Unstoppable bloomers

Hazel Sillver looks at a selection of the best long-flowering rose varieties for a small garden that will produce scent and colour during summer and into autumn

- Hazel Sillver

WHERE space is tight, plants have to earn their place. So the best roses for a small garden are those that flower over a long period during summer and into autumn. Some even keep up the show into December.

There are two types of long-flowering roses: perpetual (or continuous) and repeat-flowering (also known as recurrent or remontant). The perpetuals flower non-stop, whereas the repeat-flowering roses have two main flushes of bloom or flower intermittently over the course of several months.

English shrub roses

While perpetual varieties aren’t so common, those that repeat-flower form the bulk of modern roses. One of the most famous groups are the English shrub roses, which were first created by the late rose breeder David Austin by crossing old varieties with modern ones. “These two traditions have been brought together with the objective of combining the form, character and growth of the old roses, with the repeat-flowering habit and wider colour range of the modern roses,” he stated. “English roses are, in fact, repeat-flowering old roses.”

Today his company is run by his son and grandson, who continue to create repeat-flowering gems. For instance, The Country Parson (‘Ausclergy’), introduced in 2020, produces honey-scented soft-yellow rosettes from June until the first frosts. Other contemporary roses that boast an impressively long flowering period include the Knockout series and the Flower Carpet varieties.

Lengthy flowering