The following posts originally appeared on my Facebook blog ‘Rose of the Day’. Facebook doesn’t keep the older posts available, hence recreating them on this blog for you to enjoy.
Friday 1st March
Today a rose that also I am very fond of. A Gallica rose, one with a lot of discussion on its true identity, the correct name and the namesake, – ‘Charles de Mills’. It likely dates from the late 1700s.
Several namesake choices for this rose. Could be a director of the East India Company, a Nottinghamshire nurseryman, a Mr Mills living in Rome in 1840 who had a pergola covered in roses. Perhaps this is a German rose Charles Wills whose name morphed to de Mills when the rose arrived in France. Also, a German rose named ‘Bizarre Triomphant’. Are they one and the same? Bizarre is a French corruption of Bizard, a German term for the streaks found in tulips. Given that ‘Charles de Mills’ doesn’t have streaks this identity seems tenuous. Another claim is this rose is one of fifteen Dutch bred Gallicas. Possible but the name Charles de Mills has more of a French ring about it.
Whoever Charles was, where he lived or his career choice, this is a superb rose, one of the best Gallicas I think. The cerise buds are round and plump with feathery sepals. They open to a unique flat disc like form. My husband and I call this the “mushroom” rose as the flat disc with tightly packed petals looks like an upturned purple mushroom. The petals really look as though have been neatly trimmed to shape, he is an unmistakable rose. His colour can vary from lilac pink, through wine red to dark purple crimson depending on the growing conditions and ambient temperature. As the bloom ages the petals fade a little and often show some blotchiness, maybe this is the ‘Bizard’ colouring? A distinctive little green ‘cup’, not a button eye, appears in the centre. I don’t know of another rose that has this centre. His fragrance can be elusive. Sometimes very strong and other times faint with no rhyme nor reason for his fickleness. This is a late flowering rose for a single blooming rose. Mine often starts to break his buds in late June often as some of the other Gallicas are coming to the end of their show.
Rather a floppy growing habit so he needs a bit of support. Height around 1.25m and similar width. If you grow him on his own roots, then he will cheerfully throw up a forest of suckers. All Gallicas have the same habit and you can let the suckers spread where you have space. Alternatively, you can dig them up, pot them on and surprise a friend with a new rose for their garden.
Relatively disease free. Shade tolerant. Hardy USDA zone 4b-8b. He is a very popular rose and widely available.He has such amazing blooms that you really must include him in your collection of classic roses.
Saturday 2nd March
A petite Tea rose today – ‘Anna Olivier’- dating from 1872, bred in France by Jean Claude Ducher. A bit of a caveat, she is petite in the cooler British climate but a little more robust in sunnier climes.
A classic rose of complex colour. Of a cream base but shows pink, primrose yellow, buff, parchment, salmon, coppery apricot, and pale creamy white but always with a darker pink back to the petals. Darker hues in low temperatures. These quiet sunset or dawn colour combinations add to the charm of this elegant rose with her high centred blooms and reflexed petals. Strong ‘Tea’ fragrance. She repeat flowers very well, almost continuous in hot weather. A rain hater as the blooms may ‘ball’ and spot badly.
Large dark green foliage with new shoots of attractive bronzy red. Good disease resistance. Here in Britain, she is small, around 90cm high so ideal for containers so she can retire to the conservatory in cold wet weather. Given constant high temperatures she can reach 1.5m.
A widely available and popular rose. Of unknown parentage but she does have a few offspring. Notably a climbing sport and the fickle ‘Lady Roberts’. Predominantly a coppery apricot ‘Lady Roberts’ will often revert to her parent’s colouring.
Who was the Anna Olivier for whom Jean Claude named his rose? Usually, there are a few clues or ideas but here I cannot find a hint or whisper. Was Anna a pretty young girl or a doughty matron? History remains silent sadly. Beautiful, classical and eye catching! Do comment if you grow this elegant lady.
Sunday 3rd March
A graceful moss rose of a gorgeous colour – ‘Henri Martin’- sometimes known as ‘Red Moss’. Bred by Jean Laffay sometime before 1862 and then introduced in 1862 by the French nursery Portemer.I saw this rose on a blisteringly hot June day last year in the gardens of Mottisfont Abbey. He forms part of the National Collection of Pre-1900 roses. He was a stunning sight, a tall shrub 1.50 to 1.85m, covered in blooms. Extremely bristly stems carry clusters of well mossed mid pink buds. This softest moss, I couldn’t resist a little stroke, with an intense resinous perfume. The buds open quickly to large double blooms of rich clear crimson pink with an odd white flash. The petals reflex attractively revealing large bright yellow stamen. Variable in colour depending on temperature, he can be a crimson red ageing to a purplish hue. A very strong fragrance, although I admit on that hot day in a sheltered walled garden the rose fragrance hung heavy in the air everywhere. Just the one single glorious flush of bloom in June but he does go on to produce little hairy orange hips in the autumn.
A vigorous rose but he is sprawly so would appreciate wall support or a frame. He tends to get a little broader than he is tall. Tolerant of poor soil and extreme heat. The foliage is a dull bright green if that doesn’t sound too much of an oxymoron! Good disease resistance as well. A popular rose so widely available. Hardy USDA zone 4b and warmer.
Named not for Henri Martin the French Impressionist painter, my first guess but for the great French historian. Henri was a good friend and colleague of Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye and a fellow member of the French anti-slavery movement. Laboulaye commissioned the “The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World”, gifted to the United States in 1886. A spectacular rose to catch the eye if you have a little space for him.
Tuesday 5th March
I used to only grow the older classic roses and species roses. Most of those bloomed just once so I began to add some remontant – repeat blooming- ones. A few David Austin’s were chosen, followed by some modern shrubs. Some Hybrid Teas crept in along with Floribundas and Patio roses. I have a few small low growing roses such as the Flower Carpet group in containers. These are useful on the commercial side of our property as I can move them around to brighten dull areas.
It is easy to dismiss these small ground cover roses in favour of the classic roses with their magnificent blooms and wonderful history, but these little roses are well worth considering. Inexpensive, often for sale in large DIY stores or market stalls. They are hardy, disease resistant, and bloom their hearts out all summer. As well as container roses they can be front of the border fillers or low informal hedges. When planted into weed suppressant mats you have an easy care bed that looks great all season for remarkably little effort.
