Ahh, dear old Gertie!

Yes, I do have a favourite rose.

The problem is trying to seperate the most beautiful-looking from the most scented from the combination of the two.

As a great advocate of Compromise: - I nominate....

Sharifa Asma - A David Austin rose.

My fav one is Queen Elizabeth ... the buds are a lovely shape, the open flowers are beautiful, it's got a wonderful scent. It also seems to flower for a long period, and there's a climbing veriety aswell.
I haven't got one in my garden yet, but it is on my wish list.

Rhapsody in Blue or Rosa "carpet" series

As you say its hard ,but for scent it would be Gertie but she's so vicious with lethal thorns and such a messy grower .Mine would be David Austens Mortimer Sackler a climber....scented ,almost thornless ,totally healthy and flowers from May till christmas :-)

i have about 30 different roses mostly either FL or HT, I have some climbers too, but the best rose I have is a cutting I took a number of years ago. It's a moss. William lobb, It justs takes care of itself really, except for the deadheading, I do nowt else to it. It's growing up through an Azalea Lutea. All the others are too fussy, pruning deadheading treating for this disease and coping with that pest. I'm thinking of replacing all the roses with some shrubs, moss and any other less fussy rose.

I am really interested to hear you say the Queen Elizabeth has a beautiful scent, Hywel. I have several, and agree that it's a lovely rose, but it has never produced any scent, even though the catalogue described it as scented. I love Compassion for its beautiful scent, and Cecile Brunner for its lovely little buds. I don't think I could choose a single rose as my favourite - I love Blessings, as well.

Yes I do. It is SHEILA'S PERFUME.
I used to have a small rose garden of some 250 roses of different varieties all packed in my small garden 22 years ago. The only survivals are the 2 Sheila's Perfume bush roses which are still thriving. They are very healthy and bear beautiful strong scented flowers. I now have some 30 roses many of them new varieties including 2 David Austin's, but none of them can beat my old favour Sheila's Perfume.

Mine is Rose 'Whiskey Mac' hybrid tea, rich gold and amber, very scented 9-10, continuous flowerer, with large double blooms, thorny and does not tolerate shade well, not very disease resistant but I first grew it in 1978/80 and I love it
There is only one rose I hate and that is 'Blue Moon' it was everywhere in the late 70's and eighties rather like Leylandii and Heathers were!

Agree with you about Blue Moon, Drc! It caused such a stir at the time!

I like my rose Essex. It blooms well, it seems rust and black spot proof. It tolerates being sheered like privet to keep it from going too boisterous. Each indivdual flower is a small single rose. En masse they show off really well.

I love my Pierre de Ronsard (sorry to go on about it) - perfect romantic colouring, healthy and vigorous, with a slight but delicious perfume.

Actually on second thoughts, I don't mind any rose, scented or not, But I have just noticed one I bought last year that has just flowered is Yellow, That's for the bin then!

I would love to be able to see them all as each one sounds just delightful. Blue Moon never appealed to me either but most roses give so much pleasure. Many thanks for such a scented and colourful collection - I want them ALL!!!

Dorothy Perkins! A memory from childhood when my Dad's DP rose covered next door's fence with hundreds of small blossoms.

We had her growing all along the balcony outside the french windows - such memories! DP did succumb a bit to blight, though - can you even buy her any more?

It is lovely when a flower can bring back such a nice memory of childhood.
x

Never seen it here Gattina, nor in GCs when we've travelled back to Blighty. I know Hywell has had one in his lovely garden for years, but I don't know if they are still commercially available.

I know there is another little pink rambler that looks very similar, but isn't called DP. I used to make miniature gardens with seedboxes and mud and moss, and litle stones to make the paths and get the tiniest buds I could find off the DP bush to make the rose beds. Ah, Happy Days! I must have been about 7 years old.

Did you also try to make 'scent' with rose petals in water? The resulting stench might have attracted flies, but it never did much for the backs of my ears! ;o)

Oh Goodness, yes! Unnameable messes in jamjars. I even tried "varnishing" toadstools with the gum that came out of the plum tree trunks, in the hope that fairies might make homes in them if they were waterproof. (Not a very realistic child)

But a very imaginative and pro-active one, Gattina!

More like loopy, actually, but thanks for the positive take on it, Mel. :o)

:)))

I'm in love with the David Austin roses, particularly Abraham Darby, Graham Thomas. (Who am I kidding ? How could there be 1 favorite ?). Many times I have planted 2 different colored roses together - They grow up together & give twice the pleasure !

Generally a favourite rose is one you have grown or now grow in your garden. I saw the Gentle Hermione rose from David Austin at the GC and baulked at the price. Pretty and deliciously scented too. Then there were nice remarks about it on GOY. I Google imaged it and was entranced. Decided I would find a space for it. Looked at many many GCs. It had vanished off the display benches.......no more Gentle Hermione. A favourite rose I have never owned.....not listed by David Austin web site. Perhaps Gentle Hermione is too thorny. Or gets rust and mildew too easily, or discolours in the rain. Or just moved aside in favour of more muscular names like Titchmarsh and other gardeners........ even good pld Gertie?