We were very fortunate to stay in the old cottage at the Heritage Garden, the highlight of our rose holiday, from the 28th to the 30th October 2014. It had been a long-held desire and it was every bit as wonderful as we had hoped. It was so exquisitely beautiful! All the Old roses were in full bloom- in fact, the very next weekend was the annual Open Day for the general public, the garden opening only one day a year on the first weekend in November and the proceeds going to charities like the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to visit the garden anymore – its days as a bed-and-breakfast, the open days and its use as a venue for weddings and photo shoots are all over and Walter and Kay can now enjoy a well-earned retirement after all their years of hard work!
So, in a way, this post is an ode to Walter, Kay and their wonderful rose garden! I just hope I can do them all justice!
Note: I have interspersed specific roses grown in his Heritage Garden throughout the text. First up, Damask roses Botzaris (1st photo) and Quatre Saisons (2nd photo).
Walter was born in Adelaide in 1939, though his family roots were the grazing property of Hughes Park, Watervale, South Australia, owned by his family since 1887 and now run by the sixth generation. He inherited his love of roses from his mother, Rose.
After learning to prune roses from Alex Ross in 1958, he joined the Rose Society of South Australia Inc in 1959. He began growing roses and exhibiting them at the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia (R.A.H.S.), an organization with which his family had a long association with five generations involved.
He started writing cultural notes for the Rose Society of South Australia in 1960, becoming the editor of the South Australian Rose Bulletin and serving on the committee of the Rose Society of South Australia Inc. from 1962 to 1974. He was Vice-President at three stages over 15 years from 1964 on, then President from 1972 to 1974, and has been an honorary life member of the society since 1978.
Here are photos of the bright yellow Species rose Rosa hemisphaerica and Gallica rose Sissinghurst Castle.
In 1976, he established a rose and cut flower nursery called ‘The Flower Garden’, later trading as ‘The Rose Garden’, based at Hughes Park and supplying thousands of bare-rooted roses and cut roses to nurseries and supermarkets all over Australia for 24 years. He retired from the nursery in 2000.
Also in 1976, he was elected to the Horticulture and Floriculture Committee of the R.A.H.S. and has served in a number of positions from Chairman (1985 to 1996; 1998 to 2007), Treasurer (2004) and Board Member (1994).
Here are photos of China roses: Viridiflora 1833 and Perle d’Or 1884.
He has won a number of awards for his exhibits, including the Banksian Medal twice from the Royal Horticultural Society, United Kingdom, and five Grand Champions.
Below are photos of Tea Roses: Devoniensis 1838; Rosette Delizy 1922; and Francis Dubreuil 1894.
Walter has written numerous articles, including their culture, cultivars and propagation, some of which can be read at : http://sarose.org.au/growing-roses/cultural-notes . He was also a co-author of Botanica’s Roses. He has also delivered many speeches about roses and was a Lecturer at the 2008 Rose Conference, Adelaide.
These photos are of the beautiful Kordes rose, Fritz Nobis 1940.
He has been actively involved in the development of many prominent rose gardens in South Australia, including the old rose section of the Adelaide International Rose Garden and the modern rose garden at Carrick Hill.
In 1999, he attended the International Rose Conference in Lyon, France, where he met Jean-Pierre Guillot and became the Australian agent for his new breed of roses called ‘Rosa Generosa’. He also bought a 9 Ha (22 acre) block of land at Sevenhill as a retirement property, but more about that later!
This stunning Guillot rose is called Sonia Rykiel 1991.
Walter is a highly respected rosarian, both here in Australia and internationally. He was Winner of the Australian Rose Award in 2007 and the TA Stewart Memorial Award and Distinguished Service Award from the Heritage Rose Society in 2008.
In 2009, he was given the World Rose Award (Bronze Medal) by the World Federation of Rose Societies. Finally, for all his services to the rose industry, the show and his charity donations from his open days, he received an Australia Day Mayoral Award from the Clare and Gilbert Mayor in 2014.