I spotted today’s rose – ‘Teenage Spirit’ in a local cheap and cheerful garden centre where I buy my dog food. It was mid October, but the bushes were covered in small clusters of mid pink blooms. Large blooms as well for the size of bush, she has a maximum predicted height of just 80cm. Pretty double petalled blooms sitting in small leaved glossy foliage made an attractive sight. Ever the one for a bargain, these were £5.99, I bought three! Lacks fragrance though which is a pity.
I don’t know who bred ‘Teenage Spirit’ (ICRA name Worcasserole which is a curious name!). Marketed by the online company World of Roses in the UK, they are canny commercial growers producing endless roses named Happy Birthday, Congratulations, etc. They also name roses for your charity or a business promotion. Being a cynic, I wonder if some of their roses are recycled under different names for different occasions!
This rose is only available in the UK online from World of Roses or in the less specialist garden centres. At least this one has a name, I have bought a few just named ‘Pink’ or ‘Peach’ patio rose. Do other countries have these types of rose growing companies? If so, have a browse through their catalogues, you may be surprised by the choice.
Wednesday 6th March
Everyone has different tastes, different sizes of garden, varying soil plus a huge range of different growing conditions and also a different budget to spend on roses. When I select candidate roses to appear on this page, I am mindful of these differences, so I try to include a wide range of different types. Included are some that I don’t particularly like and wouldn’t grow in my garden. Additionally, there are ones unavailable in Britain or only available here. Yesterday we had a cheap and cheerful little British rose. In contrast today we have a rather uncommon classic old French rose – ‘Ambroise Paré’. Bred by Jean Pierre Vibert, introduced in 1846.
Clusters of long stemmed plump reddish pink buds open to magnificent full petalled rosette blooms. Initially deep cerise pinky purple with darker stripes. the odd white streak as well plus spots and speckles. He fades as the bloom matures with the petals reflexing to show a small green yellow button eye. We had a comment yesterday about bees’ attraction to fragrance. ‘Ambroise Paré has good light fragrance but the bees have to wait until the petals fully reflex to access their breakfast! The blooms fade through to whitish pink before dropping their petals. Blooms just once.
Soft green rather droopy Gallic foliage and the young leaves have a rather pretty red edging. Soft bristles rather than prickly. Good disease resistance. Grows as a tallish shrub to around 1.20m. Hardy USDA zone 4b-8b.
Named for an early progressive French surgeon (1510-90). Serving as a military surgeon Ambroise Paré developed a kinder more effective technique for wound dressing. Rather than cauterising with boiling oil (do not even think of the pain) he used a dressing of egg yolk, turpentine and rose oil. This was much more effective than the harsh boiling oil. I do not know whether the inclusion of rose oil later inspired Vibert to name this rose for him.
Small note of caution when buying. You guessed it, as there is a Tea rose with the same name bred by Moreau-Robert (1865).
One of the less known Gallicas, ‘Ambroise Paré doesn’t seem to be too widely available. Some British and European nurseries stock him and a few in the States and Canada. Certainly, worth including in your garden but if space is at a premium then there are better Gallica roses, to be honest.
Photographed at Mottisfont Abbey gardens last summer where he did look rather splendid.
Thursday 7 March.
Of all the David Austin roses I very much prefer the older ones dating from the 1980s and early 1990s. I have a couple of later ones, ‘Gentle Hermione’ (2005) and ‘The Alnwick Rose’ (2001). If the latter one declined to grow, I wouldn’t miss her. I find her blooms unsettling in a rather odd way. The recent ones just do not excite me. I expect to be struck down by a bolt of lightning having made that confession!
Today’s rose is one of the older DA’s, dating from 1983 – ‘Troilus’. This rose is now out of its breeder’s licence protection period so you can find it in a lot of nurseries and usually at a much lower cost than the newer varieties. A rose of considerable charm with clusters of pointed buds, breaking open to a cupped large full petalled blooms of creamy buff apricot pink. He can be very variable in colour though depending on growing conditions. Fades to an elegant parchment pink as he matures, flattening out to reveal a mass of little petaloids in the centre. Strong ‘English Rose’ fragrance. The stems are strong on these early DAs, so he does not hang his head shyly and makes an excellent cut bloom.
Reaches around 1.5 x1.5m. Good dark foliage and reasonable disease resistance, better in warmer climes than damp Britain!
Another plus with these early DAs is the lineage can be given which I find interesting. David Austin, in common with other rose breeders, have a ‘stud’ of their home bred unnamed seedling roses. Whereas other breeders outcross to named roses DA stay in house as it were, this may account for the ‘sameness’ of their roses. Troilus has the spectacular ‘Duchesse de Montebello’ in both the seed and pollen lines. Seed parent is a ‘Duchesse de Montebello’ x ‘Chaucer’ seedling with a pollen parent ‘Charles Austin’, himself a ‘Chaucer’ offspring. This close line breeding would raise eyebrows in the dog and horse breeding worlds but it is common in plant breeding.
Named in the Shakespearean phase at DA, Troilus is the Trojan prince in the Greek tragedy ‘Troilus and Cressida’. I’m sure you can remember that from school, or at least if you had a traditional English Grammar school education.
I would certainly buy this rose for my garden, he is a very worthy inclusion whether you love DAs or are slightly indifferent.
Friday 8 March
Friday already so it’s a Friday Favourite Day. Today one of my favourite roses, although she has only been in my garden for three summers, the Griffith Buck rose “Earth Song”. Most American and Canadian growers will be aware of these outstanding Griffith Buck roses but only a few are available in the UK from a single nursery R V Roger Ltd in Yorkshire.
Copious clusters of long bright pink buds break open into large cupped double blooms, opening even larger so this is a rather over the top rose. Blooms are of the most attractive clear bright pink, but I believe she can be almost red in some growing conditions. Fragrance is not heavy and intense but strong sweet and light. If you cut these blooms for the house, they last for ten days and the same in the garden with a neat clean drop. Said to be repeat blooming but here in Suffolk she blooms almost continuously. A late starter but then she just keeps on going, she has blooms until the New Year.
Rather Hybrid Tea like foliage, dark and shiny and completely disease resistant. A strong grower and cuttings take like a dream. She is so forward that my cuttings had buds within five weeks. Predicted height is 1.20m but she is easily 1.70m now. Not a lot of action in her first summer but she grew phenomenally fast in her second season.
