May 2018: Gemini
Rosa Gemini was bred by Dr. Keith W. Zary in 1991 and later introduced into the United States by Bear Creek Gardens, Inc. in 1999. The mildly fragrant hybrid tea blooms of this outstanding rose are cream, blushed with a deep coral pink. A cross between the varieties Anne Morrow Lindbergh and New Year this beauty produces loads of classically formed exhibition roses with high centers and long stems; a stunning and consistent winner on the show table for many years.
Because Gemini, the third astrological sign of the Zodiac, occurs between May 21 and June 21, this stellar rose was chosen as the rose of the month for May. The name “Gemini” is Latin for twins and is associated with the twin brothers Castor and Pollux in Greek Mythology, known together as the Dioscuri. Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus and Pollux the divine son of Zeus. When Castor was killed, Pollux asked his father, Zeus, to let him share his own immortality with his brother to keep them together and they were transformed into the constellation of Gemini.