Best white English Rose
Michael Marriott of David Austin Roses says Rosa ‘Desdemona’ can be used for a formal bed, mixed border or large pot. “It’s bushy and free flowering, growing to 1.2m tall, with blush pink buds that open pure white, and a fragrance of strong myrrh. It is very healthy, and the flowers are weather resistant, with petals that drop off neatly.”
Best white old rose
Jennifer Potter, author of The Rose, was introduced to ‘Madame Hardy’ by the late rose breeder Peter Beales, and it sparked her love of old roses. “Bred by Alexandre Hardy (the director of the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris) in the 1830s, and named after his wife, it has a heady damask scent and petals that fold inwards...