Centifolia. A chance seedling classed as a Centifolia but some say it is a modern hybrid. No matter the heritage it is a truly beautiful rose with pink quartered blooms that have a strong sweet fragrance. The blooms appear in large clusters for a long period but do not repeat thereafter. C1940.

Hybrid Perpetual. This rose would have to be one of the nicest striped varieties with semi-double blooms of pink and crimson. The blooms appear from mid-summer through to autumn and are nicely fragrant. Light green foliage, vigorous and upright. France 1921.

Hybrid Musk, Shrub. Medium, semi-double, apricot blooms in large clusters with an open bloom form. Mild, tea fragrance. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Bred by Rev. Joseph Hardwick Pemberton (UK, 1922). Very disease resistant.

Tea. A delicious old rose with long pointed buds that open to reveal fragrant, dark, velvety crimson red blooms that repeat throughout the season. Nice dark green foliage. Named after the French breeder who gave up being a tailor to breed roses. Good choice Francis. 1894.

Rugosa. A robust Rugosa with large, heavy petalled, double, purplish-red flowers with mauve highlights. Beautiful strong clove fragrance. This rose has beautiful red hips that form after the flowers have finished in late summer-autumn. Vigorous, hardy and easy to grow. From the Netherlands. 1905.

Bourbon. The slender canes of this lovely old fashioned rose are long and willow-like. The rose pink blooms are medium sized, perfectly cupped and fabulously fragrant. Repeats well from summer to autumn if treated kindly. From France 1872. Sometimes called 'The Shell Rose'.

Tea. Consistently popular world wide since its introduction in 1910. The Lady has long, copper-apricot buds that open to large, loose, double blooms of warm yellow. The stems and foliage have tones of purple-bronze which complement the blooms nicely. A heady, fruity fragrance is an added bonus.

Named after Lady Hillingdon the wife of Baron Hillingdon of Hillingdon Court, Uxbridge where the breeder of this rose, Lowe and Shawyer had a nursery.

China. Rich, deep black-red, semi-double flowers with pronounced golden stamens and a nice fragrance appear more or less continuously throughout the summer. A medium sized bush with few thorns. Nice glossy foliage. France 1859.

Bourbon. The petals of this lovely rose are perfectly arranged to form very large blooms that are double and shaded a rich rose pink. An exquisite fragrance delights the nose, the relatively thorn free stems delight the gardener. Tall, vigorous and will bloom generously throughout the season. 1851.

Moss. Beautiful double, fragrant blooms of rich pink with a hint of purple and grey. Very free-flowering throughout summer. Nice dark foliage, the light 'mossing' is also dark green. Best lightly pruned immediately after flowering. From France, 1853.

Named for a young general in Napoleon's army - Louis-Nicolas Davout - who remained loyal to the very end.