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The MOST Fragrant Roses EVER...

Whilst my garden grows and my nose leads me to more roses, I’ll be updating this. But as it stands, here’s my MOST FRAGRANT ROSES review (in no particular order.) Photos all taken from my own garden, no filters used.

MY TOP 10 MOST FRAGRANT ROSES

Fragrant Cloud - (Tantau, 1963) - A striking, poppy-red hybrid tea rose, with the strongest, fruitiest fragrance. She throbs with with the scent of sweet sun-drenched fruit-juice - even the bees love her sexy stamen. An oldie but still a goodie. She grows by my back door, so I keep smelling her every time I pass.

Diamond Wedding - (Meilland, 2002) - Known as ‘Jeanne Moreau’ in France after the actress. It’s the most prefect white bridal hybrid tea rose, that’s long lasting as a cut flower. Before it unfurls its 100+ pure white petals, I stick my nose into the central opening and I get the strongest lemon and spice notes.

Lady Emma Hamilton - (David Austin, 2005) - I’ve put 4 David Austin roses in my top 10 (I grow many more in my garden) and this might possibly be the strongest. From her chalice shaped orange blooms, comes with most mouth-watering, zesty, fruity fragrance with hints of pear, grape and citrus. She forms a nice neat shrub for the front of a border.

Munstead Wood - (David Austin, 2007) - If I could bottle this and use this as a fragrance, it would be my very favourite. Munstead Wood has one of the best fragrances. From its deeply cupped, dark crimson blooms, comes and old-rose fragrance, mixed with dark berries and spicy cloves. A perfumer’s dream. She’s very thorny, but every sultry beauty has her thorns.

Gertrude Jekyll - (David Austin, 1986) - Known as ‘the nation’s favourite rose’, she has her flaws. Firstly, she’s very thirsty (I water her double the amount than others) and she’s a reluctant re-bloomer. But she does smell amazing - a quintessential old-rose scent emanates from her large rosette blooms of the most perfectly luminous, bubblegum pink.

Harlow Carr - (David Austin, 2004) - A love or hate kind of rose. Those whom hate her, will moan about her small, short-lived, infrequent blooms, her multiple needle-like thorns and her poor cut-flower quality, but I love her. When she is in bloom, it’s dramatic, multiple and breathtaking. She has a strong, old-rose scent but it’s herbal, complex and almost nettle-like. She smells like strained nettle tea with rose buds. Her tiny 2”, shallow-cupped, button-face is the cutest. I ignored her negative press and discovered from her scent alone at a garden centre.

Madame Issac Peirre - (Garcon, 1841) - Bow down bitches, this is the grande dame of scented roses. Madame Issac Pierre is an aristocratic legend of bright magenta, with the right strength of old-rose scent to make your rose jam. One of my absolute favourites, to be revered but to be kept protected against black-spot.

Pink Perfection - (Kordes, 1999) - Known as ‘Beverly’ in Germany and the USA. I discovered her whilst visiting Borde Hill gardens in West Sussex, England, whom are proud of their “750 David Austin roses and 100 varieties filling the air with fragrance.” I made sure to smell them all, but I fell in love with a Kordes rose, who was wafting her exceptionally fruity scent from a demure corner and expecting not to be noticed. I knew I had to have her. She’s a glowing light pink hybrid tea, with very upright growth and is strongly scented with oranges, peaches, pears and plums.

Ebb Tide - (Tom Carruth, 2001) - A dark, deeply smoky purple floribunda with a strong, spicy clove/peppery fragrance. The blooms aren’t huge, but the old-fashioned petal formation looks like intricately folded origami. Its dept of colour, combined with such an alluring strength of scent makes it truly triumphant.

Ena Harkness - (Albert Norman, 1940) - I have a soft-spot for this rose. I may even go as far as choosing her as my very favourite. I admit she’s massively flawed - nodding heavy heads on a bent, crocked neck and very prone to black-spot, but I love her. Those huge, velvety, scarlet blooms, emit the perfect vintage rose scent with a little spicy clove. Her perfume is the richest and the most in-depth. She chose me actually. I was walking along the isles of a local nursery and she lured me over with her siren song scent. She’s the only rose to be so strong that she summons me. She’s done it before in another garden centre, I drift over to find it’s that seductress End Harkness, at it again. Like with any perfume buying, sometimes you just have to let your nose decide.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

(Not quite in the top league, but divinely scented. These mustn’t go unmentioned)

Golden Celebration - (David Austin, 1992) - Golden Celebration is a rich yellow rose that smells of tongue-sizzling lemon sherbet sweets and freshly baked lemon meringue pie. She smells zesty and bright but also smooth and calming. Her blooms are bursting with metaphoric sunshine-on-skin and happy summer holidays. Once she gets her space, she develops a tea based scent with wine and strawberries. She's similarly scented to The Poet's Wife but I think Golden Celebration packs much more of a fruity, sunshine-filled, citrus punch with a non-typical rose scent. She almost made my top 10.

Special Anniversary - (Edward Smith, 2003) - a glowing medium pink hybrid tea with a strong old-rose scent. Readily available in most garden centres, to smell her is to love her.

Louise Odier - (Margottin, 1851) - A lilac/pink rose with a strong old-rose scent. Who else from the 1800’s still smells this good?

The Mayflower - (David Austin, 2001) - She’s like the middle sister (in scent and bloom size) between Gertrude Jekyll (being the largest) and Harlow Carr (being small). She’s often over-looked, so take some time to smell the strong old-rose perfume of The Mayflower

Ispahan - (Unknown, 1832) - The first Damask rose to make the list. From the middle east, named after the city in Iran and frequently used to make perfume. You might recognise the name from being used in Dior’s ‘Oud Ispahan’. A perfumer’s must-have rose.

