For the last 15 years, I have actively searched for the Sims Park fence rose - deep scarlet, velvety, fragrant - that I loved as a child and my mother called a Paul Scarlet. I have bravely knocked on doors to inquire whenever I thought I spotted the rose in a yard. In recent years, I searched Google but have not found any growers who knew of this rose; local suppliers have never heard of it. Were the 1940s that long ago? Had this memorable flower simply ceased to exist?

By chance, a friend in Sumter was clearing out old publications and sent me several booklets entitled Roses of Yesterday and Today.

Finding a rose called Will Scarlet, I read people would reply they did not want that rose because it was so common. The author said they were thinking of Paul's Scarlet. There it was: a reference to my long- lost rose! The name was not Paul Scarlet but correctly called Paul's Scarlet, developed in England in 1916 and very popular in the U.S. for many years afterward but in very little demand today.

I emailed the City of Columbia and promptly got a response from city landscaper Amy Bledsoe who had indeed found my rose and referred me to Rogue Valley Roses on line or by phone.

I went to the website first, and there it was - Paul's Scarlet in profusion! Preferring to speak to a real person, I called Rogue Valley Roses and spoke with Janet Inada, owner and grower. Janet was delightful and helpful with a voice and manner as gentle as her roses. She retired six years ago and started a small rose nursery from her home as a hobby. To her surprise and great pleasure, Rogue Valley Roses has grown and is thriving.

We introduced ourselves, gave our locations - she in Oregon and I in South Carolina. When I asked her to spell her last name, she said with a lilting laugh that husband, Lawson Inada, is Japanese- American and she is Caucasian. They bought a scenic piece of property on a hillside in Oregon and started the nursery in the horse pasture surrounded by lots of pines. Lawson is the poet laureate of Oregon and travels a great deal; Janet's rose nursery keeps her very busy while he is gone.

She said my memory of the Paul's Scarlet is perfect. She is sending me two small plants and said they are older and mature plants that won't need to stay in pots but can be planted straightway in the ground. I promised to tell my friends about her rose nursery.

I can't wait to get my two small Paul's Scarlet climbing roses on the backyard fence and once again smell, see, and touch my wonderful memories of childhood at Sims Park.

Visit www.roguevalleyroses. com or call 541- 545-1307.