Portland's Famous Roses are out with a Gusto!

    For generations, Portland, Oregon,'s famed roses have inspired dwellers of the more frigid prairies with hopes for spring.

    Growing up on the farm, roses were an annual crop not expected to make it through the winter.  The exceptions were the wild roses, the rugosas, the Persian Yellows, and the Copper Pennies.  Roses the likes of Jackson & Perkins could only be enjoyed in catalogs or while enviously visiting cousins and friends in Portland, Vancouver, or Seattle. 

    This Facebook post from a high school classmate brought back the joy of Portland's Rose Season and heavily spiced whiffs of rosey nostalgia.

    Thanks for the pics, artist Jacob Kane Kanduch!