10/01/2026
A hope of spring on the front desk of Orchards Feed Store this morning!
“MARY PAULINE”
This unique rose was created by our employee, Matthew Beckley, in loving memory of his late grandmother, Mary Pauline Richardson.
Pauline was a woman of remarkable strength, grace, and humor. Throughout her life, she touched the lives of so many around her. She was a dedicated school nurse, a reading instructor, a wise counselor, a talented cook, and a fierce defender of anyone in need. Above all, she was the ultimate caretaker. Pauline possessed a rare, boundless capacity for love, becoming a grandmother to every child she met and offering genuine warmth to anyone who crossed her path. This beautiful bloom stands as a living tribute to her enduring legacy of kindness, generosity, and love.
This rose was created by a cross of an unknown rose that had been growing in a family friends’ yard for decades, affectionally know as Pauline as it was Pauline’s favorite color of pink. That was rose was crossed with an unnamed seedling Matt created from Queen Elizabeth x Cinnamon Dolce.
The combination of these three roses was greater than the sum of its parts, with huge blossoms that change color according to the season from Bright Deep Pink to Bubblegum Pink and as they age they turn to a lovely Lilac tone. The fragrance is also a real mystery and seems to be interpreted differently from everyone who smells her, from Strong Fruit and W**e to Fragrant Stone Fruit and Old Garden Rose Floral. Interestingly she develops a better fragrance “After” being cut and brought inside. She has a very long vase life and is not shy about producing blooms all season long, with a slight rest at the end of summer before one big push of giant blooms 7 Inches + in the cooler fall weather. She’s a tall girl, a grandiflora with heights up to 7 feet with no need of support. She can take full sun without her blooms fading. Very drought tolerant when established.
This rose will be available in 2027 exclusively at Orchards Feed at first. Supplies will be limited for the beginning release, but we have a close friend of the company who is working on tissue culture reproduction. These roses will be available Own root and will be small at first but after establishing themselves in the soil they will pop up and astound you with their growth.
She is being sent to our dear friends at High Country Roses and Rocky Mountain Rose Lab for trials to see if they do well for them. is already planted in Beaverton OR, Portland OR, Kelso, WA Vancouver WA, Longview WA, Port Angeles WA.
We will announce on Facebook when she is available in 2027.
In the meantime if you have a chance come and take a look, Isn’t the anticipation of Spring wonderful!
