Roses are some of the most versatile garden plants you can buy. There’s a rose for every garden, every gardener and every situation. There are thousands of different varieties, but that means when a rose breeder launches a new rose variety, it’s going to be a bit special. It has to be to compete with the existing roses on offer. Roses make fantastic gifts and roses are sometimes used to remember a loved one.
Every garden needs a rose or two to grow, here are five new rose varieties as seen at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival.
Rob Burrow by Harkness Roses
Raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association, this rose is named after the former Leeds Rhinos scrum-half Rob Burrow MBE, who has been diagnosed with MND. It’s a real beauty; a floribunda rose with flowers in abundance, but it’s the saffron yellow flowers that radiate a sunshine effect in the garden. The buds have a soft, pale green hue and unfurl into radiant orange yellow flowers that light up the garden and have a soft, myrrh scent.
The rose is available to buy now at roses.co.uk
Rosemary Day by Harkness Roses
It’s always great to find something a bit different for your garden. It keeps the conversation going and adds some intrigue to your plot. This rose is a climber with pretty funky flowers. The breeders (Harkness Roses) describe it as snazzy and extrovert and it definitely lives up to that. The flowers are pink and the petals curl inwards, but they are marked with splashes and stripes of scarlet, carmine and silver giving each flower a unique petal print and a bit of intrigue. The yellow stamens are surrounded by a contrasting soft white aura adding personality to the flowers and then as they mature and fade the variety on each plant adds more interest. This is an open flowered rose, making it a good choice for the pollen collecting insects, especially the bees, which will forage on the pollen. The foliage is a rich olive green and abundant so once this rose gets growing it provides dense coverage, growing to about 2m tall and 2m wide, so it’s great for covering a bare fence of wall. This rose is named after a passionate plants woman, called Rosemary Day. Buy from harknessrosecompany.com
Mottisfont by Fryers Roses
When a rose in named after a famous rose garden you know it’s going to be good. Rosa ‘Mottisfont’ is named after the National Trust garden best known for its spectacular rose collection and especially its National Collection of old-fashioned roses from the 19th century and earlier. Mottisfont is a Fryers Roses introduction. Buy from fryersroses.co.uk
It’s a fragrant hybrid tea rose that would be great for cut flowers, or planted in a rose border. The flowers are magenta in colour and contrast beautifully with the rich and healthy glossy green leaves. It has been bred with excellent disease resistance making it a great choice for modern gardens. Rosa ‘Mottisfont’ won the Golden Rose award at Baden Baden 2019. Plants are available to buy from Blue Diamond garden centres.
Sunset Isle by Fryers Roses
This lovely shrub rose is a perfect contender for a patio planter. Roses can grow very well in containers and make a perfect gift for renters or anyone with a small plot. This rose has a nostalgic look with masses of pale pink flowers packed full of petals. Named in memory of Richard Crawford who loved to watch the rich, colourful sunsets on the Isle of Orkney and who lost his life to Motor Neurone Disease. Sunset Isle roses have been introduced by Fryers Roses fryersroses.co.uk and are available from Blue Diamond Garden Centres.
Penelope Lively from David Austin Roses
What could be nicer than a blousy pink rose for the garden. The David Austin English Roses are a delight with flowers packed with petals to create stunning garden roses and cut flowers.
New for 2023 – Rose ‘Penelope Lively’ from David Austin Roses let her presence be known not just by her beauty but also her raspberry rich, fruity rose scent. The deep berry red buds open to classic, elegant mid-pink double cupped flowers in open sprays that are the epitome of summer. The flowers fade to lavender creating a mass of varying shades of pink rose petals. It’s a repeat flowerer so a great choice for a garden border. Named after the writer Penelope Lively who has written many prize-winning novels including her memoir Life in the Garden. Buy from davidaustinroses.co.uk
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