The Festival of Roses Marquee at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
One of my favourite features of the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, is The Festival of Roses Marquee. This marquee features the latest rose introductions, many of which are launched at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, alongside modern roses, historic roses, and old, much loved favourite roses. Every year, at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, inside The Festival of Roses Marquee, the finalists and the winner of the prestigious title of ‘The Rose of the Year’ are unveiled.
The Festival of Roses Marquee is a super place to visit to choose a new rose for your garden, or just to enjoy the array of different varieties of roses and their fragrances. The scent inside The Festival of Roses Marquee is just heavenly! The fragrances of the many rose varieties featured inside the marquee, combine together to produce an intense and delicious tea rose scent, which envelopes you in its loveliness as you enter The Festival of Roses Marquee.
The Festival of Roses Marquee – beautiful exhibits from specialist rose nurseries
Roses as cut flowers inside The Festival of Roses Marquee at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
The Rose of the Year Competition
Every year, the finalists and the winner of the prestigious Rose of the Year Competition are unveiled inside the Festival of Roses Marquee, at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The aim of the trials for the Rose of the Year Competition is to find the best new rose offered for sale each year, and to present the winner, and the finalists of this prestigious competition to the public.
New rose varieties from UK and International breeders that enter into The Rose Of The Year Competition are trialled over a two year period, six years prior to the rose’s commercial release. The contenders are all grown in a diverse range of locations, from Aberdeen, Hampshire, Northern Ireland and East Anglia; each location offers differing soil, climates, growing conditions and challenges. The health of the roses, their ease of maintenance, their form, colour, scent, and the amount of flowers they produce, are all characteristics that are evaluated by the judges when they select their rose of the year.
Rosa ’90th Celebration’ is a hybrid tea rose with intense dark, purple-red flowers, which open fully to reveal the roses yellow stamens – making this new rose an ideal choice if you’re looking for roses to encourage, and provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects.
Rosa ’90th Celebration’ is a compact plant, making it ideal for use in containers, or at the front of the border. Rosa ’90th Celebration’ was bred by Rosen Tantu, and is introduced by Fryer’s Roses, where it is available to purchase.
Rosa ‘Charles Dickens’ was bred by Rose Breeder Ronnie Rawlins, this red hybrid tea rose was selected by Marion Dickens, the great-great-Granddaughter of Charles Dickens, to be sold to raise money to fund a new visitor centre, museum, and rose garden, at Gads Hill Place in Kent, where Charles Dickens spent 13 years of his life.
When she was choosing which rose would be named in memory of her relation, Marion Dickens was drawn to this new rose, Marion felt the rose had something of a Victorian look and style about it, and felt it would be the perfect rose to be named after her great-great-Grandfather.
Rosa ‘Charles Dickens’ is a lightly scented rose, with excellent disease resistance, it is available to purchase from Style Roses.
Michael Marriott, the Technical Manager of David Austin Roses, introduced Rosa ‘Bathsheba’, an apricot-pink coloured climbing rose, which grows to about 2-3m (8-10ft). Rosa ‘Bathsheba’ is an English Leander Hybrid with a warm, myrrh fragrance, that’s ideal for covering arches, obelisks and pillars. Michael Marriott describes Rosa ‘Bathsheba’ as being very healthy. Michael expects Rosa ‘Bathsheba’ would even grow well against a north-facing wall. Rosa ‘Bathsheba’ flowers from early June, until the first frosts. Rosa ‘Bathsheba’ (Auschimbley) is available from David Austin Roses.
Rosa ‘Bollywood’ is a repeat flowering shrub rose, which shows good disease resistance. Rosa ‘Bollywood’ produces flowers in different shades of warm orange, and has glossy foliage.
The winner of The Rose of the Year 2017 is Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’
TV gardener David Domoney, presented the prestigious award of Rose of the Year 2017 to Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’, this special rose was bred by Chris Warner, from Warner’s Roses.
Chris Warner from Warner’s Roses feels that Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ is one of the best roses he has ever bred. Originally, Chris had planned to name this special rose after his wife, but sadly it was decided that ‘Barbara Anne’ wasn’t a very commercial name. As this special new rose is strongly scented, with a fruity rose fragrance, the name Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ was decided on.
Chris Warner describes Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ as extremely disease resistant. Its orange flowers appear in early June, this is a repeat flowering rose, which will continue flowering up until the first frosts.
Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ is an orange, double flowered climbing rose, which will reach about 3 1/2m (11 1/2ft) it’s ideal for covering arches, pillars and pillars, which it will clothe with its fragrant orange blooms.
Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ is a double flowered rose, producing pointed buds, which are ideal for button holes. As the flowers open, they open fully to reveal their stamens – which is great for bees and other pollinating insects, as these important insects can access the pollen and nectar from the rose’s flowers.
Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ was bred in Britain by UK Rose Breeder, Chris Warner from Warner’s Roses. Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ has been chosen by the judges as The Rose of the Year 2017. This special rose has also won the Fragrance Prize at the Paris International Rose Trials, and a Certificate of Merit in the Royal National Rose Society Trials.
Rosa ‘Scent from Heaven’ is available to order from autumn 2016. You can purchase this new rose from Cants of Colchester, Crocus, Fryer’s Roses, Shawbury Garden Centre, Trevor White Old Fashioned Roses, and other nurseries from autumn 2016 onwards.
Other articles that may interest you……..
To read about the newly introduced roses including the winner of The Rose of The Year Competition, together with older, fragrant roses that could be seen inside the Festival of Roses Marquee, at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2017, please click here.
To find out more about the new introductions from David Austin Roses for 2016/2017, please click here.
To see the top 20 shortlisted plants, including the finalists, and the winner of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2016, please click here.
To see the Rose of the Year 2016, and photographs of the beautiful roses that featured in The Festival of Roses at the 2015 RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, please click here.
To see photographs from the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2016, please click here.
To see photographs from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016, please click here.
For ideas of slug proof plants to grow in your garden, please click here.
To read about terrariums and bottle gardens, please click here.
For gardening advice for mid-July to mid-August, please click here.
