Comments on: The Rose Blows

By: Carol Ann Rahbar

Carol Ann Rahbar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:19:54 +0000

You are an incredibly gifted writer. Please compile your letters, journal entries, obserations of nature, etc. into a book for us to savor.

By: Should the sunflower replace the rose as the national flower? | csmonitor.com

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:53:09 +0000

[...] Mr. Ball has decided that we should replace the rose with the sunflower. Here’s his argument: First, the [...]

By: Burpee Seeds Says America Needs A New National Flower: Rose Out; Sunflower In

Burpee Seeds Says America Needs A New National Flower: Rose Out; Sunflower In — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:13:42 +0000

[...] the current national flower, the rose, with a new one, the sunflower. In his blog posting, titled The Rose Blows, Ball explains his rationale for naming a new national flower. In the 1980’s, a huge lobbying [...]

By: gooddog

gooddog — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:15:21 +0000

I agree! The sunflower comes out on top!

By: Fran

Fran — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:07:19 +0000

Johnathan are my favorite apple for both cooking and eating. Just the right amount of sweet & tart. Why are so few of them offered at the grocery?

By: The Tree Man

The Tree Man — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:28:32 +0000

What about our National tree……the Mighty Oak!

By: Gale

Gale — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:38:37 +0000

What could be more American than a flower rich in history which flows easily into the melting pot of our society? Not much is truly an “American” original any more,is it? My ancestors were Scots-Irish, but they set their roots deep in American soil,worked hard, fought in our wars, bled and died proud to be Americans-and they grew sunflowers on their farm-not roses.

A rose is a rose is a rose; like a beautiful movie star, it is delicate, beautiful, and lovely to look at, but rather useless and an unattainable goal for the average person.
A sunflower however,is a blue collar worker-producing food, fuel, and standing tall,strong, and proud like us;the working American.Throw the seeds in the ground and they will fight all odds to flourish-rather a lot like my grandparents, come to think of it!

By: Monarda

Monarda — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:10:09 +0000

I yield to no one in my love of roses, but I have always felt the gaillardia should be our national flower, because its common name “Indian blanket” commemorates the artistry of native Americans and it grows in every state. Also it is both elegant and casual in appearence without being the least bit weedy.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:08:04 +0000

Tomatoes are wonderful but I think our National Fruit should be Asimina triloba, our very own PawPaw! Truly a fruit to inspire pride. My daughter lives in Alaska. She has native roses all over her property. Absolutely beautiful in all their wild glory as well as being “as American as apple pie”.

By: Hoover

Hoover — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:30:19 +0000

There are many roses native to North America, including Rosa californica, Rosa carolina, Rosa palustrus, Rosa blanda, and Rosa nutkana. Rosa californica has been used by Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses, to produce the beautiful cultivars ‘Ebb Tide’, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’, and ‘Midnight Blue’.

What’s so foreign about that?