Celebrating the English Rose

The-Shrub-Rose-Garden-in-summer-at-RHS-Garden-Rosemoor_-credit-RHS-and-Jason-Ingram

Just take a stroll this weekend around Instagram and you will see a plethora of roses blooming in gardens here and abroad. If you are a flower and gardening aficionado and happened to be traveling to England in the next five weeks, you might want to add the Rose Festival at the RHS Garden Rosemoor, which opens tomorrow, to your agenda. With over 2,000 roses in over 200 varieties, their collection is the largest in the UK, a country not lacking in the beautiful blooms.

The-Shrub-Rose-Garden-in-summer-at-RHS-Garden-Rosemoor_-credit-RHS-and-Jason-Ingramphoto RHS / Jason Ingram

Nestled in a Devon valley, Rosemoor Garden, one of the Royal Horticulture Society’s properties, will be celebrating the beauty and diversity of the English rose with a variety of activities. Events include special late evenings (to enjoy the night scents) with live music,  floral arranging demonstrations, lectures by RHS horiculturists, a floral themed craft market and more.

The-Queen-Mothers-Rose-Garden-in-summer-at-RHS-Garden-Rosemoor_-credit-RHS-and-Jim-Wilemanphoto: RHS Jim Wileman

There will also be a Rose Trail, taking visitors on a historic and scented tour through the garden, from the Queen Mother’s Rose Garden, above, to the Long Borders, below, and the Cottage Garden. Rosemoor’s Garden Kitchen will feature a Rose themed menu, from rose meringues, to rose infused tea to rose and raspberry cakes.

The Long Border at RosemoorNew for 2018 is the planting of Rosa Pax, the peace rose, as a centennial celebration of the end of World War I. The hybrid musk rose was originally launched in 1918 to commemorate the end of the war.

Rosa-Pax-English rose at Rosemoor GardenAnd if you want to continue celebrating the English Rose, the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, from July 3 – 7, will reveal this year’s Rose of the Year – the Rosa -Starlight Symphony, above. A pure white climbing rose, it has outstanding disease-resistance with repeat flowering and pollinator-friendly blooms.

rose-of-the-year-at the Hampton Court Palace Flower ShowYou will also be able to view two new roses – Rosa “Sarah Elizabeth”, bred by Mike Athy of New Zealand, below,

rosa-sarah-elizabeth at Hampton Court Palace Flower Showand the “Eirene” Memorial Rose, bred by Rosen Tantau in Germany, below, also commemorating the end of the First World War.

Eirene-rose at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

5 thoughts on “Celebrating the English Rose

  1. That allée is exactly what I want in my garden. Thanks–I’m going to show the photo to the garden center.
    Just south of where I live (Carcassonne, in the south of France), is the village of Camon, which is known as “little Carcassonne” and also as the village of 100 rose bushes. That’s almost one per person…

  2. Even the “wild roadside” roses are claiming notice. Their fragrance reminds me of my youth walking to “country school.” franki

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