Maybe I should have called this post’ Gather Ye Canary Birds While Ye May’ because I have used the lovely little Canary Bird Rose, always the first to bloom in my garden.
It makes a lovely shrub covered in buttery- yellow single flowers. Mine has apple blossom behind it which makes a perfect May picture in my mind.
Rosa xanthina ‘Canary Bird’
I have added some Tellima grandiflora and for fragrance I have used Honeysuckle and the sweetly scented little Narcissus ‘Sun Disc’ which matches the rose perfectly.
Both the rose and the little jug seemed to demand the title for this arrangement.
And on the other side-
I love the way that Canary Bird matches the colour of this vase so well.
My other early flowering rose, the climbing Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ is not quite out yet. I saw it in Tuscany recently looking superb. I think it needs plenty of sun to bloom really well. It grows rampantly though; my 7 year old cutting has reached the top of a large apple tree.
I have bought two new early flowering roses this year. One is similar to Canary Bird but has much deeper yellow flowers. I saw it several years ago in a friend’s garden and I have coveted it ever since. It is called Rosa ‘Helen Knight’. It is a seedling of the wild Rosa ecae.
Rosa ‘Helen Knight’
R. ‘Helen Knight’
The other early- flowering rose is one I saw in a garden last year, when I was in Herefordshire for the Gardens in the Wild Festival. It is a single rose, ( I love single roses) and it is called Rosa odorata ‘Bengal Beauty’. It starts blooming in May and goes on and on. The bloom in the photo is just going over but there are plenty of buds to come. Like Rosa mutabilis this rose has some Chinensis in its breeding and it has a similar habit.
Rosa odorata ‘Bengal Beauty’
So here we have my first roses. There are plenty of rosebuds to come next month and so I shall be out there gathering rosebuds again before long. But unlike my cheery figures on the vase, I shall probably be wearing clothes. After all roses are a bit prickly.
To the Virgins to Make Much of Time. Robert Herrick. 1591-1674.
Gather ye Rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still aflying:
And this same flower which smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.
Thanks to my friend Cathy at Ramblinginthegarden for hosting this meme and getting us all to put flowers in a vase on a Monday.
Chloris
The Blooming Garden 
I love your bowl of roses and the vase itself is great fun. I have a Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ growing directly into the tuffo rock in a place with no irrigation – it doesn’t die but valiantly flowers each year but doesn’t grow, I really should try to find somewhere to move it too, it deserves better.
Rosa banksiae ‘ Lutea’ blooms very well in Italy, we don’ t get enough sun here. Bengal Beauty would do well for you too, as it is a chinensis hybrid like ‘mutabilis’. Your mutabilis does much better than mine.
Yes, you’re right all the chinensis roses do much better than any other roses in this area.
Canary Bird is beautiful and you’ve displayed it so well. The vase you chose makes a great focal point on its own and also enhances the colors of the flowers. You must be excited to be at the start of rose season.
Canary Bird is a beauty and very welcome as it blooms so early. Yes it is exciting when the roses start to bloom.
Lovely vase that, as you say, shows Canary Bird off to perfection. Your two new additions look fascinating too – I look forward in particular to seeing more of Bengal Beauty. My husband’s just run over my Tellima grandiflora! So nice to see yours. Carry on gathering …
Thank you Cathy. I expect the Tellima will survive. It seeds around everywhere here and had to be kept in order.
Shall hope so!
What fun, a lovely match between the case with Canary Bird Rose. I agree the Apple blossom pairing is so redolent of the fleeting pleasures of late spring.
And the rose and the apple blossom are both so fleeting, like spring.
The epitome of spring. Roses and Narcissus. I love the vase and agree with your no undressed rose clipping concept. I have stinging nettles lurking about in my garden..
Even worse, you have snakes too.
True, but the good snakes eat the bad ones – so, I like the snakes, we have one Black Racer that is six feet long.
That’s a lovely yellow vase today. Our daffs are over now but we also grow Rosa banksii ‘Lutea’ up the front of the house. It is flowering now but the flowers are tiny this year.. Oh dear urgent remedial action required!
This rose does need lots of sun to bloom well. My daffs are long gone too but this little Narcissus is a very late bloomer.
Fabulous rose and perfect color for that vase…how lovely to have roses up with daffs….I will have to wait for a while longer as the roses are just growing now. Been too cold.
Thanks Donna. Most of our roses are not blooming yet, these particular roses are very early ones.
Lovely. I do like yellow flowers. xx
I love these early flowering yellow roses.
Wow, Chloris! This is a beautiful post all around. The arrangement, the flowers, the pretty-sad verse of a famous poem, all. Now, that first rosebush looks more like a tree. How big is it?
Thank you Cynthia. Canary Bird is a big beauty. It grows up to 7 foot tall and spreads just as much with arching stems.