Dr Griffith Buck was a professor of horticulture at Iowa State University and started rose breeding in the 1950s. He wanted to produce healthy roses that need no pesticide or fungicide, strong growers, great flowers with good scent. If that wasn’t enough, he wanted them to be hardy down to -20C and to cope with humid 30C summers. No mean task and by crossing modern hybrid teas and species rose he succeeded spectacularly. There are around eighty cultivars in commercial production today. Only nine are available in the UK and I now have them all as they have been so impressive. The UK nursery is mainly wholesale so they haven’t really pushed these roses. I hope some have made it into other growers’ catalogues, but I haven’t been able to find them yet. Some European stockists but it does not look as though these exceptional roses are in Australia or New Zealand. Please do comment if you grow her or her Griffith Buck sisters.
Ideal for a no spray garden and for those who want a minimal input rose with maximum output. Superb rose and deserves to be better known outside the States. Grow her, she will not disappoint.
Saturday 9 March
We haven’t had a climbing rose for a little while, so today’s rose addresses that omission. I spotted this one growing against a chain link fence at the far end of the Peter Beales nursery last year. A rose that vastly improved the boring fence was ‘Antique’, bred by the German nursery Kordes and introduced in 1988. Also sold as ‘Antike 89’, Kordes has an earlier red Floribunda ‘Antique’ so take care when buying.
A rose of unusual colouring. Described as a white or pale pink rose with pink crimson petal edges. Looking at the photograph please don’t think I have posted the wrong one! A very large full petalled rose so the effect is more crimson than pale pink. She produces large clusters of these attractive blooms in flushes throughout the summer. As the bloom matures the petals gently reflex so the pale pink bases are revealed giving a quieter colour. These blooms are both unbothered by heat or rain, so you get a long display. The mixture of the brighter crimson and paler pink blooms is very eye catching but not too jarring. Sadly, not a great deal of fragrance.
Rather stiff in growth habit so you will need to be training the inflexible stems quickly otherwise they will snap off when you gently bend them. She makes a good shrub as well, in fact, she was being grown as a shrub in front of the ugly fence. Large dark foliage which has good disease resistance. A little slow to get going but when she gets into her stride, she can reach up between 2.5 to 4m high. I think she would also make a great hedge with the inclusion of a heavily fragranced rose to compensate for her lack of perfume.
A very useful rose I think if you can don’t mind the poor fragrance. Please do comment if you grow her.
Sunday 10 March
There is a very beautiful early Hybrid Tea, a seminal rose in the career of the German rose breeder Peter Lambert, named ‘Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria’, for the wife of Kaiser Wilhelm, the last Kaiser of Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm’s father Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl – also has a rose named for him, and this is today’s rose ‘Kaiser Friedrich’.
I am always ambivalent about Queen Victoria and her dynastic matchmaking of her children. Her eldest daughter Victoria had an arranged marriage to Friedrich Wilhelm, and although the marriage was said to be a contented one, she didn’t have the happiest life in Germany. Friedrich himself was Emperor of Germany for just 99 days dying from laryngeal cancer in 1888 and was succeeded by his son Kaiser Wilhelm.
Enough of history let’s get to Friedrich’s rose. A Tea rose bred in Germany by Heinrich Drögemüller and introduced in 1890. Herr Drögemüller bred and introduced just a handful of roses, eleven in number which includes ‘Kaiserin Friedrich’, ‘Kaiser Wilhelm’, together with ‘Fürst’ and ‘Fürstin Bismarck’. A man very enamoured with the German court it seems. ‘Kaiser Friedrich’ has the seed parent ‘Gloire de Dijon’ with the pollen of ‘Countess of Oxford’. The colours of these two, creamy apricot and cerise pink have blended to produce a beautiful rose. Initially he is pure mid pink when first opening, only revealing the golden petal bases as he matures. Large double form with a superb centre swirl of petals. Not over endowed with fragrance sadly.
Of his growth habit and disease resistance I can find no information. As with all Tea roses, he will prefer the heat, and is likely to have a longish blooming season.
This classic Tea rose is a rarity. I have been unable to find a stockist for him so if you grow him or know of him, please comment.
Tuesday 12 March
When I was a child I often stayed with my grandmother, who ran a small village shop, visited by everyone for groceries and the latest gossip. One customer though, never came as my grandmother delivered her groceries daily. I was allowed to accompany her but only to the garden gate. Peering through a crack in the fence I often saw a small woman sitting in the garden. ‘Who’s that lady?’ I asked. ‘Oh, that’s the lady of the lake’ replied my grandmother ‘and no more questions about the poor lady.’ Later when Sir Walter Scott’s poem ‘The Lady of the Lake’ was read to our class at school I was ridiculed after telling everyone the lady lived near my grandmother.
Last week I revealed I am not so keen on the later David Austin roses, but today’s rose could easily find a place in my garden and not just in memory of my imaginative grandmother. That rose is the rambler rose introduced in 2014.
Large sprays of pink tipped creamy buds unfold to pale pink apricot semi double blooms. These are not so large, only around 5cm (2 inches) in diameter, but are produced in great numbers. Fading to a shell pink and then to white as the petals reflex nicely to show the golden stamens. This one is good for all bees and pollinating insects as they can easily access pollen and nectar. Zesty fruit like fragrance. Flushes of bloom through the summer and well in autumn.
The long narrow leaves are bronze touched green when young, becoming an attractive dark green later. No reports of poor disease susceptibility so I assume she is a healthy rose. For a rambler she is not too rampant, maximum height of 3.75m (12ft 6ins).
I have a pensioner of an apple tree wreathed in a ‘Wedding Day’ rambler who flowers just once, so the tree is then rather dull. I am tempted to plant ‘The Lady of the Lake’ next to this tree and train her into the ‘Wedding Day’ to make an all summer long spectacle.
‘The Lady of the Lake’ was also the ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legends. Today the British Parliament has a decisive and fateful vote, perhaps we may need a ruler in the Arthurian style afterwards!
Wednesday 13 March
I am charmed by today’s rose ‘Countess of Wessex’, not least because her namesake is not at the forefront of the rather ‘celeb’ younger royals. The Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex do not yet have their namesake roses but the quiet hardworking Sophie, Countess of Wessex has this beautiful one.
