They remember me as this shy girl sitting under the table. But they obviously didn't know what was going on in my head.

~Isabella Scorupco (Polish actress b. 1970)

Rose behavior often reminds me of humans. Take first blooms, they frequently appear in the oddest places, as if the rose is shy to show herself, even though she feels, or even knows, she is quite stunning to look at. Yesterday, I caught Perle d'Or's first bloom, not front and center, but over on the side near the bottom.

This rose is a wonderful Polyantha, reaching 6-feet or more and rarely out of bloom. I think of it as a valued [deciduous] garden shrub, because of the graceful form it takes.

If you don't have room for the big gal, Jim Delahanty just wrote me on FB that there is a great miniature rose called Petite Perle d'Or. Available at Burlington Roses.