The unusual roses below are Hybrid Teas: White Wings 1947 and Ellen Willmott 1935. Both have Dainty Bess, a light pink Hybrid Tea with similar stamens as a parent.
Hughes Park
712 Hughes Park Rd. 2 km from Watervale in the Clare Valley and 100 km North of Adelaide
PO Box 28, Watervale 5452
Phone: (08) 8843 0130
Hughes Park has been a Duncan family property for six generations. The original part of the homestead was built between 1867 and 1873 for Sir Walter Watson Hughes, a co-founder of Adelaide University. When he died in 1887, he left Hughes Park to his nephew, Walter’s great-grandfather, Sir John James Duncan (1845-1913), who built a further section on the front of the homestead in 1890. The homestead complex also included a dairy, blacksmithy, stables, a petrol house, coach house, offices, workmen’s cottages, maids’ quarters and a manager’s house.
The two-storey honey coloured sandstone homestead has a very old Noisette rose, Cloth of Gold 1843, growing along the front verandah. It is over 100 years old, being one of the earliest yellow roses in Europe, and flowers early with the tall bearded iris, repeating in Autumn. While this photo was not taken at Hughes Park, I have included it as it is a photo of Cloth of Gold.
Walter had his nursery and rose display garden at Hughes Park for many years and featured in many magazine articles, as well as Susan Irvine’s book ‘Rose Gardens of Australia’.
The display garden was situated below the old homestead and sheltered on one side by two enormous Ash trees, originally planted by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and on the other side by huge century-old olive trees, through which an old Rosa laevigata clambers, its creamy white single fragrant flowers (in early Spring) contrasting beautifully against the blue-grey foliage of the olive trees.
The display garden was divided into quarters by North-South and East-West pathways, over which there are 20 decorative metal arches, 5 metres apart, supporting a Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison 1843 on either side. Walter fell in love with this rose, which was painted extensively by Hans and Nora Heysen and planted at their garden at The Cedars, Hahndorf.
On either side of the paths were rose-filled borders, under-planted with self-seeding plants, including forget-me-knots; white honesty; poppies; foxgloves; violets; hellebores; blood lilies; and tall bearded iris, with climbers espaliered on tall fences at the back. Here is a photo of that beautiful romantic Bourbon rose: Souvenir de la Malmaison.
Beyond the display garden were extensive nursery beds in open paddocks. Walter sold over 100 000 roses each year. He used Dr. Huey 1915, a vigorous thornless rose which grows easily from cuttings, as his understock and flew his budder out from England every year. Walter ran his nursery from 1976 to 2000.
After he left Hughes Park, the homestead was empty for 10 years, before being renovated by his nephew, Andrew Duncan, and his wife Alice. They opened the two-bedroom 1845 cottage as a bed-and-breakfast in April 2009.
I fell in love with the next rose below – a Hybrid Tea and Alister Clark rose, Cicely Lascelles 1932, a rose which was new to me, but has a future place in my garden!
The Heritage Garden 136 km North of Adelaide (1.75 hours drive)
LOT 100 Gillentown Rd or 12 McCord Lane
Sevenhill SA 5453
Postal address: PO Box 478 Clare 5453
Phone: (08) 88434022; or Kay’s mobile phone: 0418837430
http://theheritagegarden.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/theheritagegarden/
When Walter and Kay bought the 9 ha property back in 1999, it was just a bare paddock with a rundown 140 year old cottage, originally owned by Agnes, Polly and Jack McCord, who had an orchard and a reputation for growing the best chrysanthemums in the Clare Valley.
When his childhood home in Greenhill Rd., Eastwood, was to be demolished in the late 1990s, Walter salvaged all the materials, including 1 1/8 inch Baltic pine floorboards, bricks and blue stone, cast iron, windows and doors, transporting it all and storing it in old sheds on his new property.
He designed a house, similar in style to the old place, but adapted to modern style living with a large open-plan kitchen and family room at the back of the house.
