Dear Friends,

One of my favorite roses is called Peace and is blooming in glorious display just in time for 4th of July. Although not red, white and blue, traditional colors for the 4th, it does progress into several lovely colors along with it’s scent. It was developed by the rose growing Meilland family in Lyon, France right before the outbreak of WWII and the family was so worried about what was coming, shipped cuttings to rosarian friends in Turkey, Italy, Germany and ultimately in one of the last diplomatic satchels to the United States. All of the cuttings, except to the U.S., were destroyed as a result of the war and luckily, Robert Pyle harbored and cultivated the few cuttings that survived.

After the war, in 1944, Mr. Pyle was able to contact the Meilland family, whose rose operation was destroyed during the war, their land forced into food production for the German war effort, and so it was the family’s delight to hear it had survived. The new rose, named Peace, was awarded the ARS (American Rose Society) award the day Japan surrendered and after the formal surrender of Germany the new creation of the United Nations 49 delegates were given a bloom of the new rose along with saying,

“We hope the ‘Peace’ rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace”.

So it is with this message, and gratitude to those before us that created, fostered and defended this great country of ours, we wish you a ‘Happy Fourth of July”.