Tag: Roses

The ravishing ‘Lady Waterlow’

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I have a long curving brick wall dividing the farmyard from the garden. On the garden side, south facing, there are a number of climbers. The bare north side is maybe not the best aspect but last winter I planted several climbers along it. They seem content enough despite the long dry spell.

‘Lady Waterlow’, a Tea Noisette from Nabbonand, and introduced in 1902. The Nabbonand family were prolific breeders of both Tea and Tea Noisettes, many now lost to cultivation. Most were named to flatter their wealthy customers, many English aristocrats visited the nursery on their journey to the fashionable Côte d’Azur. Perhaps there may have been some monetary exchange for a rose naming. One of the last Tea Noisettes before the fashion turned to the Hybrid Multiflora and Wichuranas that dominate the climbing roses in current cultivation.

‘Lady Waterlow’, described by Charles Quest-Ritson as a ravishing rose, is considered one of the best roses produced by Nabbonand. Still very popular, and widely found in nursery catalogues. Long dark pink buds pale as they open to a large loose bloom with pale pink petals edged with a flush pink on the petal edge and a hint of yellow on the base. Quite variable in colour though, a legacy of her Tea heritage, ‘Madame Falcot’ dominates her pedigree. These elegant blooms appear either singly or in clusters, and have a delicious fragrance. Early to bloom, and then continues throughout the summer so seldom without bloom. Enjoys hot weather so this summer has made her a happy rose.

Prickly stems which are on the stiff side, not so easy to train. Large leaves which so far have not shown any disease as she is reputed to suffer from black spot. In the UK ‘Lady Waterlow’ will reach around 2m but is much larger in warmer climates. We slip towards a warmer climate so she may gain in size as global warming increases. USDA zones 6b and warmer.

Just a small note about climbers. It is tempting to plant climbers and leave them alone, much as you would do with a shrub rose. However, you need to be tweaking those stems into a good fan shape from day one. They often grow in the wrong direction, out away from the wall, but can be gently coaxed by judicious ties. If you bend or pull them too hard the stem may snap, we have all done this!  I often loosely knot a length cut from a pair of old tights around the stem and tie it to the wall wire, just a gentle bend at first. As the stem grows you can shorten the tie. It is this first season that’s important for the eventual shape. You will find several stems grow outwards or that you have too many candidates. I let these grow but use them for cuttings. One must be a bit ruthless with climbers!

Portrait of Lady Waterlow
Edward R. Hughes

Lady Waterlow was named for an American heiress, Margaret Hamilton (1849), who married Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow (1822-1906) after a whirlwind ten day romance. She was thirty three and Sydney, a widower with eight children, was sixty. Sydney began his career working in the family printing business Waterlow and Sons. He moved into politics and philanthropic works. Principally remembered today for giving Waterlow Park in Highgate to the public as “a garden for the gardenless” in 1889. Lady Waterlow supported her husband in his charitable work and continued to do so after his death in 1906. A gracious lady much like her rose.

Comments and questions are welcome as always.

Originally posted on the 7th August 2022 on my Facebook blog Rose of the Day

Father and son

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Two roses today, the father ‘Alexander Hill Gray’ on the right and the son ‘Alister Stella Gray’ on the left. That is in name only as they are genetically unrelated roses.

‘Alexander Hill Gray’ a Tea rose dates from 1909 and was bred in Northern Ireland by Alexander Dickson II. The lineage is unknown, the records were lost in a fire in the 1930s. When introduced this rose was awarded a gold medal by the National Rose Society and was considered one of the best yellow Tea roses at the time. A highly popular exhibition rose until the 1940s when surpassed by better show varieties.

Described as lemon in colour but for me, it is vanilla ice cream. Classic high centred buds, the petals neatly scroll as the bloom opens. Such a stunning rose! Moderate sweet fragrance for a Tea said to be that of violets. Not a large rose, around 90cm to 1.20m, larger in warm climates. Hates rain or high humidity but luxuriates on hot dry days. USDA zone 7a and warmer. Widely available in Australia, and the States. In the UK, the only stockist I can find is Peter Beales.

