226 years ago, the British captured Charles Town, South Carolina and the streets became lined with red coated British soldiers. 10 days ago as I walked the streets of Charleston (name changed in 1783) I noticed the streets were lined with short and tank-top wearing British citizens. Yes, they are tourists now, and with the exchange rate at 2 to 1, why shouldn’t they be over here? I walked into the hotel to check in and the lady couldn’t call home to the UK on her cell phone. I offered mine but she managed to make hers work. She was very nice and I was glad I might help. Amazing how things change over 200 years.

While in Charleston I visited with a wonderful gentleman by the name of Jenks Farmer. He is Mr. Crinum in the Carolinas and a delight to visit with. He was recently featured in a Dallas Morning New article about crinum bulbs. One of the most famous bulbs he is known for in the crinum world is Regina’s Disco Lounge, a crinum named after the place he discovered it. Some say it is really Crinum x gowenii, but those that have grown it recognize is to be unique and worthy of its special name.

Jenks was managing an 1890’s home in Charleston when I met up with him. The date is special because in the 1890’s, not many homes were being built with the area still reeling from the Civil War. The original owner is not known, but they suspect he had a personality as the home takes several forms, such as the deco chimney, ridged roof, and circular patterned balcony. The garden of course looked spectacular and featured several crinums, including a cold hardy maroon colored crinum called ‘Sangria.’ Another maroon colored foliage crinum beauty in the garden was the small tree sized ‘Queen Emma.’ Jenks is pictured next to it. While I was waiting to visit with him later in the day, he suggested I head out to Boone Hall Plantation, close to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Ruth Knopf, an authority on old roses gave me a wonderful tour of the gardens at Boone Hall Plantation—located just outside of Charleston and known for it’s long allée (double
row of trees or shrubs lining an avenue resulting in a tunnel-like effect at maturity) of oak trees. Ruth has some favorite classes of old roses which the Tea, Chinas, and Noisettes classes. The Noisettes actually originated on a rice plantation near Charleston shortly after 1800. The rice planter’s name was John Champney, who crossed Rosa chinensis ‘Old Blush’ with Rosa moschata (musk rose) of Europe to come up with the first American class of old roses (the Noisette roses). The first was named for him, ‘Champney’s Pink Cluster’. A local nurserymen named Noisette sent the roses to France for further breeding. Many of the later hybrids such as ‘Reve d’ Or’ and ‘Maréchal Niel’ from these crosses retained the fragrance from the musk rose and frequent blooming of ‘Old Blush’.