Hybrid Tea Rose ‘Cary Grant’

Hybrid Tea Rose ‘Cary Grant’

This is one of the first digital flower pictures that I shot. It is from early 2004 and probably has a file number in the low 100’s (now up to the 1000’s). I got the Nikon Coolpix 4300 for Christmas in 2003 and as an afterthought threw it in my bag before leaving for Florida. I have always liked the camera except 4 megapixels is kind of small, especially in this day and age. While I have noticed some plants starting to bud and a few in flower I going to have to go into the archives to get some flower photos to post here.

This rose was growing at Butterfly World in Pompano Beach, Florida. I have been there a couple of times over several years and each time I have been they have really upgraded the place. They only had about 4 rose bushes but they were fantastic. The canes on the roses were some of the largest I have seen on these types of roses. The bush was completely covered with these lovely blossoms.

‘Cary Grant’ is a hybrid tea rose introduced in 1987. Supposedly was Mr. Grant’s favorite color and his wife had them bred by Meilland Roses for his birthday. It has a petal count of 35-40 and is considered disease-resistant. It is also very fragrant.

I wanted to add that I bought a ‘Cary Grant’ rose last year from Wayside Gardens. I planted it in the corner of the rose garden and forgot about it. Three quarters of the way through the season I realized that a couple of Clematis vines had almost completely smothered it. After I removed the vines this rose shot out a lot of new growth and several flowers before the end of the season. I am going to have to keep an eye on that from now on.

Synonym: 'Meimainger'


I also wanted to post my first ever “paparazzi” photo. I happened to be walking by City Hall in Manhattan when the doors burst open and a frenzy of photographers, TV crews, and others came out. I didn’t even know who it was but decided to take a couple of pictures anyway. It was easy to get caught up in the excitement and the poor guy looked a little set upon. I only had my 28-200mm lens and was pretty far away but managed to get this picture.



I later found out the man in the pink shirt was Harlem resident Wesley Autrey (aka the ‘Subway Hero’) and he was at City Hall to receive the Bronze Medallion. This is New York City's highest award for exceptional citizenship and outstanding achievement.