I think its fair to say I like roses. I appear to have quite a few in my garden: I have genuinely lost count - let's say around thirty. Some in the ground and some in pots. I have been following the Rose of the Year announcement for several years and have been lucky enough to be gifted several of these roses by RosesUK, who promote British and internationally grown roses and rose breeders.
This year I was out when the Rose of the Year 2026 arrived, I had been away for a couple of days and there she was waiting for me when I got home - what a delight. I have to be transparent and say that she was gifted, but I am under no obligation to write about her and of course my words and opinions are my own.
I opened the box to find a joy of green glossy leaves and buds.
I then opened the box to release her from her confines. I gave her a good drink to help her recover from the journey. It was also early evening by this point so she had some cooler air to help with this.
One of the larger buds started to open within a day of this.
The flower started a wonderfully dark colour and got a little paler as she opened.
and developed into a very beautiful flower. She has scent, I will say there are stronger scented roses out there but nonetheless she is a beauty. Whilst I say often that all roses should have scent, I always qualify that by saying apart from the ones that do not. Several of the roses in my garden have little or no scent and they deserve the place in my garden nonetheless.
She will grow to be just under a metre tall, so will fit well into most garden schemes and also live quite nicely in a pot. Hopefully she will repeat well throughout the growing season. I am looking forward to finding this out.
The 2026 rose would have been chosen a couple of years ago to enable nursery stocks to be built up really for sale from the announcement. The judging is based on points looking at various different aspects. It can be bought now online and in nurseries/garden centres.
But most importantly, it is a very lovely rose. I am glad to welcome her into my garden: now to find the right space.....
Lucky you! That certainly is a beauty. The color, the form...everything about it is luscious. Thanks for sharing!
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