Bred by the late Amanda Beales, the rose was named at the request of the Bishop of Norwich who took the marriage ceremony between Prince Edward and the then Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999, now entitled the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Introduced in 2004 in the UK and in Australia in 2008, one of the rare Peter Beales roses available outside of Britain. I found a listing of this rose on the ‘Dave’s Garden’ website, I don’t know whether that means she is available in the States though.
Clusters of long buds with feathery sepals, these swell revealing creamy petals with a touch or two of pink. Opening to large double blooms of a creamy lemony apricot, with an egg yolk yellow centre. The outer petals reflex and fade to whitish cream as the golden stamen corona is displayed. Another good pollinating insect friendly rose. Reliably repeat blooms all summer, the photo taken in mid September on a rainy day, so some spotting has occurred. A mass of new buds was waiting to burst open so I think she would have had a good autumn show.
Not so large at 1.2m high and 90cm wide, good for a small garden or perhaps a large container. Good dark shiny foliage, vigorous growth and excellent disease resistance. Hardy USDA zone 6b -9b.
Not the flashiest of roses but a good performer if you are looking for a small shrub of this colour.
Thursday 14 March
One of the best white roses although she blooms but once in the summer – the Damask ‘Madame Hardy.’ She doesn’t fit too neatly into the Damask classification. The foliage isn’t particularly Damask like and the blooms have a Gallica appearance. I guess those who decide these things had their reasons.
I love her clusters of distinctive long feathery buds, these look like some exotic bloom in themselves. Opening to a cupped quartered form stuffed with petals of white with just a touch of shell pink. As the bloom matures it flattens becoming pure glistening white and revealing a unique green ‘pip’ in the centre. Superb fragrance, really superb! Very free flowering for the three to four weeks of her glorious flush of bloom. Graham Stuart Thomas described her as ‘This variety is unsurpassed by any rose’. Praise indeed.
She can reach up to two metres in hot climates but is generally around 1.5m in the UK. Foliage is soft light green on red brown prickly stems. The weight of the blooms will cause these stems to arch attractively. Very disease resistant, in 1998 the Montreal Botanical Garden (Le Jardin Botanique de Montreal) surveyed its established roses’ resistance to black spot, powdery mildew and rust. ‘Mme Hardy’ showed a 0% to 5% infection rate – classified as outstanding. Hardy USDA zone 4b-9b, she is a tough vigorous rose and one that is easy to grow. Roots easily from cuttings as well.
Introduced in 1831 and bred by Julien-Alexandre Hardy, head gardener of the Luxembourg Palace gardens, Paris from 1817 to 1859. A prolific breeder of roses, he introduced two hundred and twenty five varieties, most of which are still in cultivation today. ‘Albertine’ is one of his most famous roses. He named this beautiful rose after his wife Félicité and you may find her listed as Félicité Hardy. Did Félicité have the ethereal splendour of her rose? I do hope so.
Any collection of classic old fashioned roses should include this rose. Grow her, you won’t regret it!
Friday 15 March
Today this is one of my favourite roses ‘Admired Miranda’. Planted way back in 1984 in memory of my lovely horse Miranda who died very suddenly with no warning when she was still a young horse with her life in front of her.
‘Admired Miranda’ is a discontinued David Austin rose as it was believed to be inferior and isn’t recommended to be grown unless you are a collector! I find this inexplicable as she is such a lovely rose. Introduced in 1982, during DAs Shakespeare naming theme. Admired Miranda’ is named for Prospero’s daughter in The Tempest.
Fat buds open slowly to a cupped mid pink full petalled bloom which is not so large. Flattening as she opens a little further revealing a beautiful quartered swirl of petals and I regularly find she has blooms of 12cm diameter (4.5inches). The outer guard petals fade to pale pink, but the inner petals hold their colour and show their rather apricot bases. A truly superb fragrance. Repeat blooms again and again and again into the winter. To my mind, she is a very superior rose.
Said not to be vigorous but mine is at least 1.8m high. I have a cutting from her, planted in a pergola and this is equally vigorous She grows on an east wall so she catches the east wind and boy she caught the Beast from the East in March last year! She probably has dry feet as she grows against the wall of the house as generally, the rain comes from the south west.
Attractive dark green foliage with puckered leaves. Reputed to be very unhealthy but I find no more so than the recent DA roses. I do spray her with fungicide but for several years I left her alone and she then suffered rust later in the season. Hardy USDA zone 6b-9b.
She is still available from small nurseries, but you will need to search around a bit. She grows well from cuttings so you could always beg for a cutting if you know someone who still grows her. I would be interested to hear from anyone else that grows this special rose.
Saturday 16 March
Some time ago I found a rather tired copy of ‘In Search of Lost Roses’ by Thomas Christopher in a charity shop. Until reading this book I had no idea about the American hobby or obsession of ‘rose rustling’ where one forages around old homesteads, settlements and cemeteries searching for roses. Settlers often took cuttings of a rose from home with them on their long journeys across the world to the States. Carefully planting them in their new homes, or by a loved ones grave these roses hopped across the States losing their names but not their beauty. These found roses are carefully harvested for cuttings, grown on sometimes being identified, other times renamed and perhaps re introduced into cultivation.
Organised rose rustling seems to be confined to the States where there are responsible groups who have an etiquette around collecting rather than thoughtlessly plundering roses on private property. The Texas Rose Rustlers website (http://www.texasroserustlers.com/) is a great source of information.
Does rose rustling happen elsewhere? I am sure it does quietly. I confess to taking some cuttings from a derelict house as the rose was spilling over the crumbing fence into the road. Two months later when I passed the house again, the garden had been bulldozed as the property had been sold and the rose was gone.
After this rather long preamble we finally arrive at today’s rose ‘Josephine Land’. Discovered by Mark Nelson of Nelsons’ Florida Roses, a mainly wholesale nursery who do have some retail stock. Mark named his found rose after his maternal grandmother. A lady who raised nine children, so he says this rose is just as tough as she was.
Other than Josephine Land is pink and very fragrant I can find little further information. The small pink buds quietly open to small full petalled blooms. These flatten into very large quartered blooms that fade to white. Either single or small clusters and blooms in flushes. Dark green slightly glossy foliage and thorny stems. Hardy USDA zones 7 to 10 although this is a bit of guesswork. Seems to be a small rose from various photos on the internet.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who grows her. Or perhaps someone who grows her under her original name? Or anyone who has indulged in rose rustling and has found roses growing in their gardens? Do comment and share any photos.