Proper Job - (Tantau , 2002) - Known as ‘Gospel’ in Germany, it’s a disease-free, healthier and less messy looking alternative to David Austin’s ‘Falstaff’. It has huge, heavy, full and quartered, richly crimson and velvety blooms, with a sweetly fruity, old-rose scent. An old-fashioned looking but modern hybrid tea rose.

Duke of Windsor - (Tantau, 1969) - A lesser known and often hard to source hybrid tea with the most perfect vermillion orange colour and the fruitiest scent. This rose has a much better reputation that its namesake. A perfect orange shade with a perfect scent.

MIDDLE LEAGUE

Strawberry Hill - (David Austin, 2006) The only myrrh dominant rose that I adore. It has a honey undertone which sweetens her and makes her smell like no other rose. She’s an already realised and expertly blended perfume. Top marks for fragrance uniqueness.

Etoile De Hollande - (Verschuren, 1879) - The upgraded scarlet sister of Ena Harkness, since she’s much more disease resistant. She’s currently growing up the front of my house and my rear fence, as she's adept at wall climbing. When it rains, she scents the air with Turkish Delight. This red rose inspired the perfumer Mona Di Orio to design a rose based scent in homage to Ena Harkness, marking her last perfume creation before her death. She had been re-exploring overused scents in perfumery to re-imagine them with a contemporary feel. Ena Harkness grew up the walls of Maison Sainte Blance in France, so captured the olfactory imagination of Mona di Orio. Not many roses can boast its very own bottled perfume, not since 'Ispahan' or Guerlain's 'Nahema'.

Emily Bronte - (David Austin, 2008) - She has the most neatly ruffled, flat, origami-like blooms, of soft apricot and cream, making her so charming. She looks she belongs on the blouse of an ornate Victorian lady. But her pretty scent isn’t strong enough for me.

The Generous Gardener - (David Austin, 2002) - The most healthy, with glossy leaves and waterlily-like flowers. It mixes old-rose, myrrh and musk. Just not as strongly scented as I’d like.

Desdemona - (David Austin, 2015) - A bit of a disappointment for me in the first year. Not as floriferous as everyone else's. The white chalice shaped blooms were small and shy. The fragrance wasn’t what I was expecting either, a subtle aquatic waft of almonds, lemon zest and cucumber.

Gabriel Oak - (David Austin, 2019) - Strangely thorny, with many petalled, rosette blooms of mulberry purple, she gets the highest rating of any rose on www.rightroses.com She retains her flowers for a very long time before dropping. But, her fragrance could be stronger.

Boscobel - (David Austin, 2012) - Not that strong, but has a very beautiful salmon pink rosette bloom. There’s myrrh in her fragrance but it’s not bad, since there’s hints of elderflower, pear and almond to liven her up.

Princess Alexandra of Kent - (David Austin, 2007) - Another rose whose scent gets better by year 3. Her almighty 5” blooms are huge, with a scent of tea, lemon and blackcurrant. My very first rose which started my obsession.

The Poet’s Wife - (David Austin, 2014) - A stunning yellow rose, with very soft-to-the-touch petals and a strong zesty fragrance of lemon sherbet.

Ferdinand Pichard - (Tanne, 1910) - A very unusually coloured, magenta and white striped rose, with a beautiful but only medium old-rose scent.

Eustacia Vye - (David Austin, 2019) - She’s the second highest rated rose on www.rightroses.com A pretty pale apricot pink, ruffled bloom but again, her fragrance could be stronger. She retains her flowers for so long.

DISSAPOINTMENTS

Madame Alfred Carriere - (Joseph Schwartz, 1875) - She’s a legend and does smell sweetly good, just not strong, maybe even mild. Plus her cream petals get blown all over the garden and gives me mess anxiety.

Scent From Heaven - (Chris Warner, 2012) - I feel great shame putting the official 2017 ‘Rose of the Year’ winner on my disappointment list. She really is a super healthy, disease-free shrub with glossy leaves and pretty soft, loose, apricot blooms (which sadly only last a few days), but the scent isn’t as strong as the name suggests. She’s currently climbing up my pergola, so I’ll update you in future years if her scent increases. Sometimes you have to give a rose 3 years until she matures from a shy perfume princess into a queen.

Diana Grafin - (Kordes, 2003) - A stunning deep-violet rose with almost black outer edges, part of Kordes ‘Parfuma’ range. I was so excited to have 2 of these in my garden, but it’s the only rose I can’t keep alive. One is completely dead, the other is clinging onto dear life. Such a shame, as I’m a good rose mummy and treat my roses like royalty. I don’t think she likes the U.K. soil, or has something against me maybe? She just doesn’t want my love.

Carolyn Knight - (David Austin, 2013) - You might love the very unique and strong scent of Caroline Knight, but to me she smells of very sweet vanilla custard. You might have noticed that I’m neither a myrrh nor a vanilla fan. Plus she doesn’t make a neat looking shrub.

Chandos Beauty - (Harkness 2005) - A hybrid tea with an amazing sweet, creamy, raspberry-vanilla scent. top marks for scent, but, the large floppy petals drop easily, so looks messy it’s constantly littering.

Twilight Zone - (Tom Carruth, 2009) - The most dramatic deepest burgundy blooms, but no where near as scented as the similar looking Ebb Tide.

ON MY FUTURE SEARCH LIST

Souvenir de Claudius Denoyel - (Chambard, 1920)