The ‘Rosarian Tom Mayhew’ Rose by Dr. Suni Bolar, Master Rosarian, ARS
Originally printed in “The Rose” – Newsletter of the Philadelphia Rose Society – March 2025
As many of you know, Thomas Richard Mayhew, Master Rosarian, American Rose Society, passed away on September 25th, 2024. Tom’s passing was a monumental loss to not only the Penn-Jersey district of the ARS, but also to many rosarians around the country whose lives he enriched with his articles, photography and Facebook posts. Tom was a great ambassador for the rose world spreading the love for the rose near and far. His award- winning rose photographs graced the cover of many American Rose magazines. Tom inspired many people including me to participate in the ARS photography contests. Tom was always ready to share his knowledge of photography with everyone. He helped the ARS revise the photography guidelines for the ARS photography contest and he organized many photography workshops for the Penn-Jersey district. His love and passion for roses stayed with him till the end of his life.
For his 80th birthday, Tom had a rose named after him. However, when the company that introduced this rose went out of business, so did his namesake rose. Tom was sad about this. Seeing how sad Tom was that his namesake rose was not sold in commerce anymore, I asked him if he would like one of my seedlings to be named ‘Rosarian Tom Mayhew’ after him. Tom was thrilled at the offer and he told me that he wanted a fragrant yellow colored exhibition rose to be named after him as yellow was his favorite color. Being an avid exhibitor, he was particular about wanting an exhibition rose. Based on his criteria, I chose a miniature yellow blend rose with a good exhibition form and a moderate fragrance. All blooms of the rose ‘Rosarian Tom Mayhew’ have a consistent exhibition form. The blooms look stunning in all three stages- as a bud opening, as an exhibition bloom, and an open bloom. In cool weather the bloom color is more like an apricot blend with pink petal edges and in hot weather its color is more like a yellow blend with rich hues of amber, tan and gold. The plant blooms continuously from spring to frost and mostly blooms as one bloom per stem with an occasional spray. The pink stigma is a lovely contrast to the contrasting yellow stamens in an open bloom. The plant grows to a height of 2 ½’ and has a width of 2’. It is a compact miniature rose with a lovely habit and its blooms have the potential to win ‘Queen’ at rose shows. It will benefit from a spray regimen and will need winter protection in cold zones. Blooms have a long vase life and can be used as a cut flower in arrangements. High Country Roses introduced this rose in January 2025 and it sold out within 2 hours of the website opening for orders. Anyone wanting to order this rose can contact High Country Roses at 1-800-552-2082 and be placed on a waiting list. It will be a patented rose soon.
Tom always had this amazing zest for life. Age was just a number as far as he was concerned and it seemed like he never aged as he quickly moved from one project to another. Those of us privileged to know him were able to feel the infinite depth of his love, kindness, gentleness, friendship and passion for all living things. I have yet to meet a kinder and gentler person than Tom. His kindness was recognized not just by humans but also by the birds and animals in his garden who waited eagerly for him to fill their feeders. I remember him gently shooing away a deer from his prized rose garden. I remember the buck that came by every day and called out to Tom to fill his feeder. I remember the 5 peacocks that adopted his garden and danced for him when he came out of his home every morning. I used to tell him, “You are so pure in your heart that God sent the peacocks to dance for you.” Tom just smiled in his humble way when I said that. I remember the many happy times I visited Tom’s beautiful rose garden where I enjoyed seeing his roses, hummingbirds, goldfinches and the peacocks. I remember the times that he visited my garden and saw all my roses. A
A week before Tom passed away, I gave him a plant of his namesake rose for his rose garden. We planted it together in his rose garden. Tom was so excited and happy that beautiful fall day. As I hugged Tom and said goodbye to him that day, I told him, “Tom, we love you so much”. Little did I know then that it would be my last meeting with Tom on Earth.
A week before Tom’s “Celebration of Life”, I started gathering roses from my garden to make a final bouquet for his farewell. In it, I tucked in two ‘Rosarian Tom Mayhew’ roses that were blooming that day. I was so happy that the buds opened into blooms just in time before my garden stopped blooming in late fall. I felt so emotional making that bouquet the night before his last journey, realizing that it would be my last bouquet for Tom.
Rest in peace Tom! May your legacy live on with the ‘Rosarian Tom Mayhew’ rose. I was blessed to have a loving and generous friend like you and you will always have a special place in my heart.