Alexander Hill Gray was born in India in 1837 and educated at Stoneyhurst College. He returned to India in 1857 and became an interpreter for the British troops in the Sikh Cavalry during the Mutiny. He then travelled extensively through India, the Himalayas, Russia, Europe and down to South Africa. He was a keen photographer taking over 6000 images, which are now held at Stoneyhurst College. During these travels, he made a considerable fortune trading in precious stones such as diamonds, sapphires, and rubies. In 1867 he married Marcella Kerr, from a Scottish family heavily involved in the Jamaican sugar trade. Tragically Marcella died in 1877 just four days after the birth of her first child. The death record has her as Stella rather than Marcella and her name was used as a memorial middle name for her son Alister Stella Gray.

Alexander settled into a quieter life, and began to grow and show roses in Scotland. In 1885 he moved to Beaulieu House near Bath with a gentler climate than Scotland to grow his Tea roses. He employed one hundred men to terrace the gardens where it is reputed, he grew over 10,000 roses’. Both Beaulieu House and gardens have long disappeared under suburban expansion.

A successful rose exhibitor Alexander won the National Rose Society’s Amateur Trophy fourteen times in succession, and was an Honorary Vice President of The National Rose Society from 1920 to 1926-1927. In 1894 he bred a climbing noisette rose and named this rose after his son Alister Stella Gray.

Introduced by George Paul in 1894 this rose remains a firm favourite today. ‘Alister Stella Gray’ produces clusters of blooms of changing sizes, small clusters in the early summer increasing to large panicles 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 continuously in bloom all summer. I planted this rose last winter beside a new summer house so I hope he will climb up the walls and over the roof. Time will tell.

A vigorous rose, ‘Alister Stella Gray’ can reach 4m in height and width, so you need some space to accommodate him. Can be grown as 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, hating damp cool days. Available worldwide

‘Alister Stella Gray’ holds an RHS award of garden merit. There is a slight propensity for mildew and blackspot later in the summer so watch those leaves carefully. Can hold onto old dying petals so deadhead if these annoy you or give a quick blast with a leaf blower!

Alister himself married into the Kerr family; his wife, a cousin, was also a Marcella. He moved to Jamaica to work in the family sugar plantation business and died in 1957. I wonder if he ever grew his namesake rose there?

‘Arethusa’- the waterer

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We are still in the grip of a fierce drought here in East Suffolk. The lawn is brown and crisped to death, and I walk miles watering the roses. This morning’s rose ‘Arethusa’ was chosen in the hope this would stimulate some rain. Arethusa, one of the Greek Nereids, left her home in Arcadia, and appeared as a freshwater fountain in Sicily.

Bred by William Paul, introduced in 1903 ‘Arethusa’ is a late addition to the China group. A sensation at the time of her introduction due to the then unusual orange tints. We have so many roses now with this colouration that it can be unremarkable, but this rose remains eye catching. The orange colour appears in the bud, fading through apricot pink as the bloom opens. A soft pink at first before paling to white, the heat and sun at the beginning of the week bleached the blooms all too fast. The petals reflex and scroll, forming charming quills of pale pink. The fragrance is Tea like but as with a lot of the Chinas, it is somewhat elusive. Some days a noticeable perfume from a distance, but the next time you visit and plunge your nose into the bloom it will have vanished. Repeat blooms reliably.

In a normal season, this is a healthy rose but the sharp eyed amongst will notice a dusting of powdery mildew, (Podosphaera pannosa). This is a fungal infection that enjoys dry soil conditions, heat, and high humidity. Typically, climbers are the first to be infected as they experience dry soil when planted against a wall. This infection can rapidly defoliate a rose, and severe infections over a few years will stunt growth to the point of death. Fast moving as well, you need to be vigilant to spot the first signs on the ends of the upper stems. Powdery mildew starts at the top of the bush/climber and moves downwards, Black Spot is the other way – starts at the bottom and moves upwards. I sprayed the infected roses early in the season in May, but the dry weather continued, and more roses had a touch or two. I tried a different approach by watering the infected roses copiously, and flooding the bed, three times a week. This has worked, there are still minor infections but where the new growth has appeared it is free of mildew. And there is a lot of new growth from the heat, and watering. Whether this approach will work each year I do not know but it is worth trying. I have a preventative strategy with fungicides using them in the winter rather than a curative one in the summer. Summer spraying, curative, is a less effective use of fungicide as well. Also, this means a head torch in the dark at midnight to avoid any day flying insects, but you will hit several moths with the spray. Given that all insect numbers are falling responsible gardeners should take care.

