I've been writing about self-sacrifice. I searched for a rose that had a bold statement about sacrifice, and I found the Handel rose.
This rose reminds me of the Hallelujah Chorus, which praises the Lord of lords and King of kings. Jesus is the one whose sacrifice means more than anyone else’s. Whenever I think of Handel’s Messiah, which is where the Hallelujah Chorus came from, I think of that grand and worshipful song written over two hundred years ago by George Frideric Handel. The rose named Handel is a beautiful red-blend that can remind us of the blood sacrifice Jesus made for us.
The stem of this rose isn’t anything like the crown on the head of Jesus during his last hours on Earth in human skin. This slightly fragrant rose has a stem which is almost thornless.
It is classified as a red blend. However, since I’ve never owned one of these rose bushes, I have to rely on pictures - and in the pictures, it isn’t as red as that classification might suggest. It has cream to pale pink petals edged in bright pink. It’s color deepens in heat, so it might be red around here.
Hybridized and introduced by McGredy in 1965, Handel also goes by other names: Haendel, MACha, McGredy’s Handel.
The showy blooms can get quite large against the wonderfully contrasting dark bronze foliage. But watch out for black spot! This vigorous climber has a very slight honey fragrance and is a repeat bloomer.
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