GONZALES — A rose that survived Hurricane Katrina has become one of the most recognized roses in the country and it carries the name of the woman who found it still growing amid the destruction.

Peggy Martin lives in Gonzales now, but before Katrina, she and her husband had built a home in Phoenix, a small town in Plaquemines Parish, on 12 acres surrounded by a bayou and the river.

Martin had grown an extensive garden there, including 450 antique roses along with camellias and azaleas.

When Katrina approached, her parents told her to leave and let them stay behind. Her parents did not survive the storm.

It took nearly a month before Martin returned to the property.

"Everything looked like Hiroshima," Martin said. "Have you ever seen pictures of Hiroshima?"

But one rose had not only survived, it was flourishing. It had spread 40 feet across and 30 feet back and covered an entire shed.

"I just felt in my heart that my mom and dad knew how I was going to be, you know, so distraught that they asked God to leave me something," Martin said. "And I truly still believe that in my heart."

Martin had originally grown that rose from cuttings she received from her hairstylist years earlier.

As the story spread, her horticulture friend, Dr. William Welch, came up with an idea for what to call it.

"He said, 'Do I have your permission to name it Peggy Martin?'" Martin said. "And I said, 'Of course.'"

The Garden Club of America launched a fundraiser selling the newly named Peggy Martin Rose, with $1 from each sale going toward restoring historic gardens in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast that were destroyed by Katrina.

Martin never earned money from the sales, but she became well known in garden club circles and now speaks to groups across the country.

"Some of them even start crying," Martin said. "Of course, they know the story too, of it, and they're just moved terrifically by it."

Twenty years later, the Peggy Martin Rose is more popular than ever, with people growing it across the U.S. and beyond.