Did you know that our favorite colorful garden roses have a common ancestor that was yellow? Well, here’s the rest of the story recently published last week from Beijing Forestry University, China, https://phys.org/news/2025-04-red-pink-white-roses-yellow.html .
Speaking of colorful roses, a red one of mine that I grow also has roots to one of my favorite bourbons.
In 2018, to commemorate its 130th anniversary, Four Roses Bourbon introduced more than a special-edition bottle—they partnered with Jackson & Perkins to release the Four Roses® Anniversary Rose, a deep red hybrid tea rose that ties the legacy of the brand to the garden landscape in a meaningful way.
The rose was designed to reflect the iconic imagery and romantic story behind the Four Roses name, which traces back to a proposal and a corsage of four red roses.
According to the most popular legend behind the name, Paul Jones, Jr., the founder of the Four Roses brand, fell in love with a Southern belle in the late 1800s. He proposed marriage to her, and she replied that if her answer was “yes,” she would wear a corsage of four red roses to an upcoming grand ball. When she arrived with the corsage of four roses pinned to her gown, Jones took it as her acceptance—and later named his bourbon Four Roses as a tribute to that moment.
This commemorative rose features classic hybrid tea form, with blooms measuring 3 to 4 inches across and composed of 20 to 25 velvety petals in a rich, saturated red. Its damask fragrance gives it a strong sensory presence, making it a standout not just in color, but in aroma.
From a horticultural perspective, the Four Roses® Anniversary Rose is well-suited for Southern landscapes. It offers excellent heat tolerance and resistance to common rose diseases like powdery mildew and rust—critical qualities for success in warm, humid climates. It’s a repeat bloomer, flowering in flushes throughout the summer, especially when spent blooms are removed regularly.
This rose was not only made available to home gardeners through Jackson & Perkins but also planted on the grounds of the Four Roses Distillery in Kentucky, establishing a living tribute to the brand’s heritage. For gardeners looking to blend ornamental impact with a bit of cultural history, this rose is both a functional landscape plant and a meaningful conversation piece.
Gary Grows at Heritage Cottage 