But back to the point - I didn't think Alfred was a Girl!!
Ah, it's the old-fashioned way of calling a married woman by both her husband's first and surname. My mother-in-law still addresses letters like that.
Miss Jane Smith becomes Mrs James Bloggs. Presumably the French had the same custom, it is an old rose.
Mme Alfred is one of my top roses of all time. Heavenly scent, which floats a long distance in the air.
I planted one on a large arch near the kitchen door to the garden in a previous house. My daughter, now 17, born in May, lay in her pram under Mme Alfred's blooms smiling, awake and contented for hours, whilst I got on with jobs indoors. I used to tie balloons and other bright toys to the bars of the arch for her to look at. Happy memories, which I hope have lingered in some sub-conscious way for her as well.
