There is a quiet discontent smoldering in my garden because one of my favorite roses has been upstaged and by her offspring no less. For years ‘New Dawn’ is the rose that immediately comes to mind when anyone asks me to recommend a rose. This stately climber is easy to grow, vigorous, disease resistant and produces the prettiest pale pink blooms. The challenger to the title of Most Recommended Rose is a sport of ‘New Dawn’ called ‘Awakening’. What gives ‘Awakening’ an edge is the size of the blooms. This climbing rose has fully double pale pink flowers 3 inches in diameter, made of 24-40 tiny petals.

This past spring I compared the number of flower petals between the two roses. ‘New Dawn’ had 19 while ‘Awakening’ boasted a hefty 66 petals! So for anyone who enjoys the carefree vigor of ‘New Dawn’ a more full-bodied bloom awaits you in ‘Awakening’.