Back to the lovely ‘Arethusa’. Not too large, around 1m in height and breadth. Possible in a large container but happier in the ground.  Widely available. USDA zone 7b-10b. Requires little pruning. If you deadhead, then she repeats very quickly. Thoughts and comments are welcome as always.

First posted in the very dry summer of 2022, 24th July, on my Facebook blog Rose of the Day.

The sprawling ‘Raubritter’

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Living in the flat Suffolk countryside I yearn for a hillside garden with terraces and banks. One always wishes for the impossible! Today’s rose ‘Raubritter’ is one to grow falling down a bank or over the side of a terrace.

Bred in Germany in 1936 by Wilhelm Kordes, the pink hybrid Macrantha shrub ‘Daisy Hill’ provided the seed with the vigorous red hybrid Wichurana rambler ‘Solarium’ donating the pollen. ‘Raubritter’ is a procumbent rose, with long snaking stems. I planted her in a bed to grow as a shrub, but those long stems are proving to be a trip hazard on the nearby path. I gave her a small frame, but she is having none of it. Reputedly she will scramble up a tree or hedge up to around 3m.

Small pointed rose buds appear in large clusters in early June opening to the most astonishing bloom. The profusion of buds open to silvery pink globes each with a small opening at the top, very un-rose like. The small opening gradually widens until a beautiful dusky pink peony like bloom emerges. Just so beautiful, one could look at them all day. Fragile and delicate but remarkably weatherproof and long lasting. A fresh sweet fragrance drifts from these superb blooms. Just one magnificent flush but you do get a wealth of these attractive blooms for an extended period.

A tendency for mildew infection is reported in the literature but mine has been extremely healthy in a dry bed. Otherwise, she is very vigorous with slender prickly stems and narrow wrinkled foliage. Hardy USDA zone 6b-9b. Reputed to be very frost resistant. American Rose Society grading 8.1 (A solid to very good rose. Its good features easily outweigh any problems. Well above average).

This dainty ethereal rose has an entirely inappropriate name. A Raubritter was a feudal robber baron or knight imposing unfair taxes and demands on his subjects. I can think of a few rampaging thorn ridden ramblers for whom the name Raubritter would be extremely apt but not this pretty rose.

The modern healthy continuous flowering ground cover roses may have overtaken her, but I still think ‘Raubritter’ is well worth growing. Mine is just in the wrong place to show her best. In the autumn she is to move to a sloping bank where she can fall over the retaining wall. If you are lucky enough to visit Mottisfont you will find ‘Raubritter’ adorning the small central ornamental pool, a wonderful sight.

Originally posted on my Facebook blog Rose of the Day on 2nd July 2022

‘Yolande d’Aragon’

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Today’s rose is one that does not sit neatly into a ‘class’, described as a hybrid Gallica, Portland, or Hybrid Perpetual. A genetic study does show she is closer to the Gallicas than the Portlands. To be honest, a lot of the old garden roses are ‘mongrels’ with attributes from their parents who in turn were a bit of a mixture. Whatever her antecedent ‘Yolande d’Aragon’ is a glorious rose.

Dating from 1843, introduced by Jean-Pierre Vibert, and is reputed to be a seedling of the Damask Perpetual ‘Belle de Trianon. Yolande produces clusters of dark pink buds dressed in feathery sepals. Large, cupped blooms of deep pink with pale backs. Stuffed with petals in a rosette swirl. Breathtakingly strong old rose fragrance, you must keep returning for another deep inhale. One big summer flush followed by intermittent blooms or even a second flush. Mine is a young rose but last summer she had a lot of late bloom.

Will reach around 1.5m tall with a width of 1m. She is of the era of strongly disease resistant roses but here she had shown some black spot this summer. It has been a weird season though. A very dry mild winter and equally dry spring often with strong cold winds with the odd hot sunny day thrown into the mix. The roses did not know whether to grow or quietly sleep, producing a lot of stressed small foliage. Even the Pemberton Hybrid Musks suffered with the early foliage succumbing to fungal infection. The flush of foliage following rain was and remains healthy so perhaps Yolande’s spot is the result of the weather rather than inherent disease propensity.