The decorative cast-iron verandah railings are swagged in Mme Grégoire Staechlin 1927 (also known as Spanish Beauty) and the stone walls are covered in ivy, connecting the house with the garden.
Other walls are covered with a Chinese Wisteria Wisteria sinensis, Mme Alfred Carrière 1875 and Lamarque 1830 , under-planted with erigeron, forget-me-knots and aquilegia, and Bonica 1982 and the Edna Walling Rose 1940.
Once they had built the house, they turned their attention to the old sandstone cottage, converting it to bed-and-breakfast accommodation by 2002.
It has two living areas, a wood fire and a cosy bedroom.
Kay is a keen quilter, so her beautiful quilts can be seen in every room.
We stayed three nights for the price of two, a very generous offer, especially given the provision of a full breakfast, a complimentary bottle of Clare Valley wine, and port and European chocolates, as well as wonderful vases of fresh roses from the garden!
Breakfasts was eaten out on the front patio near the old chimney ruin, covered with R. brunonii.
The cottage walls are covered with Noisette roses Céline Forestier 1842 (1st photo) and Crépuscule 1904 (2nd and 3rd photo).
The fence is covered with a huge yellow Banksia Rose, which blocks the southern wind and there are two arches of Phyllis Bide 1923 at the entrance to the cottage on McCord Lane.
They also built a romantic summerhouse for use by guests, with three full-length recycled French doors opening out onto shady green lawns,
and colourful garden beds, full of roses, perennials and annuals: the garden to the left of the garden entrance from McCords Lane with its rugosas; 
The garden to the right with its golden Kordes Shrub Rose, Maigold 1953;
And the riot of colour in the garden bed at the back of the main house.
Walter and Kay designed a 2 ha (6 acres) English-style garden with a backdrop of the Australian bush.
In 2012, Catherine O’Neill painted a watercolour plan of the garden, showing the main sections of the garden.
Walter and Kay used the existing trees as a starting point: a 70 to 80 year old walnut tree; and gnarled old plum and fig trees.
They planted a quick-growing row of poplars, which are now 40 feet high and provide shelter from the north, as well as birches and prunus.
At the side of the property, they planted a quince orchard (Smyrna Quinces) with 200 trees, the fruit used by Maggie Beer for her famous quince paste. I loved the statue at the end of the quince orchard.
A crab apple walk of Malus ‘John Downie’, with its cream Spring flowers and orange to red Autumn fruit, leads to the rear of the garden, where Walter has his French-bred Guillot rose collection.
These hardy, drought-tolerant free-flowering, fragrant, pastel roses have an even growth habit and look a bit like David Austin roses. They include Sonia Rykiel 1991; Paul Bocuse 1992 (photo below); William Christie, bred before 1998; and Gene Tierney, bred before 2006. Knight’s Roses are now the agent. See: http://knightsroses.worldsecuresystems.com/guilliot.htm#.WQAqa9zafIU.
Behind the Guillot rose patch is a vegetable garden and a contemplative area with a gravel courtyard, wellhead, candle pines and a claret ash.
However, it is the front of the house, which is the highlight, with a 200 foot long archway, transferred from Hughes Park, extending from the front gate to a wedding pavilion near the house.
The 22 arches are spaced 4 metres apart and support Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison.
The arch is narrowed in the middle by two urns, giving the tunnel an illusion of increased length.
It is such a romantic beautiful sight in full bloom!
On one side of the fragrant avenue are deep beds of Tea Roses including : Nestor; Maman Cochet 1892; Triumph de Guillot Fils 1861; and Monsieur Tillier 1891.
Walter has over 2000 roses, including Species Roses; Rugosas; Gallicas; Albas; Damasks; Centifolias; Bourbons like Mme Isaac Pereire 1881; Teas; Noisettes and David Austin Roses like Golden Celebration (2nd photo).
They are planted on arbours, arches, along swags and up pillars and under-planted with foxgloves; delphiniums; erigeron; forget-me-knots; iris and poppies to create a total picture.
