The last rose of summer

Its now mid-winter and there are hardly any decent roses in flower. Well that was what I thought until today I saw my 'Autumn Delight' in full bloom.

Autumn Delight

This beautiful rose has been in my front garden for about ten years and was purchased from Mary Davies Colonial Gardens nursery in Dural near Sydney. At the time I was looking for a low growing white rose which dated from the interwar period for my period-themed front garden. Without any hesitation Mary recomended this 1933 British raised Hybrid Musk. This rose only grows to 1 metre and has few thorns, and seems to tolerate Sydney's humid climate. I used to prune it like a Hybrid Tea in late winter but I have recently tried to resist attacking it with the secateaurs apart from regular dead heading. This shrub has an open habit and has flushes of semi-single white/cream flowers throughout the year, especially in late autumn and early winter, and makes a great alternative to the overused Iceberg rose.