A popular rose and widely available. Graded an 8.5 from the American Rose Society – a very good to excellent rose, one recommended without hesitation. Hardy USDA zones 4b-9b.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Marriage_of_Yolande_of_Aragon.jpg

Depiction of the marriage of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon from Froissart’s Chronicles 1470. (http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=22147)

Yolande d’Aragon (1379-1442) played a significant role in the complex ‘Game of Thrones’ in both Spain and France. Born a princess of the small Spanish state of Aragon, her parents arranged her marriage in 1400 to end a feud between the Aragon and Anjou families. Yolande initially resisted this marriage to Louis II, Dule of Anjou. However, it turned out to be a long successful marriage with five children. Yolande became a committed supporter of the French royal family in the last years of the Hundred Year War. Her involvement deepened when her daughter Marie of Anjou married Charles the youngest son of the mad Charles VI.

Charles became heir to the French throne when his eldest brother John died. Following the death of Charles VI, the infant Henry VI of England was proclaimed King of France. Yolande encouraged Charles to fight for his throne. She supported Joan of Arc’s ambition to lead the French army in the successful battle against the English, so Charles became King of France. Yolande’s great diplomatic skill continued to be employed in quelling feuds and squabbles between the French aristocratic families. Not the atypical interfering mother-in-law I think. Certainly, a lady who deserves a rose that is a little out of the ordinary.

I forgive ‘Yolande d’Aragon’ for her few spots this season as the blooms and fragrance are quite special. In her second summer here, she has grown vigorously despite being in a slightly shady position. Do you grow her? How is her disease resistance with you? Comments are welcome as always.

First posted on my Facebook blog Rose of the Day on 27th June 2023

‘Thérèse Bugnet’

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Today a jump from the heat loving Tea Roses to a cold hardy rose – the Hybrid Rugosa ‘Thérèse Bugnet’.

A rose that you could walk past when she is not in bloom thinking from the foliage that this is a shrub of another species. Long narrow matt leaves that are not typical of any other Hybrid Rugosa that I have seen. In the autumn the tall stems turn an attractive red.

The photograph shows a bloom just a little bit before its best. These sizeable blooms appear in clusters, with large wavy petals which unfold to a saucer shape. Dark pink initially before fading to a softer tone with those charming golden stamens. Typical sweet but sharp clove Rugosa fragrance that ‘lifts’, carrying in the air around the shrub. Repeat blooms from summer into autumn. Orange hips follow but I find not so many as expected.

A tall shrub, 1.5-2m which responds to pegging down, a small amount of work which gives more bloom. Not really thorn free but just a few. Like most hybrid Rugosas she dislikes being pruned. Resistant to blackspot. Suckers when grown on her own roots. The one kicker about this rose is the tendency for dieback, particularly when it occurs in the tallest and best stems. Shade tolerant though. Exceptional cold hardiness, USDA zone 3-9b, recommended for North Sweden. Widely available.

A straightforward easy rose to grow. Just the little niggle with dieback

This cold hardiness attribute combined with her name shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Bred by one of the most extraordinary rose breeders I have ever come across, Georges Bugnet, (for those of you worried re the pronunciation it’s boon-yay). If there isn’t yet a book on Georges Bugnet then there should be. One of the major French writers of Western Canada, he published four novels, the best known being ‘The Forest’. Also, numerous essays, short stories, and poetry. Born in France in 1879, and educated at the Sorbonne, Georges immigrated to Canada with his wife Julia and lived in a homestead close to Edmonton in Alberta. Although not trained as a botanist he had a great interest in plants and began to breed one that could survive the harsh Alberta climate. Taking seeds from Russian plants he produced the Lagoda pine tree. He experimented with native Russian roses and the native Canadian species producing ‘Thérèse Bugnet’, in 1941, named for his sister. He continued to breed roses for fun producing 16 hybrid Rugosas, and giving the plants away to nurseries to propagate and sell. With nine children he was very interested in education and was very involved in the local schools and their education programmes. Georges had a long life, dying at the grand age of 101, in 1981. What an amazing man!

