Rose Varieties

The soft pink flowers are neatly formed in the shape of a flat rosette filled with petals, with a small button eye in the centre. The flowers tend to turn towards us on the branch, just as we would wish in a climbing rose. The growth is tall and vigorous, with a plentiful coverage of foliage. The greyish-green leaves are large, smooth and highly disease-resistant. This rose is quite superb when trained as a climber - in fact it is one of the best of all climbers - but it may also be grown as a tall shrub. St. Swithun flowers freely, repeats very quickly and is particularly tough, and reliable. There is a strong pure myrrh fragrance, typical of the English Roses. 8 ft. An old English legend says the weather on St Swithun's day (15th July) will continue for the next 40 days. 8 ft.

Strawberry Hill

Strawberry Hill bears medium sized, pure rose pink, cupped rosettes of superb quality. Their colour gradually pales to a lighter pink at the edges of the petals, eventually exposing glimpses of yellow stamens at the centre. The blooms are beautiful at all stages. The growth is tall, vigorous and rather informal, with small clusters of blooms held on slightly arching brances. Strawberry Hill is very healthy with glossy, dark green foliage. This is a wonderful choice for a position to the rear of a mixed border, or for a border of shrub roses. A strong and delicious myrrh and (heather) honey fragrance. Strawberry Hill was awarded the Prix d'Honneur for fragrance from Nantes in 2007. Strawberry Hill is named to commemorate a beautiful house at Twickenham, built by Horace Walpole, the youngest son of the first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, in the style of the Gothic revival. He laid out a fine garden which is currently being restored. (Leander Group) 4 x 4 ft.

	Sweet Avalanche
	This variety has an extra large round bud of creamy lavender pink that intensifies as the bud unfurls. Due to its colour, size, durability and holding this rose variety is destined to be a fl oral favourite.

	Sweet Memory
	An extra large rounded bud of a clear musk pink that opens slowly. Due to its colour, size and durability this variety is destined to be a floral favourite.

	Tahitian Sunset
	A brand new variety with a wonderful mix of apricot and pink which intensifies in the summer sun. The blooms are large and have a strong licorice fragrance. Dark green, semi-glossy foliage with excellent resistance to blackspot. 5 ft.

	Talea
	A favourite with florists, with its elegant extra large bloom with broad high pointed creamy buds and a soft pink blush that intensifies as the flower slowly opens into a full formed bloom.

Tam o'Shanter

One of the essential characteristics of the English Roses is that they should differ widely between one variety and another. This adds greatly to the pleasure we gain from them. ‘Tam o’Shanter’ is so different that we hardly know in which group to place it. Nonetheless, its flowers are in fact typical of an English Rose of the Old Rose group. The growth, however, is long and gracefully arching; the flowers opening all along their length, rather as we might get on a Species Rose. The individual blooms are of typical Old Rose formation, being of rosette shape. The colour is a deep cerise pink that takes on a slightly mauve shade when the flower is fully open. There is a light fruity fragrance. It is very healthy. This is a rose that would look very well in an informal garden or as part of a mixed border. It was named to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robbie Burns. Tam o’ Shanter is the hero of one of his best known poems, in which he has a lucky escape from the witches having stayed too long at the inn after market day. 6 x 5ft

The Alnwick Rose - Own Root

Pretty rich pink, cup shaped buds gradually open to a deeply cupped flower; later developing into a broad, full-petalled, shallow cup of a soft pink which is paler at the outer edges - a most pleasing progression. The flowers are beautiful at all stages; this illustrates very well the great variety of form to be found in the Old Rose style. 'The Alnwick Rose' has nice rounded, bushy growth and produces its bloom intermittently from early summer to the onset of frost. Plentiful green foliage ideally complements the flower. There is a good Old Rose fragrance with just a hint of raspberry. We are pleased to name this rose after the superb Alnwick Garden. The Duke and Duchess of Northumberland are constructing what we believe will be one of the great gardens of Britain, which will include many English Roses. 4 ft. x 2.5 ft.

The Countryman

This is the result of back-crossing one of our English Roses to an old Portland Rose. The flowers are of the clearest fresh rose pink, with narrow, quilled petals opening to a perfect rosette. The growth is upright at first, but gradually arches to form a spreading shrub. It has the long leaved foliage of a Portland Rose. Its fragrance has a delightful Old Rose character, but with something reminiscent of wild strawberries. 3 ft x 3 ft.

	The Endeavour
	A very floriferous rose with strong, salmon-pink coloured blooms. Excellent, bushy growth. Very healthy. Strong, fresh, fruity fragrance. 1.2m x 1.0m. Lieutenant James Cook commanded The Endeavour on his first voyage of discovery to Australia and New Zealand, from 1769 to 1771.

	The Fairy
	A very useful little shrub with graceful, spreading and fan-like growth, bearing numerous tiny, soft pink pompon flowers in sprays. Late flowering but then, continuous. Tough, reliable and disease-free. 2.5 ft. x 3 ft.

