h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

technically, the Christmas rose is a Hellebore

http://www.gardenia.net/plant/Helleborus-Niger-Christmas-Rose

But I'm not complaining. The only blossoms I've ever had here in January were asters.

(I planted a yellow rose last year, so I hope to see it blooming in June.)

Ah, yes I know hellebore - although I don't have any in my current garden, I have had in the past.

That is good going for asters to continue flowering until January... Highly unusual for a rose to be still around in December, but there we go - there was a frost this morning, so winter is hovering around...

Does your yellow rose have a specific name? I hope you get plenty of flowers in June, and I hope the Freddie Mercury Rose manages to replenish its energy so that it can flower in June too!

Sorry, I don't have a cultivar name for it. There's a marker in front of it, but we got five inches of snow this weekend, and a hard crust formed on it, and right now it's about 4 degrees above zero Fahrenheit. I'm not going to bundle up like an eskimo and dig it up to read it (assuming I even could).

It's some kind of European hybrid. Granted, in theory there are native American roses that are sometimes yellow, but the chances of finding them for sale at Lowe's or Home depot are pretty close to zero. If they have any kind o decent hybrids, even foreign ones, I'll buy them.

Ah, I see - I wondered if it had a nickname like 'Freddie' Yellow was Freddie Mercury's favourite colour

Wow, that is chilly, to say the least Yes, no need to go digging in the snow if you don't have to... What a contrast with my rose, that experienced 54 degrees Fahrenheit on Christmas day...

I have some Canadian Mayflowers that might bloom in early Spring. At least, their leaves should be among the first to pop up.

I plant equal numbers of wild roses (single-petals) and cultivated roses (double petals). The double petal roses are glorious in the Summer, but they don't make rose hips. The rose hips are on the single-petal ones in the Fall and Winter.

That's a good thing about the Freddie Mercury rose, that it does make rose hips even though it is a 'Hybrid Tea'

What colour are the Mayflowers? My garden is still looking a bit autumnal rather than wintry, but the Snowdrops are growing so I should soon see some lovely white flowers

Is that why they're called 'tea roses'?

Canadian Mayflowers are closely related to Lilies of the valley. One of their names is False lilies of the valley.
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=maca4

I've seen them growing in a cemetery. They're short enough that the lawnmower's blades doesn't decimate the leaves.

I think they're called Tea Roses because they smell like caffeinated tea, but it is an added bonus that rose hips can be used to make herbal tea

Thank you for the link paulh - the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website is a great resource. I like Lily of the Valley, so I can imagine the Canadian Mayflower makes a similar pretty woodland carpet

I love them because they can form a robust community under the shade of spruce or pine groves. One plant, over the years, can spread its rhizomes across a sizable area.

For what it's worth, I have planted blue flag irises along the edge of my house, right under the eaves where rainwater drips down on them. I also planted Canada Mayflowers along the edges of the shed, also where they get dripping rainwater.

Moisture-loving plants benefit from the moisture, and their roots absorb rainwater, lessening runoff. The technical term for this is "rain garden." I have literally dozens of rain garden plants along the edges of my house and shed.