A straightforward easy shrub rose. Just that small qualm with dieback but the positives outweigh this one fault. To be honest though ‘Thérèse Bugnet’ is rather more of a landscape rose than one for a prime place in your garden,

This post originally appeared on my Facebook blog on 23rd March 2022

‘General Galliéni’

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Some roses confound with their changeable colours. Ones that irritate with their habit of growing sideways, sometimes in preference to growing upwards. Those that prove unsatisfying to photograph as their blooms are untidy to the point of being misshapen. These are special roses, described to me by David Stone, former head gardener at Mottisfont, as ‘roses for the connoisseur’. They hate cold weather, preferring warm sun but will often turn their heads away or droop their necks. They thumb their noses, metaphorical ones, at fungal diseases. A reputation for fragility, but think more of a frail spinster aunt decked with lace who thought nothing of walking miles in vile weather. Secateurs will almost cause a faint though. Those sideways shoots always produce a cluster of blooms with every node below joining in for the burst of bloom. All are forgiven for their exotic, sensual perfume – the Tea Roses.

A huge number of Tea Roses were introduced in the fifty years or so before WWI. Many lost to cultivation now as their popularity waned and they were overshadowed by the new Hybrid Teas. ‘General Galliéni’ is one of the noble survivors, bred by Gilbert Nabonnand and introduced in 1899.

A mostly red rose with yellow petal bases, but ‘General Galliéni’ can be copper with orange tones, raspberry and cream, or peachy pink. Occasionally drifts to maroon, brown hued red or purple. No two blooms are ever quite the same hue. Nor the same shape. Often asymmetric with petals pinched up, the kind that makes you lower your camera thinking – next week they will be better. A perfect bloom with ruffled petals repays your wait, sometimes! This diversity creates a rose shrub of great charm. ‘General Galliéni’ demands your attention and rewards with a light but pervasive fragrance. Almost continuous in bloom with an early start and goes on to early winter.

His growth habits are no less untidy. Mine has a drunken lean despite my efforts to persuade him to stand up straight. These are roses that create their personal space which in turn means a gap between two or a friendly cuddle with a neighbour Tea. I have attempted some training with canes and ties, but he is a strong willed grower so I leave him to sprawl. Size? In the UK likely to be a metre in height and possibly wider. In Australia, 3m is more the norm.

Attractive light green foliage, a little sparse perhaps but zero fungal diseases. Occasional aphids perhaps but easily blitzed with soapy water. USDA zones 7-9 is the given range but Teas are happy in hot climates. Widely available.

Are you a rose connoisseur? Or does the untidiness of Tea roses not match your garden style? Worried about the hardiness? Growing the General in a container placed on wheels could help to place him in sheltered spots. I feel the Teas hate cold freezing rain rather than hard frosts. Maybe a brolly would be better?

And his namesake? Joseph Simon Galliéni (1849-1916) was both a French colonial administrator and a military commander.

His military career began in the Franco-Prussian war before he moved to the colonial service initially in Senegal before becoming governor of French Sudan. He developed the ‘tache d’huile’ method, the ‘oil spot’ technique still used in counterinsurgency today. Winning ‘hearts and minds’ instead of heavy firepower and bombardment. Promoted to General in 1896 and made Governor of Madagascar where he illegally deposed the Malagasy monarchy, exiling Queen Ranavalona to Reunion.

In 1905 he returned to France as Military Governor of Lyon and a position in the Superior War Council. He failed in his attempts to modernise the French Army in battle dress, they still wore the ‘pantalon rouge’, and in military tactics. He retired in early 1914 just before the death of his wife.

He was recalled in August 1914 with the outbreak of WWI and was appointed Governor of Paris. Here he encountered the war minister Adolphe Messimy, son of Madame Laurette Messimy. Her rose was featured on this blog on January 1st. He is credited with the victory of the First Battle of the Marne and in late 1915 took the post of Minister of War. Sadly, he served just a short term before dying of cancer in May 1916. Created Marshal of France in 1921.

If ever a man deserved a rose, it was this man.

Tea Roses are a cross between Rosa chinensis and Rosa gigantea. R. chinensis originates from the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan – Zones 8/9. R. gigantea is a little more tender coming from the Chinese provinces of Sikkim, Yunnan, the Indian province of Manipur and Burma – Zones 9/10 so a subtropical rose. R.chinensis is quite happy at Zone 7b but R.gigantea is not happy below 8b. However, I have found references for this rose growing in the UK in the late 19th and 20th centuries when the winters were much colder than today. These are the roses that brought repeat and continuous blooming genes into rose breeding in the late 19th century.

