The "William Shakespeare" at Mahoney's was a very pretty shade of purple, but not the glorious deep velvety shade of the other one you mentioned in another comment.
So I ended up with a "Mr Lincoln" even though it's a hybrid tea and may not survive my benign neglect, and a "Rabelais" which I was much taken with.
Re: requirements gathering...
So I ended up with a "Mr Lincoln" even though it's a hybrid tea and may not survive my benign neglect, and a "Rabelais" which I was much taken with.