It's Time for Festival of Roses
In the mood to immerse yourself in the enchanting smell of fresh roses this summer? There's no better place than the RHS Festival of Roses starting June.
Savour the fragrance and visual display of thousands of rose buds and blooms, a multi-sensory ode to summer. At RHS Garden Rosemoor, two special gardens allow you to experience the scent and beauty of thousands of roses in flower. To celebrate our joined love and commitment for this amazing flower, we thought what better way than to go through our favourites with you.
Shrub Roses
Rose Chelsea Pensioner; The Chelsea Pensioner; exclusively grown by Harkness Roses, was proudly introduced at the 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The rich Hybrid Tea flowers, release a soft but complex scent with a subtle yet enticing spice. Each purchase donates £2.50 from the sale to the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Size: Up to 90cm - 60cm
Colour: Rich red
Ideal for: Mixed borders, pots, containers, poor soil and cuttings
Tottering by Gently
Not your usual Rose, this beauty takes pride in singular yellow flowers that create the simplicity in which the flower basks. It will also help attract bees! The smell is musky and presents itself quite soft, warm and with a complex blend of earthy, woodsy and sweet aroma. Named in honour of the 25th anniversary of the beloved weekly cartoon by Annie Tempest, this rose is high up on our favourites list.
Size: Up to 125cm
Colour: Yellow
Ideal for: Mixed borders, rose hedges, attracting bees and rose hips.
James L. Austin
This bright and impressive flower carries big, multi-petaled deep pink rosettes. It's known for creating a neat and tidy shrub with bushy upright habit therefore making it the perfect choice for creating a hedge. It will also thrive as a main piece of a nice pot. The scent it carries it light to medium in strength with fruity undertones. It was named for the son of David Austin Senior and brother of David Austin Junior.
Size: Up to 125cm
Colour: Deep pink
Ideal for: Mixed border, rose border, pots, containers and rose hedges.
Climbing Roses
James Galway
This particular rose becomes and excellent climber in a very short time due to its quick and upright growth. The charming rosettes have a mid-pink centre that gradually lightens as they approach the edges. Each bloom has many carefully arranged petals that give it a slightly dome shape which we absolutely adore.
It has got its name from and Irish flautist.
Size: Up to 3.75m
Colour: Light pink
Ideal for: 10ft wall of fence, front of house, obelisk or pillar and shady areas.
Rumbling Roses
Francis E. Lester
This stunning rambler grows impressing bunches of tiny, single flowers. The flowers become blush white with a hint of pale pink around the edges. Interestingly, the blossoms gradually turn almost pure white creating the impression of apple blossoms. The scent is musky, quite potent and pleasant that carries over a wide area.
It grows dense and bushy, featuring refined dark and glossy foliage which we're big fans of.
Size: Up to 6m
Colour: Pale pink and white
Ideal for: Large arch, pergola, large structures, shady areas, rose hips, attracting bees.
Adelaide D'Orleans
Our last pick is this very pretty and graceful rambler with tiny pink buds that open into semi double flowers which quickly fade from cream to white. They hang softly from the branch in small, delicate sprays rather like the Japanese cherry. This variety is quite easy to train because of its not overly vigorous growth. Another bonus is its almost evergreen nature.
Size: Up to 6m
Colour: White
Ideal for: Large arch, pergola, front of house, large structures; shady areas.
