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'Della Reese'(3 of 10)

The rose named for gospel/jazz singer and star of television's Touched by an Angel has a strong fragrance and wine-purple color. As the weather warms, the blooms turn lighter magenta-pink. While walking through the rose fields of Weeks Roses with hybridizer Tom Carruth, Chris Greenwood noticed the rich color of this hybrid tea, and Reese, an avid gardener and customer at Greenwood's Armstrong Garden Centers, immediately came to mind.

Reese says she's honored to have a rose named after her. "It's a form of eternal life." She currently grows 12 of her namesake rose bushes. Other varieties in her garden include hybrid teas like 'Mister Lincoln' and 'Sunset Celebration,' and floribundas such as 'Angel Face,' 'Iceberg,' 'Showbiz' and 'Bewitched.' She has a particular fondness for growing the florist rose 'Sonia.' "It was the rose that my husband courted me with 27 years ago — and has ever since."