What is a lovely rose bush to buy for a friend's birthday gift?

[nowwearefour]

She is having a party at the weekend and I want tongetbsomething lovely! She will be 40 and her dh has suggested this as a suitable gift.

Try David Austen Roses ..they have loads .. You might find one with her name or similar which would be nice...

I've just bought some roses for a new bed, I'm a novice... But the expert in the garden centre suggested David Austin as a brand and they have loads if topically named roses eg William and Katherine, Mary Rose, Winchester cathedral... Maybe you could find a name with a link to your friend? You can also have roses named after people - google this

David Austin do one called the generous gardener... Lovely!

Ok thank you!!!

Do I want a bare root rose or a containerised rose?

We bought MIL one called 'Queen MIL's name' and another called 'Glennfiddich'. V. thoughtfully chosen and appropriate.

I bought my mum something called a big purple, I think they call them heritage roses. They smell amazing ( my nan used to have them in her garden which is why I got it for my mum, just the smell takes you back in time)

container roses are easier.

Go onto the David Austin website and read the descriptions - they are wonderful reading!

If you have time, you can send off for the catalogue - which has even more wonderful descriptions.

I took my daughter to a garden centre and she chose a David Austin "Miss Alice" for herself, and I planted an "Ispahan" which has proved to be a very good grower - though the roses themselves are less pretty than some. Dd's "Miss Alice" is very pretty - lots of pink pom pom-type roses - and smells delicious.

If she has borders then a bare root rose will grow bigger. What colours does she like?

this is my fave pink
Or this
Which direction does her garden face? This is good for north facing.

She planning to redo her garden (sma city garden). I don't know which way it faces ).

Alnwick is a winner IMO.

yy, David Austin Roses. You want a containerised rose.

cecile brunner is a beautiful rambly climber, highly scented with masses of smallish, perfect pink roses.