Climbing Lorraine Lee 1924 is one of the first roses to flower in Spring, then continues right into Winter.
The Mutabilis 1894 against the house is enormous!
The scent from Rugosa, Mme Lauriol de Barny 1868, is superb!
In Winter, Walter prunes over 200 roses from the third week of July to early August. He fertilizes them twice a year with Sudden Impact, just after pruning and at the end of February of early March for an Autumn flush.
The grass parrots used to nip the new rosebuds, but he has deterred them by an ingenious, safe and effective arrangement of fishing lines.
The dry hot Summers of South Australia are ideal for roses, but necessitates lots of watering and vigilance against bush fire risk.
Other garden features include a bridge over the creek; an aviary and chookhouse; a fountain on the front lawn; topiaried trees and statues, providing focal points.
The Heritage Garden was the 2004 winner of the Most Outstanding Garden in the Clare Valley in the New Tourism category. We feel very privileged to have been able to stay there and enjoy the garden on our own for three full days!
Here is a photo of Hybrid Musk, Autumn Delight 1933, a rose which I have since planted in our Candelo garden.
For more photos and information, including an audio tape and television interview by Sophie Thomson on Gardening Australia (Series 28 Episode 6; from the 10:33 to 17:24 part of the 27:30 long program) with Walter Duncan, see the following links:
http://www.gardenclinic.com.au/how-to-grow-article/rose-by-rail?pid=44213
http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/gardening-australia/FA1605V006S00.
I will finish this segment with a photo of Large-Flowered Climber Blossomtime 1951.
If you are in the area, it is also worth exploring the local countryside with its rustic architecture and heritage villages, like Farrell Flat, Burra and Mintaro (photos below), 
as well as a number of wineries like Skillogalee Winery, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch. (https://www.skillogalee.com.au/). It certainly was a wonderful end to our fabulous rose holiday in Clare!
The next three posts will be covering some of our favourite history books in our library, starting with archaeology and anthropology, followed by the prehistory of Australia and finishing with some general history books.
Reader’s Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1976
We have enjoyed all our travels, but my least favourite destination was probably King Ash Bay, near Borroloola, Northern Territory, on the Gulf of Carpentaria! We stumbled upon this outback fishing village by chance, but for such a remote location, it was a bit too suburban and populated for us, with all the vans camped cheek by jowl like sardines and even street names like Sunset Boulevard! It may have been good if you were a fisherman with your own boat and could get away to your own space, but as tent campers, who value their independence and love quiet spots and natural history, we were definitely out of place!
The Wow factor came, the higher we ascended the walk, with the slow reveal of the back of the Pic Midi d’Ossau, which increasingly resembled the map of our own home country! And the other Wow was the fact that our 4.5 year old daughter Caroline managed the entire 11 km walk on her own without having to be carried once!
F: Favourite mode of transportation :
These days, it’s my own two feet! We love bushwalking and exploring our beautiful National Parks! Here I am climbing Cooks’ Look at Lizard Island.
H: Hottest place you’ve travelled to :
J: Journey that took the longest :
Originally, the plan was to visit Iron Range National Park, a mecca for ornithologists and butterfly lovers like ourselves, but our youngest daughter (photo below), who had just finished her schooling, decided to join us, so we went right up to the tip of Cape York.
We had some amazing experiences from searching for (and finding) the endangered Golden-Shouldered Parrots, as well as Eclectus Parrots and Tree Kangaroos in Cape York and Gouldian Finches at Mornington, an Australian Wildlife Conservancy property on the Gibb River Road, to viewing ancient aboriginal rock art in Laura, Cape York, Kakadu National Park, Victoria River, Mitchell Falls and Wandjina Gorge and 30 000 years old engravings on the Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia.
We fed dolphins at Monkey Mia; had my first scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef (above) and snorkelled on Lizard Island and Ningaloo Reef; climbed every mountain in sight; visited friends and family at the Daintree River, Herberton and Perth; and photographed Spring wildflowers in WA; as well as having the odd luxury of spending a few civilised nights in lovely old cottages in Denmark and Hahndorf and crossing the Nullabor in the Indian Pacific. No wonder we looked so relaxed in this photo taken at Mission Beach, with Dunk Island in the background!
