National Trust Roses and Gardeners' Favourites
The National Trust Rose Collection includes roses inspired by the National Trust and it's properties, such as Rosa ‘Mottisfont’ and Rosa ‘Tatton’. New for 2024 is Rosa ‘National Trust Beauty’, an exclusive rose, which was launched in celebration of our Main Avenue Show Garden at Chelsea 2024.
Also new; the Gardeners' Favourites Collection, which includes roses nominated by National Trust Gardeners, as varieties with a real wow factor.
Through sales generated from the National Trust Collection by Blue Diamond, a minimum of 10% of the retail sales price per product will be given to the National Trust to help look after nature, beauty and history for everyone, forever.
NEW for 2024 - Rosa ‘National Trust Beauty’
Breeder synonym: Tan13571
Rosa ‘National Trust Beauty’ with its soft-gold, rich blooms, abundance of flowers and compact growth, celebrates Octavia Hill, the inspiration behind our Main Avenue Show Garden, in collaboration with the National Trust, at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Blue Diamond and the National Trust were delighted to be working with multi-award-winning garden design practice Ann-Marie Powell to create this show garden. 'The Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond with the National Trust' celebrates pioneering reformer Octavia Hill (1838-1912), a founder of the National Trust, who said ‘we all want beauty, we all need space’.
This rose is available to pre-order now as a bareroot rose for November onwards delivery. *Delivery charges may apply
The National Trust Rose Collection
Rosa 'Mottisfont'
Breeder synonym: TAN15603
In summer 2023 Blue Diamond launched this rose at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.
Bred by Rosen Tantau, the rose is named after Mottisfont, a National Trust property in Hampshire. This world-famous garden is best known for its collection of roses including the National Collection of pre-1900 old-fashioned roses.
Winner of the Golden Rose award at Baden Baden 2019, rosa 'Mottisfont' is a fragrant, hybrid tea rose which produces nostalgia style blooms in an attractive magenta colour. With healthy, glossy, green foliage and an excellent disease resistance, this rose is ideal for planting in groups or as a cut flower.
It grows to a height of approximately 90-110cm when fully grown.
Rosa 'National Trust'
Breeder synonym: McGredy
A medium sized, flowering, hybrid tea rose. Outstanding red blooms are produced in abundance throughout the summer and autumn. Coppery red foliage when young matures to dark green and glossy. Good disease resistance. Its compact bushy habit makes this rose the perfect choice for the front of a border. Grows to a height of approximately 90cm when fully grown.
Bred by Samuel Darragh McGredy IV (1932- 2019) from a cross between Evelyn Fison × King of Hearts in 1964 and introduced by Samuel MrGredy and Son, Nurserymen (Ireland) as rosa ‘National Trust’.
The firm of Samuel McGredy & Son, Nurserymen, opened in Portadown in 1880, and specialized in fruit trees, bushes and show pansies. Sam McGredy III made a modest start at breeding roses about 1895, regarding it as more of a hobby than serious business; he raised two or three hundred seedlings a year. In 1905, after about ten years' work, he decided to exhibit a few of his best roses in London. Sam McGredy on his first venture won a Gold Medal for his salmon pink rose 'Countess of Gosford'. From that day, rose breeding was the main purpose of his life.
Rosa 'Octavia Hill'
Breeder synonym: Harzeal
Named after one of the founding members of the National Trust, this fragrant floribunda rose produces clusters of mid-pink blooms with long lasting petals which repeat flower. Growing to a height of approximately 1m when fully grown, this rose is perfect for planting in beds or borders.
One of the three founders of the National Trust, Octavia Hill was a pioneering thinker and social reformer. She worked tirelessly to improve urban housing and to protect green spaces and the impact of her life and work is still being felt. Her belief in the importance of access to nature for human wellbeing and the need to stop the destruction of the natural landscape are all the more relevant today.
Rosa 'Tatton'
Breeder synonym: Fryentice
Bred by Gareth Fryer in 1993, this is a medium growing floribunda in an unusual and appealing shade of burnt orange. The flowers are large, heavily petalled with a fruity fragrance. They are carried in clusters with reliable continuity on growth which is strong and vigorous with large attractive leaves that are plentiful and luxuriant with a high resistance to disease. Named to celebrate the first RHS show at Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire in 1999.
Tatton Park is now part owned by the National Trust is one of the UKs most complete historic estates. It is home to a Tudor Old Hall, Neo-Classical Mansion, 50 acres of landscaped gardens and 1000 acres of deer park, a rare breed farm and a medieval Old Hall.
During the later part of the 19th century Wilbraham Egerton, 1st Earl Egerton, hosted large house parties in the hall. Eminent guests included the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1887, and at later dates the Shah of Persia and the Crown Prince of Siam.
Rosa 'Biddulph Grange'
Breeder synonym: Frydarkeye
A delicate shrub rose that produces large trusses in abundance of velvety, bright red blooms with a distinctive silver eye. With open stamens this rose is attractive to bees and other pollinators. Contrasting glossy, dark green foliage and growing to a height of approximately 1.25m.