Sunday 17 March
Roses are introduced today in a huge flurry of advertising and fanfare. Everyone rushes to buy them particularly if they have an appealing name or a novelty colour feature, so they gain quick and instant popularity. Some stay in cultivation for years, and others fade to obscurity even though they had good attributes. Today’s rose was not popular when she was first introduced, great blooms but poor growth, she is the early Hybrid Tea ‘Lady Mary Fitzwilliam’. Named for a daughter of 6th Earl Fitzwilliam and one of the train bearers at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Helena in 1866.
Bred by Henry Bennett, one of the foremost developers of the modern Hybrid Tea and introduced in 1882. Perfect long typical HT buds of a mid pink unfurl into very large full petalled blooms. The petal backs are a darker pink so as the petals reflex and scroll you have the attractive combination of mid and light pink. It is the archetypal classic HT blooms that made her an instant success. When introduced rose showing was very popular and ‘Lady Mary Fitzwilliam’ was a superb candidate for the show bench, and a prolific winner for all who exhibited her. These perfect show stopping blooms come at some cost. The secretary of the National Rose Society is reputed to have said ‘it would be difficult to find a weaker and more unsatisfactory grower than ‘Lady Mary Fitzwilliam’.
Certainly, she is an under height rose, only around 80cm on her tiptoes, so the large blooms look out of place on such a tiny shrub. A prolific crop of her classic lovely fragranced blooms appears at regular intervals throughout the summer. She almost staggers under the burden of her loveliness.
The first HT ‘La France’ is beautiful but sterile. ‘Lady Mary’ on the other hand is an extremely significant, prepotent parent rose. Her bloodlines run through most of today’s modern roses, with 17,628 unique descendants. This is the reason why she remains such a popular rose today and is on most, if not every, nursery list. Or is she??
Fashions in rose growing change, Lady Mary quietly drifted off and was considered to be extinct. In the 1970s she was re-discovered to great acclaim and reappeared in cultivation. Popular again because of the historical interest in her prolific influence on our modern roses. However, a fair number of rose experts consider the reintroduced rose to be ‘Mrs Wakefield Christie-Miller’, an HT bred by McGredy and introduced in 1909. That’s a discussion point that will run and run I guess!
If you are into flower arranging and love the classical beauty of the Hybrid Teas and can cope with the poor growth, then grow her. She will certainly delight and amaze all garden visitors despite her confused identity.
Tuesday 19th March
Usually when one sees a Hybrid Musk one immediately assumes it was bred by Reverend Joseph Pemberton. Today’s rose though ‘Bishop Darlington’ dating from 1926, comes from the American breeder Captain George C Thomas. He also bred all the roses with the Broomfield prefix such as ‘Bloomfield Abundance’ and the valuable rootstock rose ‘Dr Huey’.
‘Bishop Darlington’ is not such a popular rose as he tends to be tall and lacking elegance with a distinct lack of foliage. If you grow him, he will need to be at the back of the border with smaller roses or other plants hiding his nakedness. Has been described as looking better from a distance which is perhaps a little harsh.
Small clusters of long pink buds unfurl to double and semi double creamy apricot blooms. The petals have darker backs and warm peach bases giving a fine contrast. Long golden stamens are usually shyly covered by a small petal or two. He fades to whitish pink as in the photograph. Strong typical Hybrid Musk fragrance that floats on the air even on cool dull days. Flushes of bloom all summer followed by a good crop of small orangey red hips.
The scanty foliage is dark green and very healthy, he just needs more leaves to make him a garden star. Easy to grow from cuttings. Tolerant of poor soils, shade, and cold weather but as with all roses he prefers a bit of warmth when he can reach 2.5m. In the UK he is more likely to be around one metre.
Named for James Henry Darlington (1856 – 1930) was the first Episcopal bishop of Harrisburg, now the central diocese of Pennsylvania.
Parentage reputed to be seed parent ‘Aviateur Blériot’ with the Pemberton Hybrid Musk ‘Moonlight’ (featured on this page on 1st August last year). Therefore, he is classed as a hybrid Musk although he lacks the worthy garden attributes of the lovely Pembertons.
He wouldn’t be one of my choices, but Peter Beales has him firmly on their list. They are a nursery that removes poor selling roses rather smartly, so he has fans in the UK. Available worldwide where I guess in warmer climes, he performs better than the damper cooler England.
Who grows him? Do comment with your experiences.
Wednesday 20th March
I have always been intrigued by the name of today’s rose, the Noisette ‘Alister Stella Gray.’ Who was the female Stella in this man’s name or was it Stellar and someone dropped the ‘r’? After some research, I am none the wiser.
Bred by an amateur rose breeder, Alexander Hill Gray who has just this one rose attributed to him. Alexander Hill Gray was a traveller, writer, diamond hunter, and photographer. His wife Marcella Kerr died just four days after the birth of their son Alister Stella. Bizarrely Alister Stella himself married a lady also called Marcella Kerr. I will leave you to imagine the Freudian thoughts there!
Introduced by George Paul in 1894 this rambler rose remains a firm favourite today. ‘Alister Stella Gray’ produces clusters of bloom of changing sizes, small numbers in the early summer increasing to huge numbers in the autumn. His long pointed egg yolk yellow buds open to small lemony buff full petalled silky blooms showing a range of petal formations. Sometimes cupped, quartered or a charming untidy mass of petaloids but always with a button eye. The centre petals retain their colour as the outer guard petals fade to creamy white. As the season progresses the petal colour darkens to a rich apricoty gold. Repeat blooms but Graham Stuart Thomas reports his father picked a bud for his buttonhole most days from July to October, so this rose is practically continuously in bloom all summer. Buttonholes? Please someone bring them back into fashion!
A vigorous rose, he can reach 4m in height and width, so you need some space to accommodate him. He will make a large shrub as well. Small tidy fresh green glossy foliage sets off the blooms very well. Smooth stems with few thorns. Hardy USDA zone 5b-10b and he prefers dry weather, and hates damp cool days. Available worldwide
He holds an RHS award of garden merit here in the UK, but he does have a slight propensity to mildew and blackspot later in the summer so watch those leaves carefully. Slightly holds his old dying petals for longer than he needs to so deadhead if these annoy you. Well at least deadhead those you can reach.
