Love Maiden's Blush - not least because the French call it "Thigh of an Aroused Nymph"! which greatly tickles my funny bone. I have one in my garden, but no flowers yet.
Some rose buds Crepuscule, climber, I had flowers on this one February with snow on the ground! Ena Harkness, another climber Golden Showers, bush. Oranges and lemons, bush Queen Elizabeth, large bush.
Oh no, not more roses........... A very old rose Complicata, vigorous shrub or climber, flowers can be up to 5" across, judge by the size of the bee' Ards Rover, our family always had one of these in our gardens, from Grandfather on down, father, uncle, myself and now my son have grown it, It's too rampant for me to have here on my patio though. Beautiful scent too. The pale pink on the right is Maidens blush, and the red in the background is Fred Loads. Topaz Jewel, bush. Fred Loads, now that's what I call a floribunda! Also has a strong scent
Keep 'em coming Mike. I'm taking notes. So far it's Fred Loads, Complicata, Crepuscule and Topaz Jewel. Off to David Austin. Since it's your fault, I'll be sending you the bill. S
Steve, Complicata only flowers for about 3 - 4 weeks in June, but does have some nice hips in autumn. I'd also recommend Ferdinand Pichard for the colours and scent. For a bigger selection have a look at my images on Google photos, the first few not part of the "main show", - start at Sat May 11 2011. A mix of shots from my own garden and from Mottesfont abbey gardens, click on image for larger, some with captions/names https://photos.google.com/search/_eAF1QipN84FSytw8nHuqUd0yfKzFqJjCN-mFCBvk_Flowers
Reminds me of the holiday in Shropshire where we discovered we were about a mile down the road from David Austin - it was early October so the roses were past their best, and we had an upstairs flat so rose growing opportunities were limited - but we just wandered round for hours smelling the things. It was wonderful!
Over the years some growers have tried to breed a black rose, these are a few of the results Duke of Edinburgh, late 1800s Not sure of the name Prince somebody, nor date probably mid-late 1800s LouisXIVTuscany 15thC Wiliam Lobb 1850s Louis XIV 1850s, probably the nearest black I've seen
Probably not suitable for a small garden, catalogues say up to 20' tall and spread, but has been known to reach 30' One for Kate, Scottish wild rose And a general view of part of the gardens at Mottisfont, not just roses but foxgloves, dianthus, aquilegias and a load of other flowers.