K: Keepsake from your travels :
In the photo below, I was so keen to photograph an ant plant, that I actually stepped on a small snake with my thongs! Needless to say, I got such a fright that I wore shoes from then on!
The architect has had a lot of fun with levels and completely destroyed my already-compromised sense of balance and equilibrium, after spending the previous night on a sailing boat on Milford Sound! In the photo below, Ross is standing upright, but appears to be leaning forward, due to the clever manipulation of angles and perspective.
Puffins are such cute birds and so trusting! It is amazing to be so close to them!
Even though the cost was exorbitant and the journey quite scary at times, as there were no doors, I was sitting right at the edge of my seat (with 3 adults sharing the back seat!) and we flew so low, I had to constantly resist the temptation to jump out (!), it was an amazing experience and we are so pleased we did it!
T: Touristy thing
U: Unforgettable travel memory :
We climbed Mt Gower on the actual day and called Providence Petrels out of the sky to land with a thud at our feet, to be picked up and cuddled- unforgettable!
It certainly is a wonderful place, if like us, you love bushwalking and natural history. For more about our amazing experiences, see: 
Y: Years spent travelling:
Autumn vies with Spring in my affections. The weather is much more stable, though is tempered by the knowledge of the impending Winter, only to be assuaged by the parade of brilliant deciduous colour, as each tree prepares for its Winter dormancy.
The verandah is such a vantage point, the backdrop changing daily.
The zinnias and dahlias lasted well into late May, having been touched up by a few early frosts, and Ross has finally put them to bed with a good layer of protective mulch.
The roses have taken centre stage again with a wonderful Autumn flush. These photos were all taken this Autumn. I have organised them into their separate beds:
We have just dug up either side of the shed garden path, so the shed roses are now in garden beds and we planted out many of the potted cuttings, which we took from my sister’s garden at Glenrock. All are doing well!
We also made two arches out of old gate weld mesh, one leading into the future chook yard and supporting Cornelia (photo 2) and Sombreuil (photo 3);
and the other on the corner of the shed, with Reve d’Or (photo 3) and Alister Stella Grey (photo 4) either side.
Ross defined the edges of the vegetable beds with old recycled fence palings and planted out young vegetable seedlings, which he then mulched. We are really enjoying their Winter crop in our salads at lunchtime.
From front to back in the photos below: red and green mignonette lettuce; spring onions; broccoli; spinach; cos lettuce and kale. 
We harvested the pumpkins, which again engulfed the compost heap, zinnia bed and maple tree, as well as the last of the tomatoes, making 3 bottles of green tomato chutney.
We also have plenty of late Autumn fruit, now that the bats have gone, though I suspect our citrus is fairly safe anyway! Unfortunately, the figs did not ripen in time, but the Golden Hornet crabapples have lasted well on the tree.
All the new citrus are growing madly and bearing fruit – the lime (photo 1) has a particularly fine crop and the lemonade (photo 2) is also bearing well.
The cumquats have been an absolute picture, both in full blossom and fruit.
We picked 6 Kg of fruit to make into cumquat marmalade and there was still fruit left!
The loquat trees were in full bloom for weeks,
attracting huge noisy parties of rainbow lorikeets,
which then went on to eat the Duranta berries, along with the Crimson Rosellas
and huge flocks of King Parrots.
Up until early May, we had even larger flocks of screeching Little Corellas in the thousands, gathering in the trees, recently vacated by the bats,
then flying off en masse right on dark to their roosting trees to the north,
occasionally accompanied by the odd Galah!
We have enjoyed flyovers by the local Gang-Gangs (photos below) and Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos. We even had a rare flypass by a Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, en route to the local mountain forests. 
Other exciting glimpses included three Dollar Birds (photos 1 and 2) and a Figbird (photo 3), both Summer migrants, normally found further north.