I think the colour is related to the air temperature and humidity as he is much stronger in colour in the heat of summer and tends to have cooler colours as the temperature falls. But not always, he sometimes has a rather yellow bloom next to a red one. A little like Mutabilis except the blooms don’t change from yellow to red in the space of half a day.

I admit to an addiction to the Teas. I hope I can persuade more of you to try one or five. ‘General Galliéni’ is an excellent rose to start your collection.

‘Mrs H.R.Darlington’ – a lost rose

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The format of posts for this blog is usually a rose, together with a description and cultivation notes, plus the back story of the name. Today I confess to not having the rose at all as it seems to have drifted to extinction, and not left a photograph behind to charm everyone. It is the story of the namesake that I wish to tell you.

Three weeks ago, we had the elegant ‘Mrs Oakley Fisher’ named for one of the first three women elected to the board of the National Rose Society. Today it is the turn of Dora, the wife of Hayward Radcliffe Darlington, the president of the National Rose Society.

Dora’s rose ‘Mrs H.R. Darlington’ was introduced in 1919 by Samuel McGredy II. A Hybrid Tea described as having cream yellow blooms, being free flowering, and very vigorous. In Australia, the colour was more towards a clean white. She sounds stunning, with large petalled well shaped blooms that could reach nine inches (23 cm) across. I suspect some exaggeration there, but she was noted for large perfect blooms. Recommended for both garden and exhibition use. Her faults were a tendency to ball, burn in the sun, and not transplant too easily. One could say the same of a lot of white and pale coloured roses. Reading through the literature available ‘Mrs H.R. Darlington’ appears to have been more popular in Australia. She was regarded purely as an exhibition rose in the UK.

The picture is one from the W.D. & H. O. Wills cigarette cards No 41- 1926 which indicates the popularity of ‘Mrs H.R. Darlington’. The reverse of the card reads: ‘(No 41) MRS H.R. DARLINGTON (Hybrid Tea) A perfect white rose. The flowers are large, well formed, sweetly scented, and of considerable substance. It is a free grower, with dark green leathery foliage, and is very beautiful in the autumn, and suitable for almost any situation. Should be pruned to within three or four “eyes” during March. Introduced in 1920 and awarded the Gold Medal of the National Rose Society.’

 Should you have wished to grow this rose in 1922 Daniel Bros. Ltd of Norwich sold her for 2s 6d – half a crown – (around £7 today). In the same year, Frank Cant & Co. sold her for 5s.

Browsing old rose catalogues is a lot of fun if slightly time wasting. Most catalogues include hundreds and hundreds of roses in contrast to the rather limited selection we are offered today. One sees a lot of old favourites still grown today but a vast number have gone to the great compost heap in the sky. I wonder if ‘Mrs H.R. Darlington’ is still grown in Australia? Perhaps someone can comment on this? I see there is some discussion concerning an identification mix up with another rose ‘’Mrs. C. Lamplough’.

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And of Dora herself? Born Dora Hill in 1863 in Wolstanton, Staffordshire into a wealthy family. Her father John Sherriff Hill came from a Scottish merchant family trading in coal. Following a trip to Australia for health reasons he became involved in Australian trading and shipping. Dora was educated at West Heath school in Surrey.

After the death of Dora’s mother, John Sheriff Hill remarried, and the family moved to St Albans. They lived in Hawkswick a large house built for the brewing family Fearnley Whittingstall. There Dora lived the life typical of a well to do Victorian daughter supporting charitable functions such as an amateur concert to raise funds for the renovation of the church tower. I found she won £2 in a Morning Post competition in 1868, no details of this other than the title ‘Psalms’. Perhaps guessing from which Psalm, a particular line came from? This was an age where a good religious education formed a large part of education.

In January 1890 Dora married the barrister Hayward Radcliffe Darlington. It sounded like a magical wedding as the outdoor Chinese lanterns were hung in frosted trees and shrubs at the groom’s family home Bourton Hall. Typically, the entire wedding present list appeared in the press, with presents ranging from diamond jewellery to a hand embroidered tray cloth. From browsing this I can see the newlyweds had a surfeit of silver salt cellars. I can imagine elderly spinster ladies shaking open the paper and commenting on who gave what, perhaps some of the gifts might have been considered a little mean. After the wedding, the honeymoon was taken in a chilly Torquay.