First and foremost I love the vase that you have used – what a great find, and a brilliant representation of gathering rosebuds when we can… And your roses [even if they are mostly yellow…;) ] !! How wonderful that your rose season has started – although since yesterday I see a few buds have sneaked themselves open here. Do show your lutea when it flowers – I have dithered about one several times but so far decided against it. Thanks for sharing today, Chloris – and remember to keep your kit on 😉
Rosa banksiae ‘ Lutea’ is very pretty. Two considerations though. It needs a south- facing position to bloom well and it needs lots of space, it grows huge.
Oh yes, I shall keep my kit on, I don’ t want to frighten the horses.
Lovely flowers as ever. I admit to being distracted by the vase – can you reveal it’s pedigree? It looks very familar.
Thank you Christine. The mug is made and painted by a Sussex artist called Yolande Beer.
Even better if it is locally made.
‘Canary Bird’ is well-named! Your vase brims with good cheer. I’ve always admired the yellow Lady Banks rose, which my mother-in-law grew successfully. I didn’t have the right place for it in my old shady garden but I probably have enough sun to grow it here, although its water needs might be a problem. It’s always something…
The banksiae rose should do very well for you, Kris. It enjoys basking in the sun. The best ones I have seen were in Spain and Italy.
Beautiful. I’ve been coveting a canary bird rose on the corner of a neighbour’s plot for some years. Time to do something about it I think. Love the jug!
Canary Bird is well worth while although it needs quite a bit of space to grow to its full beauty. I love the jug too. It is by a Sussex artist called Yolande Beer.
I remember as a child a yellow rose that my grandmother had at the side of her house. I would love to have had a cutting of that – yellow single roses are simply beautiful.
I love single roses too. Canary Bird is specially beautiful.
I woke up this morning thinking that I would go to the nursery and see if I could find one! It must be deep in my subconscious!
When I gardened in Bristol one of my favourite clients had a large Canary Bird in his front garden. I have a special place in my heart for it. I love the Bengal Beauty, one I shall definitely file away for later.
My photo of Bengal Beauty does not do it justice. This flower was just going over. It is covered in blooms now, they look like red ribbons. And it goes on and on blooming. Definitely one to look out for.
Such lovely roses – and that arrangement is delightful – it looks wonderful in that jug. I have just fallen for Canary Bird… I’ve just got to work out where I might put one…
Thank you Sarah. Canary Bird is worth looking out for. But it does need a lot of space.
The title is perfect for that cheeky vase as well as the pretty roses arranged in it. And a great reminder to us all to gather our rosebuds while we can! 😉 I know my Mum has got this rose too and adores it, but I have never seen one here… must check if it would grow for me.
The banksiae rose would probably need the protection of a south facing wall in your part of the world Cathy. But I don’ t see any reason why Canary Bird shouldn’ t do well. Why don’ t you beg a cutting from your Mum?
Good idea, I have smuggled various cuttings in my suitcase before now!
A Rosa ‘Lutea’ in a farm yard near here was a wonderful sight when in full flower covering a third of the roof of a redundant cowshed. A thought provoking blog Chloris, you say ” you will probably be wearing clothes”!
Rosa banksiae ‘ Lutea’ takes up a lot or room but looks spectacular when full of bloom. I shall certainly be keeping my clothes on. As I said to Cathy, I don’ t want to frighten the horses.
Beautiful and very cheery. 🙂
Thanks Tammy. These little Canary Birds are like little bits of sunshine. I love them
Although I’m not usually a fan of yellow I embrace it in spring (and then again later in autumn) and have some yellow roses too like Frühlingsgold and cantabrigiensis. I’d love Mermaid and must find a place somewhere.
And do you grow the wonderful Rosa banksiae ‘ Lutea’ ? It should do well with you. It is yellow but a little gem.
I don’t and I think one Rosa banksiae is enough for any gardener as it’s so vigorous and needs a lot of pruning unless you let it go wild…but I can’t do that on the house wall. 😉
Love your ‘Canary Bird’. None of my roses are close to blooming, though ‘Sally Holmes’ has the beginnings of buds.
These are early ones. Lovely Sally Holmes will go on all summer once she starts.
I find it curious that your honeysuckle is blooming, while mine does not even have buds!
This is an early flowering variety. Some are much earlier than others.
You have me laughing re your comment that you shall probably be wearing clothes!!! Probably???? Love that! Oh, Canary rose is so sweet, I love her and her companions in that vase….and what a vase it is….fabulous, I just love it!xxx
It is a sweet vase isn’ t it? Do you remember those naked gardeners at the Abbey House garden in Wiltshire ? They were quite famous. They are divorced now. That’ s what comes of gardening in the nude. That and nettles and thorns in nasty places.
Hahahaha…I suppose bending down in front of each other didn’t help either!!!As for nettles and thorns….that has me shuddering!xxx