Other larger birds in our garden at the moment include very quiet Australian Magpies (photo 6), a pair of courting Australian Ravens (photo 2), a Grey Butcherbird (photo 3), Pied Currawongs (photo 5), Spotted Turtle Doves (photo 4) and our Blackbirds (photo 1), which have been on holiday and have just returned.
And our littlies: the Eastern Spinebills (photos 1 and 2), Silvereyes (photo 3) and Double-barred Finches (photo 4).
all of whom do a stirling job keeping the bugs in check.
We found this delightful Grey Fantail nest in our old camellia tree at the front door.
The slightly cooler weather has been wonderful for pursuing creative tasks from cooking to sewing, embroidery and paper crafts. I made my son a delicious carrot cake, using a recipe from 
and hot cross buns for Easter Friday, using a recipe from 
My friend Heather, who visited us during the Candelo Arts Festival and is the Melbourne agent for Saori (
I gave my friends Rae, Brooklin and Kirsten, a hand embroidery lesson, inspiring Rae’s wonderful exhibit. I was so impressed!
I made embroidery rolls for their birthdays,
as well as a pair of felt appliqué cushions for my sister’s bed.
And another decoupage floral card and a paper owl, assembled from a German kit, which was given to me by my daughter in Berlin.
And finally, there were the bouquets from the garden! Masses of colourful zinnias…
and bright dahlias;
Scented roses;
And wonderful mixtures of colourful blooms!
How I love arranging flowers!
And finally, we had some wonderful days out, exploring new spots and revisiting old haunts. The Bendethera day in March was rather inclement and while we could not reach our final destination due to the amount of water in the final creek, we did ascertain that our vehicle could manage the 4WD tracks for a future camping trip and despite the rain and constant cloud, it was still a lovely day out.
We had much better April weather for our Monaro drive to Delegate, Jindabyne (including the wonderful Wildbrumby Scnapps Distillery in photo 2) and Thredbo (the Kosciuszko chair lift in photo 3) and discovered a wonderful birdwatching and trout fishing venue, Black Lake, near Cathcart, on our way home (photo 5), where we saw six elegant Black-Winged Stilts (photo 6).
We introduced friends to Bay Cliff and Greenglades (also see: 
and Aragunnu (also see: 
as well as revisiting Nunnock Swamp and Alexander’s Hut (also see: 
And we went canoeing on Back Lake at Merimbula, where we photographed a beautiful Azure Kingfisher, as well as a teenage cygnet and white egrets.
We are so lucky to have such easy access to these beautiful unspoilt natural areas! Next week, I am returning to our dreamy roses!
While we were there in early Summer and we also have seen my daughter’s photographs of Giverny in Spring with the tulips in full bloom, it is wonderful to be able to see photographs of the garden in other seasons as well. The photos in this book are absolutely stunning and well do justice to Monet’s vision! Here is our photo of the Summer roses in full bloom in 1994:
Incidentally, Vivian Russell also directed Peter Beales’ romantic video ‘A Celebration of Old Roses’, which I discussed in my post on Favourite Rose Books (
The book chronicles the whole restoration project from the rediscovery of the gardens in 1990 to the restoration of the Italian Garden (1991) and the Northern Summerhouse (1992) and the opening of the garden in Easter 1992. Here are some of our 1994 photos:
This was followed by the redevelopment of the Ravine (old Alpine Garden); Flora’s Green, containing many hybrid rhododendrons of the Hooker collection; the New Zealand garden (1st photo above); the crystal-lined Grotto; the Jungle and its lake (2nd and 3rd photo above); the Walled Vegetable Garden with its straw bee skeps in hollows in the wall (1st photo below) and heated greenhouses (2nd and 3rd photos); and the Melon Garden, all by our visit in 1994.
Since then, the Flower Garden and Sundial garden have come into their own and the Lost Valley and its Water Meadow have been restored. I can see we will have to pay a second visit, but in the mean time, we can watch one of the many videos about this highly popular garden in Britain!
