Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which brings to mind the traditional gifting of roses and leads me to remember the many varieties I have personally grown over the years. But did you know the origin story of red roses symbolizing love? Ancient Greeks believed that when Aphrodite’s lover Adonis was wounded by a wild boar during a hunt, her tears and his blood mixed together to stain white roses red, thus leading red roses to symbolize not only passionate love but also pain. Later, in the Victorian era, red roses were given in secret to symbolize forbidden love.

This timeless blend of beauty and a touch of pain feels especially fitting here in the South, where our heat, humidity and occasional storms put roses and gardeners to the test. But thankfully, we don’t have to rely on fragile hothouse blooms for Valentine’s Day romance. Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with tough, ever-blooming varieties that thrive in our Louisiana climate, delivering vases of flowers from spring through fall with far less fuss than their delicate cousins.

In my opinion, the top performer in the Gulf South is the Peggy Martin rose, also known as the Kartrina rose. This rose survived the flood in New Orleans and was found after the water receded, doing remarkably well. She is a beautiful climbing rose with bouquets of pink, clustering flowers.

Another personal favorite for the Gulf South is Belinda’s Dream rose. This rose was developed in Texas by a math professor-turned-rose breeder and earned the prestigious Earth-Kind designation for its incredible disease resistance and ability to thrive with minimal care in our humid weather. She is a beautiful shrub rose with large, fully double pink blooms that smell like fresh raspberries.

Another standout is the Knock Out rose. Launched in 2000 as a game-changer for easy rose growing, it shrugs off black spot and other diseases that plague traditional varieties in our humid conditions, blooming nonstop from spring to frost. She is a beautiful shrub rose with clusters of vibrant red single flowers that self-clean without deadheading.

Whether you’re gifting a bouquet of vibrant reds or tending your own resilient climbers in the backyard, roses remind us that true love, like a good southern garden, endures through the thorns and tempests. This Valentine’s Day, in addition to florist stems, plant your very own timeless romance right here in Louisiana soil; with varieties like these, your garden will bloom year after year.

Lee Rouse holds a master’s degree in horticulture, owns Rouse’s Horticulture, and serves as president of the Louisiana Horticulture Society. Find him online at rouseshorticulture.com.