Which is your best performing rose?

[VenusClapTrap]

In terms of volume and continuous production of blooms? I have many roses in my garden, and although I love them all, some are divas that throw out three gorgeous blooms over the summer and then rest on their laurels expecting adoration for their limited efforts. Looking at you, Summer Song and Lady Emma Hamilton.

Others, like Lady of Shallot and Jacqueline du Pre, just go on and on and on, a perpetual cloud of colour and perfume.

I intend to plant up a small border along DDad’s new bungalow. It’s a small space and the only place on the tiny plot for any planting, so whatever I plant there has to be good value in terms of repeat flowering. I can fit half a dozen roses, and will underplant with Geranium Rozanne (probably). Before I just order six Ladies of Shallot, I’m interested to see what others have found to be good performers.

DA The Pilgrim and Iceberg.

I have Deep Secret and I love it... very dark, beautiful fragrance, goes all year round.

Gorgeous, isn't it! This is the only photo I could find, one I took a few years ago. The colour and perfume are extraordinary, so much that I have this rose in a spot where I can see it easily and it will be walked past by anyone who comes here.

Beautiful!

My David Austin Gabriel Oak shrubs. They are coming into their third year planted and I love them.

The upside is the constant blooms. And the fragrance is lovely (neighbour has commented on the scent). The downside is the deadheading, they just constantly want to flower! I’m a shit gardener, but I’ve done ok with them.

They have survived being ripped to shreds in stupidly strong winds. They were, quite literally, drowned in a freak strong wind/monsoon rain scenario. Can’t wait for them to come back into bloom again.

Meant to add, I think this is one of their roses that you can buy as a hedging bundle - buying 5 works out cheaper.

And this is how they looked when I planted them. They were small. But the photos upthread were two years later. And they looked just as good after one year, but I don’t have photos to show.

Doh, photo!

Generous Gardener has been fab growing up a pergola. So well behaved, no bother, disease free and loads of flowers. Olivia Rose Austin even more flowers, no bother but there were yellow leaves towards the end of the season. Maybe not in as good a place. Gertrude Jekyll has been a pain in the arse- full of thorns and a lot of black spot. Giving her one more chance.

I’ve only got one. Wollerton Old Hall. It actually didn’t do much for the first two years, year three - it went mad and was gorgeous for five months. I’m going to print it today.

I’m going to add another rise this year, I don’t know which but it will be a climber or rambler, could be at the really sunny end of the garden or in the middle which is not quite as sunny. I keep looking and changing my mind.

My climber improved no end when I switched to feeding this.

Prune not print!

My Gertrude Jekyll is amazing, lots of blooms and they smell great.

Buff Beauty has been a big success for us. Gorgeous smell too.
Generous gardener is on my list after seeing it at Aberglasney.

Aphrodite, which is a hybrid tea. Only planted it last year, but it just took off straight away. Beautiful fragrant pink blooms.

Ive got a yellow one, which does brilliantly too, but I don't know its name unfortunately. Prune them hard and feed them well and you can't really go wrong.

Throwing in my two pennies - I have two Chandos Beauty roses, which are Peter Beales ones rather than DA. They flower their socks off until Christmas and are often one of the earliest to flower too. Big, blowsy, pale peach/pink flowers and they smell incredible. Of my other roses, I have Ancient Mariner in a deep pot on the patio and normally it goes mad every year but hated the drought last summer, loads of the buds shrivelled. Chandos however seemed blissfully unaffected!

I love Chandos Beauty, @ArtichokeAardvark. A few years ago mooching round the Chelsea Flower Show I did a sniff test of all the roses on display, and that was my favourite. I still haven’t managed to find a spot for it in my garden though. I will eventually.

Another vote for Wollerton Old Hall. Low effort, high reward - just the way I like my roses.

Thanks everyone. I’ve enjoyed reading all your contributions. I’m still not decided on what to plant for DDad; he’s now told me that he might extend his garage into this area at some point 🙄 so I’m ‘not to go mad with expensive plants.’ However, he progresses at a snail’s pace with everything and will most likely spend at least a decade thinking about it, so I will probably plant it up anyway.

@LubaLuca and @SplinteredRulerI have Wollerton Old Hall climbing round my front door. It’s exquisite.

Oooh I love Gertrude Jekyll.

Strawberry Fair and A Shropshire Lad (both DA) do really well for me, but may be a bit vigorous for your space. My absolute favourite is Madame Hardy, but she’s an Old Rose and doesn’t repeat flower.

I have several DA roses but one of my favourites is Warm Welcome. I grow it as a small climber so it’s easy to under plant it. It doesn’t have large showy or perfumed blooms. I love it for the numerous intense orangey small blooms. It’s never has the slightest sign of disease. It flowers on and on and has nice hips. I don’t even bother to dead head it. I throw it a handful of rose food in the spring and that’s it. I have also found it very drought tolerant.

Here it is after weeks and weeks of summer heat.

@MsFannySqueers what's the yellow shrub it’s growing through? I love that combo. I’ve already got Warm Welcome actually, growing over an arch. It does smell amazing.

Absolutely best long term flowering and gorgeous in my garden are both from David Austin

• firstly The Generous Gardener followed by L D Braithwaite