Virginia Woolf’s Garden: The Story of the Garden at Monk’s House by Caroline Zoob 2013
Here is a link to the garden pages of the Charleston official website: 
R. x centifolia, also known as the 100-petalled Rose or the Cabbage Rose, was once thought to be a species, but DNA studies have revealed that it is a complex hybrid, whose genetic background includes genes of R. gallica; R. phoenicia; R. moschata; R. canina and R. damascena. It first appeared in the late 16th century and over 200 varieties (including the mosses) were bred in the period between 1600 and 1800, only 22 varieties of Centifolias now commonly available. 
They were much featured in Dutch and Flemish still-life paintings of the time (
It is also the rose featured in Victorian wallpapers, textiles, curtains, chintz sofas and tapestry bags. The first photo is a decorative paper, based on a textile printing pattern from the 1880s to the 1920s. 
Its commercial production in Morocco and France to produce rose oil for the perfumery industry, especially in the area around Grasse, has given it its final name, the Provence Rose. There is even a special annual Rose Festival for Centifolia roses in Grasse. See: 
Centifolias have produced a number of different variants or sports (mutations), including Moss Roses; dwarf Centifolias and striped and spotted varieties of Centifolias. In R. x centifolia muscosa, a mutation of the glands has produced a thick covering of green or reddish-brown , resinous hairs (moss) on the stems, buds and sepals. The moss covering is very sticky and balsam-scented. This unusual feature made them very popular with Victorian gardeners, who loved anything different or exotic. Victorian catalogues listed 30 to 40 varieties of Moss Roses. More later…
Centifolias are extremely hardy and require little pruning, except the removal of very old wood after flowering. They can be shortened by 1/3 growth in late Winter. They like full sun and plenty of space and air circulation to prevent mildew and black spot. There are some dwarf hybrids, which are more dense and upright, with smaller leaves and flowers.
Fantin Latour: Named after the French artist and well known rose painter, Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904), this rose has an unknown lineage. It is a well-formed shrub, 1.5 metres tall and 1.2 metres wide, with almost smooth, arching canes and smoother, rounder, dark green leaves. It grows well in a bed or border and has a relatively short blooming period in late Spring. On either side of the entrance arch to our harp-shaped herb garden in Armidale, we grew two specimens, from which we took cuttings for our new Candelo garden, where it is growing on the shed fence next to Bourbon rose, Mme Isaac Pereire.
It produces large clusters of very double, cupped, delicately-fragrant, pale blush pink blooms, 5 to 7.6 cm wide, which flatten out with a swirl of petals and a button eye. It is very hardy with moderate disease-resistance.
Sports of the Centifolia roses include :
Mme Louis Lévêque is a small upright shrub 1.2 metres tall and 90 cm wide, with long, pointed, bright green leaves and bright pink mossy buds, which open to 10 cm large, soft warm pink, full cupped, silky flowers, which fade to a lighter pink. There is some repeat flowering later in the season. Unfortunately, the buds ball (do not open) in wet weather.
Identical to R. centifolia, except for the mossy growth on the sepals, it is a tidy medium shrub 1.5 metres tall and 1.2 metres wide, which blooms only once in Summer, but over an extended period, lasting several weeks. The heavily mossed, feathery looking buds have extended calyces, giving them the appearance of Napoléon’s cocked tricorn hat, hence its name.
The buds open to fully double deep silvery pink, highly fragrant cabbage like blooms. It is moderately vigorous and disease-resistant, but may require some support.
With the introduction of China Roses from the East to Europe, rose breeding started in earnest and there was literally an explosion in the number of different rose varieties available to the Victorian gardener. Next month, we will look at China Roses in detail and the reason they caused such excitement and made such an impact in the Western world.
Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations by Ken Druse and Ellen Hoverkamp 2012
The Language of Flowers: a Novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh 2011
Seasons at Home: Food, Family, Friends and Style by Holly Kerr Forsyth 2011
A Photographic Garden History by Roger Phillips and Nicky Foy 1995
