There are roses one grows for colour, for form, for habit. And then there are those chosen simply for how they make the air feel. Rosa Gertrude Jekyll^® (Ausbord) is one of the latter. Not merely scented, but steeped in scent. Fragrance is its character, its memory, its presence in the garden long after the blooms are gone.

If you grow roses, you’ve likely heard about blackspot, that pesky fungal troublemaker that loves to spoil even the most beautiful bushes. It’s one of the most common problems gardeners face, and while it doesn’t kill your roses outright, it can really take the wind out of their sails if left unchecked.

This rose is not fussy. It grows well in many conditions but does best with at least four hours of sunlight a day. It tolerates some shade and suits almost any garden aspect, whether north, south, east or west, so long as the soil allows roots to breathe and does not stay soggy. To support healthy growth, mixing in some compost or well-rotted manure at planting helps enrich the soil and improve its texture.

As the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival drew to a close recently, reflections linger on days steeped in sunshine, heavy with scent, and warmed not only by the blazing summer heat but also by the shared joy of gardening.

In May 2025, Rosa Gertrude Jekyll^® (Ausbord) was named the “World’s Favourite Rose” by the World Federation of Rose Societies, a distinction awarded through a global vote involving rose lovers from 40 countries. This accolade celebrates a rose that has quietly yet firmly held a place in the hearts of gardeners for almost forty years.

From the kitchen window of Bowling Green House, the view is quiet but alive. Beyond the old glass panes, a narrow canal runs still beneath the branches of the weeping ash, its surface shifting with light and the soft wake of ducks. Native reeds and waterlilies fringe the banks, creating a scene that feels more discovered than designed. David C. H. Austin had it dug after admiring something similar in a friend’s garden. Here, it became the garden’s steady centre, a reflective ribbon running through the planting, anchoring moments of calm.

Deadheading roses can feel a bit like clearing up after something quietly wonderful. One flower fades, its colours softening and edges curling, while another is just beginning to open, full of promise. Suddenly your hands are full of petals - soft, warm from the sun, and still carrying that unmistakable, subtle scent of the garden. It’s easy to let them drop back to the soil, returning to where they came from. But sometimes they feel too lovely to leave behind, as though they’ve still got more to offer.

It begins quietly. You’re walking the garden in the early morning, coffee in hand, admiring the swell of buds after a warm spell. Everything looks as it should, until your eye catches one that seems reluctant to open. The petals are puckered, almost as if they’ve been pinched, and their edges are tinged with a strange brown. A day or two later, another bud does the same. Then a third.

Each June, as the nation gathers to mark Trooping the Colour, a ceremony full of history and pageantry, there is another way to celebrate. Not on the parade ground but in the garden, where beauty grows with care and purpose.

Suckers are one of those quirks of rose growing that tend to invite a good deal of confusion. They appear out of nowhere, usually low down on the plant or even from the soil nearby, and it’s not always easy to know what to do about them. Are they a sign of strength or something to worry about?

Now that the show gardens have been dismantled and the last petals settle, we take a quiet moment to reflect on this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Chelsea is far more than an event; it is a meeting of minds and a celebration of beauty, carefully tended and thoughtfully shared.

The garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show was designed to feel like a retreat. It was calm, immersive, and deeply personal, built around the idea of a secret sanctuary. While the space itself was large, the principles behind the design can be applied at any scale. Here’s how to recreate that atmosphere in your own garden.

This year at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we’ve created something truly special – a garden that feels like a quiet retreat. Inspired by the idea of a hidden sanctuary, our Secret Garden is calm, immersive, and filled with roses that each tell part of the story. At 16m x 16m, it’s our most ambitious stand yet, but also our most personal.