Hayward Radcliffe Darlington had a great interest in horticulture. An expert on narcissus and roses, he went on to become president of the National Rose Society. He wrote extensively, both books and articles, his 1911 book ‘Roses’ is available online. Dora followed this literary trend with articles such as ‘Colour Grouping in the Rose Garden’ and ‘Roses and Rain’ both of which appeared in the NRS Annual.

Unlike Florence Oakley Fisher Dora does not seem to have been a competitor in rose and horticultural shows. Press mentions include unrelated interests; Dora was the honorary secretary to the Potters Bar Navy League. Her father had been a shipowner so perhaps this isn’t to be unexpected. The most amusing press mention was from October 1901 when both Hayward and Dora were fined 1s with 9s costs for reading their horses on a footpath. A trifle awkward for a barrister I would imagine.

Dora’s rose has faded into obscurity, but I think as one of the first three first female members of the NRS council Dora should be remembered today. Perhaps a rose breeder has a candidate rose for ‘Dora Darlington’?

Comments welcome as always. If you can add to Dora’s story that would be great. Also, comment if you know of ‘Mrs H.R. Darlington’ still growing somewhere, or perhaps you remember this rose from the past?

First published on my Facebook blog Rose of the Day on 12th March 2022

‘Dainty Bess’ and her creator

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A look at a rose and her creator. Today we have ‘Dainty Bess’ and the Kent based rose breeder W.E.B. Archer & Daughter. Not so much seems to be known about William Archer and his daughter Muriel so I indulged in a bit of research, and uncovered a few long hidden facts. These rather forgotten rose breeders deserve attention.

Early Hybrid Tea roses have often drifted off to the big compost heap in the sky. Those that remain in commercial cultivation have qualities that make them worthy roses for any garden. I have a fondness for single roses and this rose is one of the better known – ‘Dainty Bess.’

Elegant, pointed carmine pink buds unfold into a large single bloom. Fluted and ruffled petals of pale pink with slightly darker backs. The crowning glory of this rose, probably the reason for her continuing popularity is her crown of unlevel reddish yellow filaments tipped with golden stamens surrounding a bright yellow stigma. Each bloom has a slightly different crown, which adds to her charm. Long stems carry these attractive blooms in clusters up above the foliage. Repeat blooms exceptionally well, she is almost continuously in bloom throughout the summer. Great fragrance as well, sweetly light.

A small rose, she is only just over 1m high. There is a climbing variety as well introduced in 1935, growing to around 3m but does not bloom quite as continuously as this bush variety. ‘Dainty Bess’ would be great in a large container, a pair on either side of your front door would be very special. Some reports of black spot late in the summer, but she is so lovely you can forgive these minor faults. USDA zone 4b-9b. Widely available.

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W.E.B. – William Edward Basil  Archer led me on a merry dance through the archives. Baptised William Edward Archer he added Basil later and at one point used Basil as his first name. Name changes always hinder research!

William was born in Horton, Bradford, Yorkshire in 1861. His father, also William, is listed as a cabinet maker in 1851, Later, according to the census of 1861, he was an upholsterer employing six boys. William Edward followed his father’s trade as he is described as a furniture designer in the 1901 census when he is living with his wife Bessie and daughter Muriel Gertrude in Finchley, Middlesex. I found him again in 1911 eventually under the name Basil Archer in Coulsdon, still listed as a furniture designer and living with Bessie, Muriel, and his sister Francis. William appears to have been a successful designer of furniture, this area of Surrey is affluent now, and it was the same in 1911. It would be good to find his employer but no luck yet.

Between 1915 and 1918 William and the family moved to The Gables, Monks Horton in Kent. Sadly in 1920, his wife Bessie dies. I guess that by this time William has retired from furniture design, and begins to dabble in rose breeding.

In June 1924 for the first time, William takes one of his roses to the National Rose Society summer show. A rose he has produced from crossing the hybrid tea ‘Ophelia’ with the red hybrid tea ‘Kitchener of Khartoum.’ This new rose proved to be an instant success in winning a gold medal, the first awarded to an amateur rose grower in ten years. The Westminster Gazette reports that an expert valued the rose at several hundred pounds. This rose was ‘Dainty Bess’ named for William’s wife.

