Specialty Gardening: Where for art thou SCENTsational DG friends of mine?, 4 by DonnaMack

DonnaMack wrote:
I'm trying to remember what this rose smells like. I remember wonderful, and it is described as intense Damask (huh), which means that it is like Madame Hardy, which also smells fabulous.

I do know that I used to bring flowers into the house. The scent is strong, and wonderful. Was it a little spicy?

This is such a great rose. It is described as a Portland, or a Portland/Damask. Portland are a phenomenal group of old garden roses. They rebloom regularly. Most are only about three to four feet tall and grow in a vase shape, so you can tuck them into a border. R d R is tough as nails. Its origins are unknown. But it's one of those roses that are advised for the new rose grower because you can't fail. It was one of the first roses that I acquired. I did a lot of research.

I will now have five Portlands. Another beauty is Marchesa Bocchella, aka Jacques Cartier, another easy, reblooming, fragrant roses that I had at my previous home and have two of here. The Portland roses were very much what David Austin has been trying to create for years. Healthy, reblooming, scented, beautiful, disease resistant. Except that these are compact, whereas many Austins are irritatingly sprawling, and these roses are still here after more than 150 years. Why are these roses till around? Because they are fantastic!

Here is Marchesa, in the first four pictures.

And the last has four of my favorite roses:

Gruss an Aachen, Glamis Castle, Quadra and Marchesa.

I know a lot of people have been burned by roses, and I'm not trying to convince anyone to grow them. But if you are thinking about it, these are great ones!