolia, is also a curious rose, unlike any other: its leaves are, perhaps, as much like imperfectly curled parsley as celery. The curled Provence is as beautiful as curious, having fine globular-shaped flowers, with petals waved in a very peculiar manner. Dianthæflora, or the Pink-flowered Rose, is a curious variety, with imperfect laciniated petals, unlike any other rose, and something like a pink. Duchesne is a Provence Rose, a little hybridised, with very large, finely-shaped, and double flowers. Duc d'Angoulême also slightly departs from the habits of the true Provence Rose: this is a finely-shaped rose, of a vivid rose-colour. The Dutch, or Large Provence, is exactly like the Old Cabbage Rose, and equally fragrant, but very much larger: this is a fine rose for forcing, but with fewer petals than some other varieties. Grande Agathe, also known as the Läcken Provence, is indeed a grand rose, remarkably double, and finely formed. Its flowers are of the palest flesh-colour: like some others of the true Provence Roses, its clusters of bloom are too heavy and pendulous to be seen with effect on dwarf plants. Illustre Beauté, or Célestine, is a hybrid Provence, with flowers extremely double, and not quite so globular as those of the true Provence Roses; but a most beautiful rose, and a very abundant bloomer. The King of Holland is a very old variety, with immense glo bular flowers, and curious sepals; so that the flower-bud seems surrounded with leaves. The Monstrous Provence, Cabbage-leaved, or Centifolia bullata, has that large and curious inflated foliage, which we have no expressive name for, but which the French call "bullée:" it is a vigorous-growing plant, with flowers like the Old Provence. La Reine de Provence really deserves to be the queen of this division. Its large and finely-shaped globular flowers have a good effect when suspended from a standard: these are of a pale lilac rose-colour, distinct and beautiful. The Scarlet Provence is an old variety, one of those misnomers that in flowers so often lead to disappointment: it was probably the first Provence Rose that made an approach to scarlet; but the faint carmine of its flowers is very far removed from that rare colour among roses. The Spotted is a hybrid Provence of great beauty, with large globular flowers of the deepest rose-colour, delicately spotted. This fine rose has large leaves, and makes upright shoots of great luxuriance and vigour. The Striped Provence is a delicate variety, with flowers of a pale flesh-colour, often striped with red. This rose has smooth glaucous green shoots, and leaves much resembling the Striped Moss, and the Old White Moss. The Unique Provence is a genuine English rose, which, I believe, was found by Mr. Grimwood, then of the Kensington Nursery, in some |