A magnificent rose but you must have space for him. In the UK we have endless boring roundabout junctions that the councils must mow. The lack of public money though means the large space is a weedy scrub filled mess. I feel these spaces could be graced with these large ‘landscape’ roses. That’s an idea, adopt a local roundabout but do ask your council first.
(NB this post appeared in 2019. In 2022 I revisited this rose and undertook further research. The article appears as ‘Father and Son’ under the ‘Name of the rose-more of a biography’ tab on this blog.)
Thursday 21st March
Today another rose that I planted in memory of my horse Joseph who suddenly became mysteriously lame until we discovered he had a spinal malformation. Nothing could be done and as he was increasingly in pain, we had to make a tough decision. I planted the Hybrid Tea ‘Just Joey’ to remember him but to be honest, I need to be hard hearted and replace it as the bush is on its last legs!
Bred by Roger Pawsey of Cants of Colchester and introduced in 1972. Voted into the select company of the World’s Favourite Roses in 1994. This is an outstanding rose in every way.
Characteristic long HT buds of a creamy apricot which unfurl into huge 12cm full petalled blooms. The colour? Astonishing is the word. Mainly orangey buff with apricot petal backs but as she opens her enormous blooms the petals begin to fade one by one. Beginning with the outside guard petals fading to cream so one gets the entire colour range in a single bloom, orange and copper, apricot and buff, parchment and cream, to a final white. The petals have a rather frivolous ruffled edge enhancing her charm. She does show considerable variation according to the climate, she is darker and more intense in cooler areas. Superb fragrance as well. She has it all!
Not so large at a maximum height of 1m although she can creep higher in warm areas. Good large glossy disease resistant foliage. She does not like poor soils so she will need feeding should you grow her on such soil. Not a shade lover either. Hardy USDA zone 7b-10b.
The origin of her name matches the charm of her blooms. Roger wished to name the rose after his wife Josephine known as Joey. ‘Joey Pawsey’ is not a name that trips off the tongue easily, so Roger’s father said, ‘well call the rose just Joey’. I assume he meant ‘Joey’ only but the Just was included to make a fantastic alliterative title.
After beginning this piece yesterday, I found one of my favourite nurseries has an end of season 35% off bareroot roses sale. You guessed it ‘Just Joey’ is one of the roses on the list. Took the plunge and placed an order (plus a couple of others!). I return home from the Netherlands this weekend so I will have a busy week without rose planting, but you have to grab opportunities when you can. My elderly ‘Just Joey’ will go to the compost heap and a new one will keep my horse Joseph’s memories alive.
Friday 22nd March
When starting to research this rose, I typed in ‘Regensburg’ and got a white Floribunda so take care with your spelling! ‘Regensberg’ is a product of the great Northern Irish rose breeding family McGredy after they moved their entire rose business across the world to New Zealand. Sam McGredy IV has concentrated on breeding striped and ‘hand painted’ roses, and ‘Regensberg’ is considered to be one of the best hand painted. A self explanatory term, the bi-coloured petals look as though someone has been out with their paintbrush.
Introduced in 1979 this rose is a ‘Patio’, she rarely gets her head above 30cm unless you are in a warmer climate than the UK when she may be a touch taller. The fat green buds open to a pale pinky white. Unfurling to show a lipstick pink centre, patches of this pink appear on the outer petals looking for all the world as though someone sprayed an aerosol of paint on them. The pink slowly spreads through the petal surface, the backs remain white, becoming much brighter as the bloom opens but retaining the white edges and bases. Finally flattening out the bloom is astonishing. Hot pink petals trimmed with white lacy lines and often with a white streak, surround a white centre in which a golden stamen corona nestles. For a small rose the blooms, which arrive in clusters, are large at 10cm. Rarely without a bloom for the entire summer and she has a light sweet fragrance as well.
Small dark foliage with bronze red tinged new shoots, very disease resistant. Hardy USDA zones 4-9 but she can get nipped by late spring frosts so needs a little protection.
Often grown as a ‘bedding’ rose, this is how I have seen her growing here in the UK. I think she would be better as a single specimen, less is more I believe with her. I don’t have her in my garden, but she will be there soon in a container outside my stables!
Named after the German city of Regensberg but she may just be sold under some alias names. Her ICRA appellation is MACyoumis, this was originally MACyou but this was withdrawn. Also sold as ‘Young Mistress’, this name too has been withdrawn. These two are a little un PC? She might appear as ‘Buffalo Bill’ in the States and I have also found her as ‘Twins of Regensberg’. Tiresome these multiple names!
A real wow rose and so useful. Front of the border, container, small informal hedge perhaps. I love the colouring, but I can see that she could be a bit startling for some people. Who grows her? Do comment.
Saturday 23rd March
I saw this rose last summer for the first time, how could I have missed her! This is the American bred Floribunda ‘Ebb Tide’, from the nursery of Tom Carruth a prolific breeder of fine roses, introduced in 2001.
A rose that has an old fashioned feel about her, if I had read she was introduced in 1880 I would have believed it. It is her colour that gives this feel I think together with the rather untidy petal formation. A deep moody violet purple, full petalled blooms that appear in small clusters. Often with a midline white streak or a small white fleck on the petal edge. Cupped shaped to begin with before flattening and revealing her golden stamens. The petals have a white base which accentuates this stamen corona, rather like yesterday’s little rose ‘Regensberg’. Fades to a rather smoky lilac grey as the bloom ages. Sharp spicy fragrance
‘Ebb Tide’ is a rose that varies considerably in colour depending on the intensity of the sun. Cooler damper weather gives a deep dark colour, but brighter warmer weather produces a paler version. Reputed to scorch in full sun, a lot of these dark crimson or purple roses have the same problem. You need to carefully place them, so they get the sun but not the hot scorching noon and afternoon sun otherwise you end up with blooms looking like a milk chocolate rose.
Typically, a short grower here in the UK, only 38-56cm high but I guess taller in warmer countries.
Variable reports on her health and growing habits. Some growers comment on just average or poor growth with a propensity towards blackspot and mildew. Others report good health so maybe she is picky about her locality. If you grow her do comment on these aspects, good or bad, it’s all helpful.
