Page 46 - Ma 2023 Galveston Monthly

hOme & gardeN | islaNd gardeN

The peggY MarTin rose

a souThern favoriTe due To Their ease of care and GorGeous Pink blooms
by Jan BriCk

alveston Island gardeners have welcomed the regions of Louisiana. This “tough-as-nails beauty” was
“Peggy Martin Rose” with such enthusiasm and acquired as a pass-a-long cutting from friends in New
Gexcitement that they have launched a horticultural Orleans by a gardener named Peggy Martin.
craze not often witnessed in such abundance. This belle Though a nameless specimen (classified as a “found
of the south is flourishing extensively this planting season rose”), Peggy generously shared cuttings with all who
and can be seen everywhere from the east end to the showed an interest including Dr. William C. Welch, a
west end clinging to trellises, fences, screens, as well as in professor at A&M University in College Station and a
creative and unexpected settings. rosarian who has written innumerable accounts and image courtesy of david morello Garden enterprises, inc.
What is this stunning beauty? It’s a classic Southern rose volumes on horticulture. Dr. Welch visited Peggy Martin at
that boasts a majestic grandeur when in full bloom; a her home where he was gifted with several cuttings.
thorn-less rambling style of vine with arching canes and An interesting narrative that follows this rose begins
vivid arrays of pink blooms. with Hurricane katrina, a storm that devastated New
This rose was for many years (apparently a native or an Orleans and that region of the coast. Peggy Martin’s home
adapted plant) grown profusely throughout the coastal and gardens were submerged under twenty feet of salt

46 | GALVESTON MONTHLY | MAY 2023