One upon a time there was a rose garden in Covington, Louisiana. It was filled with over 150 roses and was overflowing with blooms. This was the place where I finally gave in to the family obsession, growing roses.

My father Thomas, was a Rosarian. He lovingly tended to his own massive rose garden in Santa Cruz for many decades. I grew up in Northern California with the memories of rose scented Saturday morning breakfasts on the porch alongside my cat Clancy and of course, the roses.

I’ve always had a complicated relationship with flowers because of my lineage. First it was orchids (zygopetalums and gigantic cymbidiums). they were wonderful and complex but ultimately the Rose beckoned. Francis Meilland was my first true love and she was an easy one to love indeed. Francis was wildly floriferous and after my initial success found myself brave enough that spring to ask my father for a suggestion. I needed a climber that could take Louisiana weather. He suggested Cecile Brunner (the sweetheart rose) and I dove headfirst into roses.

After relocating to the North Shore (Covington) across the lake from New Orleans the collection exploded. With help from my husband Tim and two of my most trusted Rosarians Melissa Clark (Gig Harbor, Washington) and Seng Ai Liaw (Mobile, Alabama) my garden grew. I learned about various growers and the history of roses. All the while dreaming of a glorious cut rose garden.

When Hurricane Ida flooded our gardens and heavily damaged out little cottage I was gutted. The only solace in the aftermath was our decision to move to Portland, Oregon. Home of the roses!

Its been three years now and we have almost 120 roses on our oversized urban lot in North Portland. This year we have branched out (literally) into starts grown from seed. We offer hand tended starts for Dahlias, Zinnias, Pincushions, Celosia, poppies and more. Its a labor of love but one that we embrace with a mindful heart doing our best to keep our environmental footprint small. We are a tiny company (only 3 people) so currently sell by appointment only to the cut floral trade and small nurseries locally. For information on our current inventory please email us at bloom@roseandraven.llc