I can’t make my mind up on whether I like her or not. Falls into my mmmm category. Am I being too hard on her?
Sunday 24th March
An appropriate rose for today, ‘Smarty’ bred in the Netherlands, posted on the day I leave the country to return to the UK. Dating from 1977 and introduced by Dickson Nurseries Ltd. Her seed parent is the equally cheerful shrub, the pinky purple ‘Yesterday’.
A charming quiet rose and often described as the perfect shrub. Small clusters of buds spring up early in the season, then she is off into bloom and she continues until late autumn. The small buds open to small single delicate pale pink blooms with a large yellow stamen crown, reminiscent of our wild hedgerow roses. All bees and pollinators love this rose as they can easily harvest the pollen and nectar. The blooms fade to pearly pink and then through to white before neatly dropping. Quickly replaced by another bud cluster springing to bloom. Sweet light fragrance completes the picture!
Described as a ground cover or procumbent rose as she has a spreading growth habit and is reputed to not get too high. I have seen her at a height of around 90cm and a lot taller. The photograph of the bush, taken at the Peter Beales garden last September, shows she can easily be around 1.20m. Tidy neat bright foliage with excellent disease resistance. A prickly lady though, even the bloom stalks are spiky!
An easy simple rose to grow but probably not one for a choice spot in your garden. Tolerant of a little neglect and some shade. Her spready habit makes her a good candidate for informal hedges. I often see her lining Dutch streets on the outskirts of towns. I wish that UK town streets were as decorative!
Tuesday 26th March Jeanne de Montfort
A moss rose today, I love these roses for the double hit of rose fragrance and the balsam spice of the ‘moss’. Reputed to be one of the tallest with the most moss – ‘Jeanne de Montfort’. As I typed that I thought ‘the most moss is a claim that I seem to have written before’ so perhaps that can be taken lightly.
A tall rose for sure as you can see from the photograph taken at Mottisfont Abbey Gardens last June, but I failed to get a close up of the moss. Vigorous growth habit more so than the commonly grown ‘William Lobb’. ‘Jeanne de Montfort’ can stretch to over 3m high but usually is content at 1.85m. You will need space, not a small garden rose at all.
Clusters of red buds heavily covered in bronzy moss open to pretty pink flat full petalled blooms. The petals often have darker flecks and an odd white streak adding to their appeal. Opening out to reveal a golden yellow stamen corona, another rose for the bees. Fades quietly to pale pink and then to white. Heavy strong fragrance but she is a one trick pony, just the single flush of June bloom with a scatter of late blooms in a good summer. Glorious sight when in full bloom.
Bred by the French nurseryman Robert and introduced in 1851. Named for the Duchess of Brittany (1295-1374), known as ‘La Flamme’, she was a fiery lady who defended both her husband’s and her son’s rights to the title during the Breton Wars of Succession. After lobbying Edward III for military assistance, she ended up a political pawn imprisoned in Tickhill Castle, Yorkshire where she died.
Reasonable disease resistance, the moss roses can get mildew on their moss late in the season, particularly in damp humid weather. Hardy USDA zone 6b-9b.
This large landscape rose will not be for everyone but if you have space and love the moss roses then you might consider her.
Wednesday 27th March
When selecting roses for the daily post I always try to get a good range of different rose classes each week. Today the beautiful Hybrid Musk ‘Penelope’.
Dating from 1924 and bred by the Revd. Joseph Pemberton. For this rose he probably didn’t use his favourite ‘Trier’ parent rose but Ophelia, an HT for the seed parent and an unnamed seedling as the pollen parent. However, I see that ‘Botanica’s Roses’ suggests the pollen parent could be ‘Trier’ or ‘William Allen Richardson’ so some uncertainty over parentage here.
‘Penelope’ produces large clusters of small orangey pink buds which unfurl to the loveliest pearl pink semi double blooms. Ruffled petals with a slightly darker peach pink back. As the blooms open you get the delicious combination of peach, pearl pink to white accentuated by a golden stamen crown. Reputed to be a rose where the spectacle of the bush in full bloom looks better than an individual bloom. I think that’s a little hard as these small to medium size blooms are full of charm. Strong musk fragrance that lifts in the warmth of the day to scent the garden around the bush. Flushes of bloom through the summer into late autumn, she is almost better in the autumn than the summer. That golden crown of stamens is a magnet for pollinators which means you will get an exceptional crop of hips. Uniquely the young hips look dusty with a fine bloom on them like a grape, maturing to a coral pink and contrasting nicely with the late blooms
Happy healthy foliage that is dark red when young, moving to a dark shiny green later. Very disease resistant as are all the Pemberton Hybrid Musks. She can reach 3m in hot climates but generally is around 1.5m in both height and breadth. Reputed to hate pruning so she will need space to spread her lovely stems. Hardy USDA zones 5b-10b. Widely available, and she is a good candidate for cuttings.
Joseph Pemberton was well versed in the classics naming most of his roses after characters in these mythological tales. Penelope appears in Homer’s Odyssey as the wife of Odysseus. She was a very chaste lady despite many suitors when Odysseus was off fighting another war, so her name is associated with marital fidelity. The actual Greek meaning of Penelope could be some kind of bird or a cunning weaver depending on the translation and the etymologist!
Graham Stuart Thomas considered ‘Penelope’ to be one of the finest garden roses. His planting suggestion includes grey foliaged plants with pale blue flowers to frame this exquisite rose. Those who grow her will not be disappointed I promise.
Thursday 28th March
An early David Austin rose today dating back from 1969 so long gone from the David Austin catalogue but still a great favourite in Australia, ‘The Yeoman’. David Austin started his nursery in 1970 so this rose was one of the first ‘English’ roses along with ‘The Knight’, ‘The Prioress’, ‘Wife of Bath’, ‘Canterbury’ and ‘Dame Prudence’.
We are accustomed to the DA roses having either good repeat flowering or almost continuously in bloom. The early ones, however, lacked this attribute and bloomed once with occasional blooms later in the summer. ‘The Yeoman’ also blooms once although I read from growers, he is an excellent repeat blooming rose. Perhaps he prefers the sun and warmth of the southern hemisphere?
Clusters of attractive coral buds open out to full petalled flattish blooms of exquisite colour. The outer guard petals are pale pink, but the inner petals are a glorious peachy pink with glowing yellow bases. It is said that when this rose is in bloom he looks as though a lightbulb is shining in the centre, a delightful description. A truly beautiful rose with a strong myrrh fragrance.