Rosa Biddulph Grange is a story of conservation and propagation.
Named to celebrate the opening of National Trust owned Biddulph Grange, more than 30 years ago, this Shrub rose slipped out of fashion and was very nearly lost as no commercial nurseries were growing or selling it. By chance the Rose Expert, Kate Brophy, of Fryer’s Roses and Garden Centre, part of the Blue Diamond Group, came across it in someone’s garden and was granted permission to take budwood (cuttings) from it so that the rose was able to be budded and brought back into commercial sale.
The National Trust Gardeners' Favourite Rose Collection
This collection is inspired by six roses nominated by National Trust gardeners as their favourite 'wow factor' varieties from Trust gardens across the country.
Rosa ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’
Breeder synonym: PEAFANFARE
A hybrid tea rose with gorgeous, highly fragrant, white blooms with a pale pink centre contrasting with semi-glossy medium-green foliage. It will grow to a height of approximately 1m and has been awarded RHS AGM 2012.
Rosa ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ has been chosen by the Head Gardener at Hinton Ampner. The rose collection at Hinton Amper has over 90 varieties which put on quite the show throughout June and July. The most popular view for visitors is the bed of 100 highly-scented ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ roses beside the pond.
The gorgeous dark, glossy foliage of this lovely hybrid tea rose sets off the profusion of pale pink flowers perfectly. When it is flowering at its peak in June, the delicate but intense scent drifting through the garden is incredible. It’s easily one of my favourite roses here at Hinton Amper.
Jennifer Harrow, Gardener, Hinton Amper
Rosa ‘Champagne Moment’
Breeder synonym: KORVANABER
A fragrant, floribunda rose with delicate cream blooms which deepen with age, contrasting against glossy, green foliage. This rose has excellent disease resistance and will grow to a height of approximately 90cm. It won Rose of The Year 2006, Gold standard award 2006 and the RHS AGM 2012.
Rosa ‘Champagne Moment’ has been chosen by the Head Gardener at Cliveden. Cliveden’s Rose Garden has over 900 roses which create a colourful display, gently phased from pale yellows through to vibrant oranges and deep velvety reds.
The rose garden at Cliveden is based on a mid-century design, giving a colour-themed effect that changes throughout the summer. Amongst my favourite is ‘Champagne Moment’, a very healthy and vigorous rose with its soft, pale apricot blooms.
Anthony Mason, Head Gardener, Cliveden
Rosa ‘Korresia’
Breeder synonym: FRIESIA
A floribunda rose which is excellent for summer gardens adding cheerful, buttery-yellow petals with multiple clusters of large blossoms per stem contrasting with dark, glossy-green foliage. It will grow to a height of approximately 80cm.
Rosa ‘Korresia’ has been chosen by the Gardener at Chartwell. Roses have long been associated with the Churchills and their family home, Chartwell in Kent. The flower was a part of Winston and Clementine's love story from the very beginning.
The Korresia rose, with its large and scented yellow flowers, makes up part of the Golden Rose Avenue at Chartwell. Planted to commemorate the 50th wedding anniversary of Winston and Clementine Churchill as a gift from their children. The summer display at Chartwell wouldn't be the same without it.
Ryan Hickmott, Gardener, Chartwell House
Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’
A fragrant, shrub rose with large clusters of apricot-yellow flowers which is perpetual flowering and will make good hedging. It has medium size, semi-glossy green foliage and will grow to a height of approximately 2m.
Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’ has been chosen by the Senior Gardener at Peckover House. Roses have long since been an integral part of the gardens at Peckover. The Rose Garden is an immersive experience, with over 70 rose varieties grown as shrubs, over obelisks and as wall climbers; all of which create the most incredible scent.
The Rose Garden at Peckover House is a celebration of roses. One of my favourites is ‘Buff Beauty’ which has a delicate, soft orange tone and a distinctive tea rose fragrance.
Louise Gardner, Senior Gardener, Peckover House
Rosa ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’
Breeder synonym: SCHWARTZ
A highly fragrant, climbing rose with stunning large white blooms that fade to a tinted pink.
Rosa Mme Alfred Carriere was the first plant Vita and Harold planted at Sissinghurst. She starts to flower early in the season and continues blooming with blush white scented flowers all through summer. She is equally happy on a south or north wall producing long supple stems that can be pulled and tied down to encourage further flowering. I have also grown Mme Alfred as a free-standing mound in a meadow. The original plant at Sissinghurst lived over 90 years.
Troy Smith, Head Gardener, National Trust Sissinghurst, Kent.
Rosa 'Agatha Christie'
A disease resistant, climbing rose, with light pink, large, near double flowers.
Roses have historically always been a feature at Greenway, Agatha Christie’s holiday home in Devon. The south facing slopes have allowed them to thrive and they can still be seen around the garden today. As we restore the garden to something that Agatha would have recognised when she bought the property, roses will start to feature more prominently.
Ashley Brent, Head Gardener, National Trust Greenway & Compton Castle, Devon.