'Crépuscule'

It is hard to find anyone who doesn't love Crépuscule, although I finally encountered one such person a couple of months ago who said they would never have it in their garden - for once I was lost for words ...

Well let's see - it offers gentle harmonious apricot tones , it repeats generously, is a tractable small climber, has very few prickles, doesn't succumb to blackspot etc, and of course is one of the great truly evergreen roses.

Probably the most famous display of Crépuscule in Australia, is the hedge at Flemington Racecourse, where most of the nation sees it once a year as they watch the Melbourne Cup on television.

'Crépuscule' translates to 'twilight' in English - the French use this word for both dawn & dusk & it is frequently found in literature & poetry. Recently I also found apt reference in a doglet training article, with a vet describing dogs as being 'crépuscular' - most energetic at dawn & dusk - fits Minky to a 'T' ...


The rose, a Noisette, was bred in France by Francis Dubreuil & introduced in 1904, the parentage is not known.

This photo of 2 plants of Crépuscule was taken in winter 2007 (June 28). The adjacent wooden door is 6' high, and each plant has a spread of about 3 metres. These roses were the first planted here in winter 2003.

'Tarrawarra'

'Tarrawarra' is a delight - a 'poly' of unknown breeding, raised & introduced by Victorian nurseryman John Nieuwesteeg in the early 90's.

Its foliage is healthy & dense and the rose is generous with its repeat flushes. I love the soft salmon pink tones of the buds, and its light sweet fragrance.

This is a low maintenance rose, which is just as well, as it is just a tad prickly - fortunately though light deadheading, and taking to it with the shears occasionally to shape it up, seems to suit it well. The photo below was taken mid autumn, April 2007 for memory, when it was a bit overdue for a tidy up. Typically it could probably be kept to 1m x 1m.

'Mrs Arthur Robert Waddell'

'Mrs AR Waddell' offers a delightful range of hues, lighter tones are more predominant in the warm to hot months, with deeper colours emerging in autumn and going into winter.

An early Hybrid Tea, she was very popular in the early 20th century; possibly she fell out of favour with the release of huge numbers of the stiff, straight necked roses; many suited more for the vase than garden ornamentation.

In the 1990's she re-emerged in Australia, under the study name of "The Molesworth Tea", (the district where she was first 're-discovered'). It is only recently that we can say with relative certainty that they are one in the same.

Here, she has proved to be one of the most sought after roses in the nursery; her performance, fragrance & colours enchant most who meet her.




'Mrs AR Waddell' was bred in France by Joseph Pernet-Ducher and introduced in 1908. Her parentage is not recorded, however it is interesting to note that she is the pollen parent of 'Albertine'. (a pity perhaps that the progeny didn't inherit more of her mannerly behaviour)

one of my plants, 2nd week of March 2008 (during a horrible heat wave), planted mid-year 2005.