Rose of the Month

April – Olivia Rose Austin

This month we feature one of the new David Austin roses making their way onto the New Zealand market this winter and one named for a member of the Austin family. ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ is named for the granddaughter of David Austin Senior who passed away at the end of last year. It features cupped rosettes of mid pink that are produced throughout the growing season. There is a light to medium fruity scent to the blooms which are shown off … [Read more...]

March – Feeling Better

Over the coming months, we’ll be profiling some of the newer roses coming onto the market in winter 2019 and this month’s rose is one named for a good cause. ‘Feeling Better’ has been bred by Rob Somerfield and is a follow up to his successful ‘Looking Good’, both of which have been named for the Look Good, Feel Better Foundation to highlight their fantastic work done with post-cancer treatment. The blooms are soft cream with a thin … [Read more...]

February – AMORE® Perfumed Kiss

February is of course the month of Valentine’s Day (14th for those of you who need reminding) and this month’s rose while not red, does have a romantic name that will appeal. ‘Amore® Perfumed Kiss’ is an appealing shade of lavender brushed with plum. The blooms are well-formed and have the most powerful fragrance you could wish for in a rose. Lovers of fragrant roses take note; this is another to add to your garden. A medium growing, very … [Read more...]

January – Graham Thomas

This month in tribute to David Austin who passed away aged 92 in December, we feature, without doubt, the most well-known of all the many fine roses he has bred and graced the gardens of rose lovers around the world. ‘Graham Thomas’ is well known to all rose lovers for its deep golden yellow cupped blooms which appear in clusters all season long. Bring the inside to enjoy in a vase or leave for a great garden display. The fragrance, while not … [Read more...]

December – Magic Show

With the rose show season just about over for another year, we are featuring one of the best newer roses for exhibition but also makes a good garden rose. ‘Magic Show’ is a patio rose with very well formed blooms of white with a pink edge to the petals. The blooms are borne mostly solitary and like most patio roses, have little in the way of a scent. But for picking, it is fantastic and makes a great short standard to ‘lift’ it up off the … [Read more...]

November – Strawberry Blonde

November is the month when roses reach their spring peak across much of New Zealand and is also when we get to see the blooms on new release rose for the first time. One new release for winter 2018 was ‘Strawberry Blonde’ which we are featuring for November. This floribunda comes to us from Rob Somerfield and has masses of golden apricot blooms that soften with age. For those who like a bit of scent, this one has a good scent. Like other … [Read more...]

October – Thomas a Becket

Red is one of the most popular colours in roses and this month we feature a recent release English rose in this colour. ‘Thomas a Becket’ is named for Canterbury Cathedral in the UK and features clusters of rosette-shaped blooms, crimson red in colour with a moderate Old Rose scent. The plant is medium growing with a shrubby habit and has excellent disease tolerance. Bred by David Austin, this is a welcome addition to the range of red … [Read more...]

September – Water Lily

After a number of years of few new introductions of patio type roses in the New Zealand market, it is pleasing to see some new varieties coming online. One such variety we’re featuring this month is ‘Waterlily’ which features delicate blooms of porcelain to creamy peach of classic form. There is a moderate perfume to the blooms which are produced in large clusters. Reaching 45cm in height, ‘Waterlily’ is very healthy with semi-glossy, medium … [Read more...]

August – Golden Gate

Rose of the Month – Golden Gate Good yellow flowering climbing roses are few and far between so this month’s featured rose is a welcome addition to the range of climbing roses available in New Zealand. ‘Golden Gate’ features semi-double blooms of golden yellow that cover the plant with good repeat over the summer months. Even better, there is a good scent to the blooms to enjoy. Bred by Kordes of Germany who are known for creating super … [Read more...]

July – Eye in the Sky

The Persica or Hulthemia roses have recently made their mark in New Zealand with their distinct blooms, each with a darker ‘eye’ in the centre of the blooms. To date, these have been floribunda or shrub type roses but the rose we feature this month breaks the mould. ‘Eye in the Sky as the name suggests is a climber and climb it does but it is not too vigorous and takes over everything. The blooms are single, cream – apricot in colour with a … [Read more...]