Speaking of Neil Diamond.....

[annielove...@gmail.com]

Mr Diamond's name has come up quite frequently here so I thought I'd share this.

It's no secret that I love my gardens, and like every other gardener I receive tons of catalogs featuring plants of all kinds. This is what I discovered the other day.

Evidently there is a rose named after Mr Diamond. Check it:

http://www.heirloomroses.com/roses/neil-diamond.html

Personally I don't care for this rose; nothing against Mr Diamond, I just don't like the variegated petals. I prefer the more old-fashioned looking flowers. But that is neither here nor there.

So the next question raises itself: why not a Barry Manilow rose? Am I right?

What would a Barry Manilow rose look like? Thoughts?

I personally love a white rose, so I'd vote for that color, but thinking about it, Mr M loves his colors (example - the red curtains and jackets featured in the OLT tour) so maybe crimson would be a better homage.
Or - compromise - pink.

Long stemmed (because he is tall - get it?).

And of course, it must be powdery mildew resistant. Because NO ONE wants powdery mildew, least of all Mr M, am I right? Wouldn't it be sad to say "Barry Manilow isn't doing well since he developed powdery mildew...."

Just think, one could have an entire rose garden filled with Barry Manilows.

Best,
Annie

[annielove...@gmail.com]

So I did research (and by "research" I mean googled a couple sites. Not exactly an exhaustive effort) about how roses get their names.

Turns out it is not all that difficult to name a rose after somebody.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/gardening/2006/06/who_smells_better_ron_or_nancy.html

http://www.selectroses.ca/name-a-rose/

Stiletto needs to get on this. I think a Barry Manilow rose would sell pretty well. I know I'd buy a couple Barrys. And I'm sure there are plenty of fans out there who would purchase one as well.

And if Stiletto wants to go the extra mile, you can pretty much bet that I would personally buy a whole field of Garry Kiefs. But that might be a somewhat more limited market...


Anyway, I had a "Princess Diana" rose at one time but, like her namesake, she was too fragile for this world and, sadly, did not survive.

So I replaced her with a "Queen Elizabeth" rose which is flourishing.
But, I'd rip out HRH Queen Elizabeth II in a New York minute to make prime garden real estate available for Mr M. (and the jokes write themselves, but I won't go there).

My point: I think a Barry Manilow rose is an idea that has possibilities.
And, at least Tony Bennett doesn't have a rose named after him.

Annie

[dcsharon]

I don't know ... as an apartment dweller, without (a) a green thumb, or (b) a garden to plant anything, I can suspect that the Barry Manilow rose (or any other, for that matter) will live an extremely short life in the suburbs of Alexandria, VA.

OTOH, I do like the Neil Diamond rose.

(DC) Sharon

[IreneH]

In the 1980s, Lynne who ran the UK fan club suggested we all pay £ each to get the Royal Horticultural Society to name a rose after Barry. They raised a lot of money. When Barry heard about it he said that, although he was flattered, he would rather the money was sent to charity. There's nothing new under the sun ;)

[annielove...@gmail.com]

>On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 2:58:31 PM UTC-5, IreneH wrote:
>
> In the 1980s, Lynne who ran the UK fan club suggested we all pay £ each to >get the Royal Horticultural Society to name a rose after Barry. They raised a >lot of money. When Barry heard about it he said that, although he was >flattered, he would rather the money was sent to charity. There's nothing new >under the sun ;)

Hi Irene,

Since the '80's though, naming roses after celebs has become a thing.

Barbra Streisand has a rose named after her, and Elizabeth Taylor, Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga, Cher....

And! if he is feeling highbrow, there are roses out there named after the composers Mozart and Chopin.

Mr M needs to rethink this rose thing, is my point.

I'm even willing to help out with Stiletto's marketing, in getting this project off the ground (or in this case, "in the ground" might be more appropriate - LOL)

....for example, I already have an idea for a theme song for the "Garry Kief rose" (because if there's a rose named after Mr M, we also need one named after Mr Kief)

"You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of Garry..."

I'm pretty sure Sting will be fine with this.

(and yes I did just get home from having drinks with my coworkers. Why do you ask?)


Annie : )