Fragrance in the Garden - Part 2: Roses

You can't have a discussion about fragrant plants without including roses. We might assume that all roses are fragrant but many of the hybridized varieties no longer have the wonderful scents associated with roses.

Two avid rose-growing Florida garden bloggers...Flowerlady at  Flowerlady's Musings and Sherry at If only sweat were irrigation...grow many varieties of roses (both modern and vintage) in their gardens. Both of their blogs are a wealth of information to anyone who's interested in growing roses successfully in our heat and humidity. Thankfully, both of them have generously contributed their thoughts, as well as a list of the most fragrant roses growing in their gardens.

While roses may not heavily perfume the air like Confederate jasmine or orange blossoms do, it's hard to see a rose and not automatically press your nose up to the ruffly mass of petals to inhale the sweet smell associated with these flowers.

Belinda's Dream

Scent is one of the things Flowerlady looks for when buying a rose. She said "To me if a rose doesn't have a scent, it's almost not worth having." Her favorite fragrant rose is Chrysler Imperial which she describes as having a deep rose scent.

Three other nicely scented roses in her garden are: Don Juan (climber), Maman Crochet and Maggie.

Her list of roses that emit a delicate, lighter scent are:
Cocktail
Kathleen
Prosperity
Penelope
La Marne Mm.
Laurette Messimy
Bon Silene
Old Blush
Dainty Bess
Louis Philippe
Pink Pet

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Sherry is a very passionate rose grower as evidenced by her response to my request for a list of fragrant roses growing in her garden. She wrote "Susan, I had a new flower on my baby Marchesa Boccella this morning. Wow! So strong and delicious! Damask like Chrysler Imperial but a beautiful pink flower with a bottom eye." You can just feel Sherry's passion...can't you?

Her list and description of scents include:
Mrs. B.R. Cant - "a strong sweet raspberry scent that is to die for"
Duchesse de Brabant - "smells like Southern sweet iced tea to me, but others say raspberry"
Duquesa - has a strong tea scent plus an additional fragrance that she can't quite put her finger on. She describes it as "yummy" and as strong as Mrs.B.R.Cant.
LaSylphide - "astonishingly smells like Lily of the Valley"
Clotilde Soupert - "is a polyantha and has a fairly strong fragrance"
Cotillion - "a modern floribunda that has a strong and luscious scent"
Gruss an Aachen - "An early floribunda (1909), is simply wonderful. Great fragrance."
Leonie Lamesch - "a very nice, light scent"
Louis Philippe - "smells like cherry candy"
Napoleon and Archduke Charles - "have light scents similar to Louis Philippe but not as strong"
Souv. de la Malmaison - "has a light to medium scent...which some have described as similar to women's face powder"
Capitaine Dyel de Graville - "is a sport of Souv de la Malmaison, but its scent is stronger and more distinct, slightly sweet"
Baronne Prevost (1841) and Mme Scipion Cochet (1872) - "have quite a strong fragrance"
Chrysler Imperial - "strong damask fragrance"
Marchesa Boccella (1842) and Rose de Rescht (pre-1900) - "very nice strong fragrance"

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Mark Nelson who's family (Nelson Roses) has been growing roses in Florida for several generations has listed his favorite scented roses in his book entitled "Nelson's Guide to Florida Roses."

His 11 favorties are:
Belinda's Dream
Chrysler Imperial
Double Delight
Flo Nelson
Scentimental
Granada
Mr. Lincoln
Perfume Delight
Regatta
Saint Patrick
Tiffany

Click here to find a retailer for Nelson Roses in Florida

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The All-America Rose Selections (AARS)  list their top 10 scented favorites as:
Double Delight (1997) - a sweet, spicy scent
Elle (2005) - spicy, citrusy scent
4th of July (1999) - scent is exceptional
Honey Perfume ( 2004) - wonderful, spicy scent
Memorial Day (2004) - highly fragrant
Midas Touch (1994) - warm, musky scent
Mr. Lincoln (1965) - strong scent
Scentimental (1997) - spicy scent
Sheer Bliss (1985) -  mild but sweet fragrance
Sun Sprinkles (2001) - miniature rose

So there you have it from the "expert" rose growers. A nice list of their favorite fragrant roses from which to choose from if you're looking to add some scented beauties to your garden.

Sombreuil

My favorite...a heavenly scented rose growing in my garden is Sombreuil (a hybrid tea - 1850) . Her scent is a STRONG, sweet perfume fragrance that is intoxicatingly wonderful.

Thank you Flowerlady and Sherry for taking the time and generously sharing your knowledge on fragrant roses. Be sure to visit their blogs for more information on growing roses: Flowerlady's Musings and If only sweat were irrigation.

Some additional Florida gardeners who lovingly and successfully grow roses are: Janis at Graceful Cottage Gardening and Kenneth at Musings of a Would Be Renaissance Man.

If you're new to growing roses in Florida you can learn a lot from Flowerlady, Sherry, Janis and Kenneth.

What fragrant roses are growing in your garden?