Rosa Lollypop was bred by W. Kordes and Sons of Germany in 2001 for the florist industry. This apricot hybrid tea, classified as an orange pink, produces stunning blooms. As a seedling of Rosas Dream x Peach Melba, this hard-to-find rose is fully double, its many petals beginning to quill as the blossom ages. It holds its classic form beautifully, making this a great garden rose growing on a well-formed, medium bush. And because each bloom opens atop long straight stems, she is also a contender for the show table.

Lollipops, (candy on a stick) probably date back thousands of years when cave people collected honey from beehives with a stick. Not wasting anything back then, they probably licked the stick, thus inventing the world’s first lollipop! In the 17^th century, the English enjoyed boiled sugar candy treats, inserting sticks into them to make them easier to eat. During the Civil War era, hard candy was put on the tips of pencils for children to eat.

With the 20^th century being the era of automation, the lollipop as we know it today began to take form. Several candy companies were creating hard candy on a stick, but it wasn’t until October of 1931 that George Smith, owner of a confectionary company called the Bradley Smith Company, took credit for inventing the modern version of the lollipop. He trademarked the term lollipop, borrowing the name from a famous race horse named Lolly Pop. According to linguists, the term ‘lolly pop’ means quite literally ‘tongue slap’. And so, Rosa Lollypop was chosen for October’s Rose of Month to commemorate the official trademark for “candy on a stick”!

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.