William’s amateur rose breeding soon turned into a business – W.E.B. Archer and Daughter. Muriel undertook the secretarial duties for this business, I do not know to what extent she was involved with the actual hybridising. In 1927 they took the Daily Mail cup together with 250 guineas (equivalent to around £15,500 today) for the best new scented seedling rose. A red Hybrid Tea, again William used ‘Kitchener of Khartoum’ as the pollen parent, which went on to be named ‘The Daily Mail Scented Rose.’

William and Muriel produced twenty eight roses between 1924 and 1940. The elegant ‘Dainty Bess’ and her refined daughter ‘Ellen Willmott’, together with ‘The Daily Mail Scented Rose’ and the climbing sport of this rose, and ‘Bonnie Jean’ remain in commercial cultivation. All of William and Muriel’s roses were introduced to Australia by Hazlewood Brothers. There may be some of the other varieties remaining there in cultivation, or at least growing in someone’s garden. Alas, all too many good roses fall out of fashion and fade to extinction.

It seems that the demands of growing food rather than flowers in WWII closed the business, although William was by this time 80 years old. He died in 1950 followed by Muriel, who had never married, two years later. In the short space of sixteen years, they produced roses of timeless beauty. One is left to consider what William could have done if he had been born into a nursery business rather than the furniture trade. I wonder if his furniture was as good as his roses?

This article first appeared on my Facebook blog on 19th February 2022.

‘Madame Knorr’

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Today’s rose ‘Madame Knorr’ is one of the ‘Portland’ class. Portlands are a small class of roses with obscure origins, perhaps the best known being ‘Comte de Chambord’. The original ‘Portland’ arrived in France via England with the name ‘Rosa portlandica’ and became known as the ‘Duchess of Portland’ It was believed that a Duchess of Portland imported this rose at the time of introduction, 1809. This date places the rose in the lifetime of the third Duchess of Portland who had little interest in gardening. However, the second Duchess Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (1715-1785) was a patron of gardening and grew the rose that later bore her name, pushing the introduction date into France to 1775.

‘Duchess of Portland’ was originally believed to be a Damask x China. DNA analysis disproves ‘Slater’s Crimson China’ as one of the parents, and instead suggests a Gallica/Autumn Damask lineage. The Portland repeat blooming comes from the Autumn Damasks. However, not every Portland gives good repeat blooms

‘Madame Knorr’ was bred by Victor Verdier in Paris and was introduced in 1855 at a time when the Portland roses were sliding out of fashion as their descendants the Hybrid Perpetuals became popular.  Although photographed on a wet June day last summer she was a handsome rose. Small bright buds unfurl to a large silvery pink bloom. Short necked so the blooms nestle into the foliage. A darker centre with pale backed petals always gives such an attractive picture. Very fragrant even in cool damp conditions. She blooms once with a big flush in June with scattered blooms later.

Who was Madame Knorr? The invaluable website Helpmefind (www.helpmefind.com) has a comment that this rose is possibly named for Henriette Knorr (1828-?) née Ziegenmayer first wife of Carl Heinrich Knorr 1800 -1875, Amalie Henriette Caroline Seyffardt 1806-1867. Carl set up the food company Knorr, now part of the Unilever group.

Excellent disease resistant matt grey green foliage. Makes a small bushy 1m high shrub. The Portlands are tough roses, coping with the cold and intense heat. ‘Madame Knorr’ isn’t listed in the inestimable ‘Growing Roses in Cold Climates,’ (see below re availability). The authors recommend protection for these roses should you grow them to protect as much of the stems as possible. Most authorities give a USDA zone of 6b-9b. If any of you grow her in cooler zones please comment.

‘Madame Knorr’ appears to be widely available in Europe, also Australia, and New Zealand. She appears to be grown in the States but quite how widely I am not sure. Do comment on this point. There are references to her being identical to ‘Comte de Chambord’ aka ‘Madame Boll,’ or rather sold under the wrong name. Comments again are helpful.

An interesting rose, perhaps if I were collecting Portlands I would add her to my garden, but I am just a bit obsessed with my Teas, Chinas, and Pembertons now. Too many roses and too little time!

Initially published on 5th February 2022 on my Facebook blog Rose of the Day.