A Guide to the Best of Southern California : GARDEN : Thorn to Be Wild

WHAT EVER happened to roses that smell? The modern ones are overbred and require vast amounts of fertilizer. If you have a taste for fragrant old-fashioned roses that ramble and bewitch, there’s a back-yard nursery in Van Nuys where you can buy antique rosebushes in containers throughout the year.

Limberlost is owned by Bob and Kathy Edberg, aficionados of old roses and rose lore, who have 115 varieties for sale. They come in different forms (some frilly, some blowzy, some dignified) and a range of lush fragrances and subtle colors. The Edbergs propagate their own roses and import many from England. Bourbons, Hybrid Perpetuals and Portlands are Bob Edberg’s specialties; they make up more than half of the old roses for sale. “I sell memories,” he says. And you’ll also find books there on historic roses, and old-rose T-shirts.

Limberlost Roses, 7304 Forbes Ave . , Van Nuys; (818) 901-7798. Open on weekends.