What’s in a name? It could be argued that when a rose is named it is given a personality, a character, and even a meaning.
Naming a plant is a very special act. The breeder and grower are trying, in one movement, to describe not only the plant itself, but also the feeling they want it to give to those who might buy it or grow it in their garden.
There are some fantastic rose names out there, including themed ones for Hever Castle & Gardens itself.
We have the Hever Rose, a beautiful dark red floribunda rose named by Judi Dench in 2011 and raised by rose hybridiser the late Colin Horner. This stunning rose never fails to bring the drama.
We also have Rosa ‘Anne Boleyn’, raised by David Austin. This frilly double rose with pink and peachy tones is a really good doer and flowers profusely beside Half Moon Pond in the garden as a tribute to our most famous former resident.
Hever in Bloom
During the month of June, roughly 5,000 roses flower in time for ‘Hever in Bloom’ our festival to all things blooming in the gardens. It’s one of my favourite times and this year, to celebrate our 10th Hever in Bloom, we have doubled the usual floral week to a fortnight and we’ll be offering tours of the Rose Garden and a hand-tied floral workshop.
My team and I love nothing more than introducing visitors to our bevy of beauties in the Rose Garden, and if you come to Hever Castle & Gardens in June you’ll find us talking to the roses – and I’ll use their names too!
We have some fantastically named roses, such as ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, ‘Sheila’s Perfume’, ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Rambling Rector’, as well as two new beauties, ‘Timeless Purple’ and ‘Timeless Cream’, which remind me of the two sisters (Anne and Mary Boleyn) who lived at the castle back in Tudor times. The ‘Timeless’ roses, with their strong fragrance, are actually sister roses too, coming from the same breeder.
Another important rose for me is Rosa ‘Caron Keating’, named after our dear friend Gloria Hunniford’s late daughter, who was a wonderful broadcaster too. A beautiful peach-coloured rose, we have some growing in Hever Churchyard in Caron’s memory. My team and I look after them and make sure they produce beautiful blooms every year.
It feels like a new rose is released almost every week through the summer: in May we saw Peter Beale Roses unveil ‘Rosa With Courage’ at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, to celebrate the RNLI’s 200th birthday. The tangerine orange colour of the petals really does make you think of the RNLI orange boats, and is aptly named after the courage of the volunteers.
In the Rose Garden at Hever we have several roses that make us think of good times, including ‘Tequila Sunrise’, and one that reminds us of ABBA – ‘Super Trouper’ – a fantastic rose that always provides me with a great earworm of a tune when I wander past it!
Choose a rose with personality
Next time you’re in the garden centre and trying to make a choice between the roses on offer, take note not just of the habitat, and whether it’s a standard, floribunda or climber, but look closely at the name – you’ll find a clue to the rose’s personality and what it will add to your own garden’s unique vibe!
Neil’s top five roses by name
- ‘American Pillar’: a fantastic climber that winds itself around the columns in the Rose Garden in a tribute to our former owner, American billionaire William Waldorf Astor. Like Astor did in the early 20th century, this rose brings the beauty of the gardens to life.
- ‘Compassion’: a beautiful climber, this rose produces a wonderful pale peach display on the north wall of the Rose Garden – a stunning and reliable plant.
- ‘Ballerina’: this delicate rose comes in both standard and bush and is a timeless classic, producing soft pink flowers throughout the summer. You’ll find lots of Ballerinas dancing in the breeze in the Tudor Garden.
- ‘Absolutely Fabulous’: this brings the blousiness of Edina and Patsy to the garden, with its large clusters of yellow flowers that emit a heady myrrh scent. A real favourite of ours in the summer – producing interest, as well as being healthy specimens!
- ‘Timeless Cream’: a fitting rose for the beauty of the Rose Garden at Hever, which often feels unworldly and timeless first thing in the morning. There’s a soft apricot blush to these roses and a lovely fruity fragrance.
Visitors can find out more about the four-acre Rose Garden and over 5,000 blooms during Hever in Bloom, which runs from 24 June – 7 July at Hever Castle & Gardens. Talks and tours take place twice a day during the week (11:30 and 14:00) and once at weekends (11:30) with the gardening team.
Former gardener turned florist Emma Fuller-Wilke will be giving floral demonstrations in the first week, 24 June – 30 June. Find out how to make an eco and seasonal hand-tied flower arrangement with roses as the focus (included in admission price).
Find out more about Hever in Bloom here.
And you can read Neil’s other Green Tips columns here.