Reputed to have poor disease resistance here in the UK hence his removal from the catalogue. Now we have warmer and dryer summers this rose would probably thrive very well. Good dark foliage sets off the blooms very well. Not overly tall at around 1m. Hardy USDA 5b-10b. Cannot find him available in the UK but still sold in Germany. Available in the States and Australia.
David Austin used ‘The Yeoman’ in the English Rose breeding programme, so his genes run down through a lot of the DAs. Interestingly Griffith Busk also used ‘The Yeoman’ when developing his extremely tough hardy roses. ‘Distant Drums’ and ‘Country Song’ are both first generation children of ‘The Yeoman.’
A wonderful rose and although no longer available here at least he grows in other countries to delight gardeners. Please comment if you grow him.
Friday 29th March
Today the happy little patio rose ‘Honey Bunch.’ Bred by Anne Cocker of Cocker Roses in Aberdeen Scotland and introduced in 1989.
This looks to be a very attractive rose, so I was slightly surprised to read the description in Botanica’s Roses that the colour is overpowering and this rose is best placed by itself in a single variety planting. I have seen roses of much more startling colours, ‘Masquerade’ for example which makes me shudder.
‘Honey Bunch’ produces clusters of small peachy orange buds opening to semi double honey and pink blooms. The wavy edged petals have a lemon yellow base giving the centre of the bloom a real glow. This little rose is similar colour wise to yesterday’s ‘The Yeoman’. Good fragrance as well and she obligingly blooms in flushes all summer.
Take a little care when buying as there is an orange patio rose named ‘Honey Bun.’ The ICRA appellation for ‘Honey Bunch’ is COCglen so that will ensure you get the right rose.
Maximum height of 50cm so very suitable for the smaller garden or front of the border. Ideal container rose. Good glossy foliage and good disease resistance. Hardy USDA 6a-10b.
I love the intense blue of the geranium Rosanne thoughtfully planted beside this rose, a great colour combination. This is such a charming little rose, so she is on my list for my container collection.
Saturday 30th March
A number of you may be familiar with the white Damask rose ‘Léda’ with her crimson pink edged pink smudged petals, also known as the ‘Painted Damask’. Today we have her sport ‘Pink Léda’
Is ‘Pink Léda’ a sport though? There is an ongoing discussion about whether she is the sport or is it the other way around. Did the pink form spring from the white or the white from the pink? An answer lost somewhere in the nineteenth century. The white rose is said to have originated in England and has always been popular in the UK. However, ‘Pink Léda’ comes from somewhere on the continent and was the preferred choice in France. From that information, I would hazard a guess that some bushes of ‘Pink Léda’ were imported to England and the white ‘Léda’ was the sport. Both are identical in every way apart from the bloom colour.
Long feathery sepalled dark pink buds appear in clusters. Extraordinary buds really, they have a ‘mutant’ appearance. These open to double flat blooms of the clearest pink which reflex to show little yellow button eyes. An untidy petal arrangement but I so much prefer this to the modern neatly petalled roses. A sumptuous heavy intense fragrance, you cannot get a better one! A single wave of glorious bloom in June and she shuts up shop although she may offer a few late blooms. This is a rose that you will need to prune after she has finished blooming in June, she blooms on the previous summer’s growth. Prune her in the winter with the rest of your repeat and continuous roses and you will not get her spectacular show of bloom.
Height around 1.20m and a little narrower. Soft green foliage that has fairly good disease resistance. Prickles, boy is she a prickly lady! Hardy USDA zone 4b-9b. Widely available.
Named for the Greek mythological ‘Léda’ daughter of the king of Aetolia, Thestius. Wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta she caught the eye of Zeus who transformed himself into a swan and seduced her. This seduction scene of ‘Léda’ and the Swan became a popular subject for Renaissance painters.
A superb classic rose that would grace any garden although she blooms just once. I often advise followers with smaller gardens to include just one of the Pre-1900s roses in their garden. Would ‘Pink Léda’ be the one for you?
Saturday 31st March
I am not a ‘hot’ holiday fan, I do not do beaches, or cruises. However, I think I would like to visit Bermuda to see today’s rose which has naturalised across the island, the China rose ‘Cramoisi Supérieur’.
Let’s safely say this is a rose of unknown breeding but a lot of claims for the breeder. Reputed to be a seedling from ‘Slater’s Crimson China but she could be an unknown bred before 1818. Perhaps unknown Belgian breeding before 1823 or maybe French from Cocquereau 1832. Possibly Cocqurel 1832 or the Italian Villaresi 1832. We know she was introduced by the French nursery of Jean-Baptiste Paillet in 1834 as the superior crimson ‘Cramoisi Supérieur’. As well as the multiple claims for breeding her she has gathered an impressive number of aliases: Agrippina, Bengale à petals striées, Bengale Cramoisi Supérieur, Bengale éblouissant, Bengale Oeillet, Bermuda Wingood China, La Gaufrée, Lady Brisbane, L’Eblouissant, Mableton Crimson China, Old Bermuda Red Rose, Queen of Scarlet, Queen’s Scarlet, Rosa Indica Caryophyllea.
China roses like sunny sheltered positions but this one can cope with poor conditions. In the UK she is a small wiry little shrub around 1m high suitable for containers, border front and smaller gardens. Put her in a warmer dry climate and she can reach 2m happily. Sparse long pointed foliage, characteristic of Chinas, but very healthy. Drought resistant as well. All useful attributes for the busy or lazy gardener! Widely available across the world.
Clusters of small buds on airy stems unfolding to medium sized double cupped blooms of clear crimson often with a flick of white. These delicious cupped blooms reflex and flatten attractively revealing their golden stamens. Fragrance reports vary from ‘not very fragrant’ to ‘delicious strong raspberry.’ She is more perfumed in hot climates or when grown here in the UK in a sheltered warm spot. Blooms in flushes but can be continuous in favourable weather.
A useful rose but certainly not a boring one. I think a lot of potential growers are deterred by the fragile look of China roses. She copes with oppressive heat in Bermudan summers and gales with tremendous rain. Grown in central Europe she bends but not bows under snow and frost. Consider her if you have a space for her crimson beauty.
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Rose of the Day 