A lady that had come to my fire safe garden talk in San Diego recently contacted me. She had not spoken to me in person at the talk but had waited and emailed a few days later. She was indignant. “How could you, Mr. Egbert, recommend roses as part of a water wise, fire safe landscape?” she lectured in her lengthy email. “Modern roses” I countered, “are much more hardy and drought tolerant than we are led to believe.”

In fact I wanted to go much further with my discussion, but of course, like lots of fussy self –righteous garden experts, she wanted none of it. “Natives are the only answer!” she stated in no uncertain terms and promptly blocked my further emails. Now I love natives as well but I also understand that roses are the most loved of all garden flowers. And many roses trace their roots (literally) back to wild ramblers growing in the mountains and plains of Asia.