Gardens
With a number of new roses unveiled at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hannah Stephenson looks at how to make the most of our favourite blooms
The loveliest Chelsea roses
Dame Judi Dench, Alan Titchmarsh, Mary Berry and other celebrities may all have roses named after them, but many of us have our own favourites, whether it be for blooms or fragrance.
Personally, I love Gertrude Jekyll, the velvety rich pink David Austin variety I have growing in a border with large-flowered pink striped Nelly Moser clematis, the waft of fragrance hitting me every time I walk past it in the cool of the morning.
It’s ironic though, that the headiest scents, which usually come from the deeper, richer-coloured blousy bloomed varieties, are often more attractive to people than they are to pollinating insects, which tend to go for the simpler forms with paler colours, which in turn tend to be less strongly scented.
Breeders have worked long and hard over the years to develop roses that combine visual splendour with fragrance, yet it is a complex job. Rose growers know that you can combine two fantastically fragrant parents and produce a seedling with no scent.
Also, some roses with amazing perfumes such as Whisky Mac may struggle to make it through a harsh British winter. So your first priority is to choose a rose that is healthy and with good vigour.
They prefer rich soil in a sunny site and plenty of added organic matter, because roses are hungry feeders. If you can, improve your soil the previous winter with well-rotted manure and apply a dry feed in early spring and again in early summer.
Place your roses where you will be able to enjoy their fragrance, perhaps near a bench where you sit in the morning, when the fragrance tends to be strongest. Don’t relegate prize specimens to the back of the garden where you won’t venture.
Here are some of the new roses launched at this year’s show to look out for.
Jane Austen rose
A bright orange floribunda rose, selected by the Jane Austen’s House Museum to mark the 200th anniversary of the author’s death this year. The bright orange colour was chosen to reflect the vibrancy of Austen’s characters, while its light and sweet scent and the depth of colour radiates warmth (Harkness, www.roses.co.uk).
Dame Judi Dench (Ausquaker)
Named after one of Britain’s most beloved stars, this apricot-coloured rose has blooms that are resistant to rain damage and a medium-strong fragrance that experts have described as combining classic tea with a fresh note of cucumber and a hint of kiwi. It’s a vigorous grower, producing strong, arching stems which, over time, form an attractive mound of blooms (David Austin, www. davidaustinroses.co.uk).
Papworth’s Pride
This pretty addition to a Modern Classic collection bears clusters of large raspberry red, peony style flowers that unfold to reveal bright yellow anthers that are a magnet to insects. Intensely perfumed with bright, glossy, mid-green foliage, this medium-sized shrub looks great planted en masse (Peter Beales, www. classicroses.co.uk).
Vanessa Bell (Auseasel)
This English musk hybrid with rounded, pink tinged-buds opening to reveal deep, medium-sized softlemon yellow cups in large, open clusters, is named after the artist, designer and founder member of the Bloomsbury Group, Vanessa Bell – sister of Virginia Woolf. Ten per cent from the sales will be donated to The Charleston Trust, Vanessa’s former home, now managed and conserved by the charity (David Austin, www.davidaustinroses.co.uk).