The Generous Gardener

A rose of delicate charm - its flowers being beautifully formed; their colour a soft glowing pink at the centre, shading to palest pink on the outer petals. When the petals open they expose numerous stamens, providing an almost water lily-like effect. It has strong, elegantly arching growth with polished dark green foliage. This rose would produce a wonderful effect towards the back of the border. It will also make an excellent climber. Like ‘Mortimer Sackler’, it is highly disease-resistant. There is a strong and delicious fragrance with aspects of Old Rose, musk and myrrh. The Generous Gardener has been named to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the National Gardens Scheme which has, over the years, contributed so much to charity and made it possible for us to see so many beautiful gardens. 5 ft x 4 ft or 10 ft as a climber.

The Ingenious Mr Fairchild

We are always keen to develop large, peony-like roses with good shrubby growth. ‘Golden Celebration’ and ‘Brother Cadfael' are good examples of such roses - and this is another. The flowers of ‘The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild’ are in the form of deep cups filled with crisp, upstanding petals. The colour on the inside of the petals is a deep pink touched with lilac; the outside is of a paler shade. Looking at the bloom in more detail, one can see that the edges are an even deeper pink; giving a most delightful fringed effect - particularly in the earlier stages. The growth is ideal with spreading, arching branches building up into a well-rounded, mounding shrub; with its flowers nicely poised. It is very healthy. It has a strong and deliciously fruity rose fragrance, with aspects of raspberry, peach and a hint of mint. All in all, a very beautiful rose and one of our favourites. Named after Thomas Fairchild, a nurseryman of London and Fellow of the Royal Society, who made the first recorded flower hybrid in Europe in 1720. This was a cross between a Sweet William and a carnation, which became known as ‘Fairchild’s mule’. With thanks to Michael Leapman for the name, which was the title of his excellent biography on Thomas Fairchild. May need some summer pruning to keep its shape through to the end of the season. 5 ft. x 3.5 ft.

The Mayflower

This rose represents an important new breakthrough in English Roses. It forms a small shrub bearing charming, medium sized, typically Old Rose flowers of deep rose pink. Its unique feature is that it is, so far as we know, completely resistant to blackspot, powdery mildew and rust. While it never produces a great mass of bloom at any one time, it does flower with a regularity seldom found in any other rose: it is hardly ever without flowers. The growth is bushy and unusually full and twiggy with small matt green foliage. An excellent variety to place towards the front of the border. Tough and hardy. It has a strong, Old Rose fragrance. We have named this rose to mark the launching of our American catalogue. 4 ft. x 3 ft.

The Mayflower, Hedging

The Shepherdess

A most charming rose with flowers of medium size and deep, open-cupped shape. Their colour is a lovely rich apricot pink, that fades on the outer petals to pale apricot while remaining the same at the centre; adding up to a delightful mixture. There is a lovely fruity rose fragrance with hints of lemon. This is a healthy variety of rather upright, bushy growth. It is ideal for the front of the border, but might also be used for a more formal setting in a rose bed. The Shepherdess is named after a character in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, published in 1593. 3 ft. x 2 ft.

The Wedgwood Rose

The individual flowers of this rose are among the most beautiful we have ever bred. This variety is also, insofar as we can tell, almost completely free of disease – something that can be said of only a very few roses. The blooms are of medium to large size and have petals of a delicate, almost gossamer-like quality; the colour being a soft rose pink – all this adding up to a charming Old Rose effect. They have a lovely fruity fragrance on the outer petals, with a clove-like scent at the centre. The growth is exceptionally vigorous, sending up many shoots from the base and forming a large, rampant shrub. We expect this rose to also be even better when grown as a climber. Its ample foliage is dark green and glossy. It was named for Wedgwood, who are celebrating their 250th anniversary this year. Josiah Wedgwood, the ‘Father of English Potters’, founded the company in 1759. 5 x 5ft or 10ft as a climber.

Thérèse Bugnet

This is an outstanding rose and one that should be more widely grown. The flower buds are red, paling as they open, eventually becoming a rose-pink. The blooms are full with a button eye, very much like an Old Rose. It flowers freely at first, continuing well through to the fall. There is a good fragrance. It very disease resistant and will form a large bushy shrub. It was bred for the harsh winters of Canada, which it withstands well, but it is just as much at home in much warmer areas. 5ft x 4ft.

	Tickled Pink
	A large solid cream bud with hues of soft pink that intensifies as the rose slowly opens to reveal an attractive mid pink heart. Once fully opened the bloom has a delightful quartered look that is highly fashionable in floral design.

Wildeve

This is a particularly robust and healthy rose, producing long, arching branches which eventually form a bushy, mounding shrub. It flowers freely, with excellent repeating. The flower buds are blush pink at first, later opening to reveal flowers of blush touched with apricot. They form a perfect rosette shape which is distinctly quartered. Wildeve is a highly versatile variety, with many of the features of a good ground cover rose, combined with all the quality of flower of an English Rose. It is an ideal choice for a prime position in the border or may be grown in a large pot or container. Like most English Roses, Wildeve may be grown in partial shade, providing it is not positioned underneath the branches of a tree. It makes a useful hedging rose or can be trained against a short fence, where its blooms are sure to be admired. It has a lovely, fresh medium strong fragrance. 3.5 ft x 3.5 ft.